2004 NJCAA National Tournament Preview

2004 NJCAA National Tournament Brackets

The regular season has come to end and all that is left is the "Big Dance", the NJCAA National Tournament in Rochester, MN, February 27-28. The accumulation of the entire season will come down to the upcoming weekend and many dreams will be fulfilled or shattered. In November, wrestlers and coaches set forth on the 2004 season and many goals were set. As we near this special weekend of triumph and consolation, the 2004 NJCAA National Tournament should be action packed and full of excitement.

When the pre-season rankings were published, the Northwest Wyoming Trappers came into 2004 has the No. 1 team in Division I. Coach Ziegler's Trappers have held that spot for the entire season and will enter the national tournament as the nation's No. 1 team. Joining the Trappers, will be the Lions of Nassau. The 2003 National Champions have also held the No. 1 ranking in Division III for the entire season and breeze into Rochester ready to defend their 2003 crown.

Both of these teams are coming off stellar years and will look to peak at the right time. Both teams claimed championship trophies at their respective region tournaments. Northwest and Nassau qualified all ten wrestlers for the national tournament. The Trappers will be looking to claim their first ever national title and Nassau will be going for two in a row. Both of these teams will be led by one defending national champion. When asked about his team's chances of winning their first national crown, Northwest College Head Coach Jim Ziegler stated, "We didn't peak here at regions, but we will prepare, and hopefully if we peak in Rochester, we have a solid chance to compete for the title."

Northwest Wyoming's big man, Tyler Rhodes (285) will look to become a 2x national champion has he defends his heavyweight title. Rhodes has dominated the junior college competition the same this season has he did in 2003. Extremely versatile, Rhodes looks to be in the final match once again.

Facing Rhodes could be North Idaho's Israel Silva. Silva placed 3rd in last year national tournament, losing to Rhodes in the semi-finals by fall. Other top contenders at heavyweight will be Western Wyoming's John Fager who lost to Rhodes in the West Central Zone championship 4-3, Nassau's Jon Andriac who claimed the region title, Lincoln's Pete Mueller and Gloucester's Joe Attieh.

Other Trapper wrestlers with a yellow medal on their mind are Seth Wright (125), Eric Sabot (141), Jacob Wright (157), and Robert Roszkiewicz (197). Seth Wright is currently ranked No. 2 in the country after a championship finals loss to Earl Jones of Labette. Jacob Wright, brother of Seth, is ranked No. 4 and has a win over No. 1 ranked Eric Luedke of Colby, but has lost two straight to Luedke including a semi-final loss at the regions 12-6. Sabot and Roszkiewicz are both returning All-Americans. Sabot has been No. 1 at 141 all year and Roszkiewicz is rated No. 2. Both Sabot and Roszkiewicz claimed regional titles dominating their opponents in the finals.

Nassau has a much different squad this season than the team that won the 2003 title, but the 2004 team has proven that they can win. Nassau won the National Duals this year among junior college teams by defeating Ellsworth, Iowa Central, and Harper. The Lions will be lead in the national tournament by defending national champion, Carlos Patrick (165).

Although Patrick is the defending national champion at this weight, he has been ranked No. 2 all season behind No. 1 Muzzaffor Abdurakhmanov of Colby. Both wrestlers were national champions in 2003, with Abdurakhmanov claiming the 157 pound title in 2003. Abdurakhmanov moved this season to compete at 165. The Colby wrestler brings a plethora of international experience to the mat. This should be a great match up in Rochester.

To help Nassau defend their title, they will need more than just Patrick. Returning All-Americans Chris Deluca (149) and Chris Weidman (197) hope to shine at the big show to boost their Lions to another championship ring. Deluca placed 3rd in 2003 at 141 lbs and has moved up a weight. Weidman also placed 3rd in 2003, but looks to hold his No. 1 ranking and win his first national title.

Nassau will also be represented by LaShaunne Lewis (141), Habif Shahid (174) and Jon Andriac (285). All of these young men have had successful seasons and look to pull All-American honors for Coach Schmidt and staff.

Now that you have seen the nation's two top teams, here is a brief breakdown of all of the weights and the who's who of the upcoming 2004 NJCAA National Tournament.

To make this national tournament preview interesting, let's pull a weight out of a hat and start there. 149! This weight should prove to be the most talented weight class at the 2004 tournament. Loaded from top to bottom, this weight class will be a tough bracket. Leading this class is defending national runner-up, Mike Rio of Harper. Rio placed second in his 2003 campaign at 157, losing to Colby's Muzaffor Abdurakhmanov by fall. Rio has competed at both 149 and 157 this season, but has made his presence known at 149 by defeating defending national runner-up, Mark Dickman of Meramec twice in the past month. Dickman was undefeated on the year, before the 7-6 and 6-1losses to Rio.

Others to contend at 149 will be Damien Swietlik (Ellsworth), Mikel Delk (Labette), Luke Salazar (Northwest Wyoming), Chris Deluca (Nassau), Jason Bilinski (Gloucester), Jason Barnett (Iowa Central) and Mitch Bunne (Rochester). All of these competitors are currently ranked in the top six except for Deluca, and Bunne.

Salazar, Deluca, and Bunne are all returning All-Americans and have had successful seasons. Salazar has a win over Barnett, Delk has beaten Bunne 3-2 at the Meramec Duals, and Deluca has lost to Bilinski twice. Barnett recorded a huge 8-6 victory over Swietlik in the region finals. All of these young men have the capabilities to compete for the national title and there will be no hiding from each other. With this much talent and depth, the excitement should begin from the first round all the way to the finals.

157 will showcase a handful of freshman with one returning All-American in the bunch. Heading into nationals ranked No. 1 will be Eric Luedke of Colby. Luedke had a tremendous performance at the West Central Zone region. Seeded No. 2, Luedke recorded wins over Jacob Wright and Jason Leavitt (Neosho) to claim the title. Luedke will take a 29-5 record into Rochester looking to claim a national title.

Currently ranked No. 2, Neosho County's Jason Leavitt showed his stuff at the West Central Region by competing as the No. 4 seed and defeating No. 2 seed Joshua Medina of Pima. Leavitt advanced to the championship finals, but falling to Luedke. Leavitt is very explosive and focused and will be a force to reckon with come national tournament time.

Other regional champions at this weight were John Cummings (Nassau), Matt Reinke (Minnesota West), Billy Johnson (Muskegon), and Bryan Seibel (North Idaho). Other contenders will be returning All-American Curt Zinnell (Iowa Central), Jacob Wright (Northwest Wyoming), and Joshua Medina (Pima).

Weight class 165 will be lead by the West Central Zone Outstanding Wrestler and defending national champion at 157, Muzzafor Abdurakhmanov of Colby. Abdurakhmanov has not lost to a junior college opponent in his two year stint at Colby CC. With his wide arsenal of takedowns and pinning abilities, this Colby Trojan will be the favorite at this weight class.

Seeking to defend his 165 pound title against Abdurakhmanov, will be Nassau's Carlos Patrick. Patrick claimed the 2004 Region title and should be the one wrestler that could push Abdurakhmanov. These two great wrestlers could meet in the finals and make for a great 165 pound final match.

Others at 165 looking to push the field will be Nick Larsen (Western Wyoming), Kade Katuria (Northwest Wyoming), and Nick Ammerman (Southwestern Oregon).

Lassen's Anthony Johnson will lead the field at 174 as a returning All-American from 2003 and 2004 Western Regional champion. Johnson was an All-American at 184 in 2003, but competed at 174 in 2004 and held the No. 1 ranking at 174 for most of 2004. Behind Johnson will be several young men who will be looking to knock off the No. 1 Johnson.

Travis Birhanzel (Ridgewater) is currently ranked No. 2 by the NJCAA and is coming off a region championship by defeating Iowa Central's Vinnie Salek. Both wrestlers are capable of claiming All-American honors or even taking the title. Others that show promise for chasing the gold at 174 will be regional champion Hanif Abdush/Shahid of Nassau. Shahid has a win over Salek at the National Duals and has had a great season. Joey Gorczynski of Labette will try to battle back from a 3rd place finish at the West Central region to claim his spot on the national awards stand. Gorczynski has split with Birhanzel and has won by fall over Salek, so watch out for this Cardinal.

Others at 174 that have made some late surges and could leave Rochester with the distinction of All-American could be Zach Luedke of Colby and Mike Casperson of Western Wyoming. Luedke pulled two upsets at the West Central region by defeating Gorczynski in the semi-finals and then finishing a last second takedown in the finals to defeat Casperson.

The obvious favorite at 184 will be the defending national champion, C.B. Dollaway of Colby. Dollaway is entering his second national junior college tournament with only one junior college loss in two years. That loss was to Willie Parks of Iowa Central last season. He is currently 20-2 overall. Dollaway has already signed to compete at the Division I level next season for Tom Ortiz at Arizona State University.

Grappling for Dollaway's top spot will be Bergen's Mike Massenzio. Massenzio lost to Dollaway in the NJCAA finals last year. Massenzio will be looking to pull the upset and take a national title with him to Rider University where he will attend in the fall of 2004. Other returning All-Americans at this weight are Pete Julander (Northwest Wyoming), Blair Alderman (North Idaho), and Ken Prophette (Ellsworth). All of these young men have proven their abilities at the national level and will look to repeat and improve.

Other contenders to watch at 184 will be Tucker Michels (Iowa Central), Jasper Lockett (Neosho County), Dustin Gordon (Lincoln), and Trey Lusk (Southwestern Oregon). All of these wrestlers have been ranked or are currently ranked in the NJCAA top six.

197 is anyone's to take, but will probably be lead by returning All-American Chris Weidman of Nassau. Weidman placed 3rd at last years championships and looks to wrestle for a title this year. Biting at his heels will be another returning All-American in Robert Roszkiewicz of Northwest Wyoming. Roszkiewicz placed 8th in the 2001 national tournament and has blazed back onto the scene this season.

A trio of other returning All-Americans will be staking their claims for the top spot at 197. Briger Sacher (Clackamas), James Williams (Labette), and Corey Feltman (Ridgewater) have made some noise this season at this weight. Williams is the returning national runner-up at this weight but has struggled a little this season. Williams is 1-1 with Feltman and placed second in the West Central Region to Roszkiewicz 11-2.Sacher placed 5th at this weight last year and should be in the mix again.

At heavyweight, two All-Americans stand-out in the crowd, Tyler Rhodes and Israel Silva. Rhodes, the defending national champion needs no introduction. Rhodes is 24-5 on the year and never lost to a junior college opponent in two years. Rhodes will be not only looking for his second national title, but his teams (Northwest Wyoming) first ever team title.

Silva (North Idaho) placed 3rd at the 2003 nationals and would like another shot at Rhodes. Two other stand-outs at this weight could be John Fager of Western Wyoming who has lost several very close bouts with Rhodes, including a close 4-3 decision in the finals of regions. Jon Andriac of Nassau was an eastern region champion and will attempt to bring his east coast style to Rochester.

Other contenders will be Ryan Menner (Meramec), Jorge Herrera (Neosho County), Joe Brewer (Ellsworth), Matt Burkholder (Stevens), Joe Attieh (Gloucester) and Pete Mueller (Lincoln).

Back to the little guys. 125 could be one of the toughest weights in the country next to 149. Regional champion and currently ranked No. 1 in the country, Earl Jones will look to claim top honors. Wrestling out of Labette, Earl Jones has accomplished many things in his wrestling career. At the age of 5, Jones lost his right leg at the knee in an accident. That has not stopped Jones from winning. Jones was a 4x Kansas state finalist, placing 2nd as a freshman and claiming three state titles and going undefeated those three years.

Jones stepped into the junior college scene and has made him well known with many quality wins. Jones is 24-5 overall and has only two losses to junior college opponents. Jones claimed the title at the West Central Region by defeating Seth Wright of Northwest Wyoming in overtime which was revenge of one of those losses. Jones other loss came to Ronnie Smith of Neosho County. Smith and Wright will be top contenders for the national crown.

Wrestlers to watch out for at 125 are Burke Barnes (North Idaho), Adam Buzek (Iowa Central), and Adam Vogt (Meramec). Barnes was a 4x state champion from Washington and has not had a lot of mat time this season due to injury but he won the Western Region. Buzek is extremely tough and also won his region. Rounding this trio is another region champion in Adam Vogts. Vogts is a returning qualifier as well.

Topping the rankings at 133 are Charles Lloyd (Lassen) and Mario Galanakis (Ellsworth). Both of these young men won their region in convincing style and will have to meet each other in the national semi-finals. Lloyd is very athletic and explosive. Galanakis has great technique and is a brawling type wrestler.

A duo of returning All-Americans will battle for honors again in 2004. Hector Mendez (Iowa Central) and Jose Martinez (Waubonsee) both placed in 2003. Mendez, a transfer from Neosho County, placed 4th at 125 in 2003. Martinez is a returnee to this weight by placing 7th in 2003.

Others to watch for at 133 are Brian Welch (Williamson Trade), Pat Sharp (Northwest Wyoming), Mark Frey (Neosho County), Emery McReynolds (Labette), and Andy Case (Morrisville).

Finally, at 141 is returning All-American Eric Sabot of Northwest Wyoming. Sabot has been ranked No. 1 all season and looks poised to claim a national title. Coming off a sound victory over Dustin May of Labette 13-4. Sabot is a brawling type wrestler and will battle for seven minutes. He is exciting to watch. Two other All-Americans will be present at this weight. Mike Welch (Williamson Trade) and Chris Ravenna (Lincoln). Both coming off regional titles, these two will battle on the opposite side of the bracket of Sabot, maybe to see who meets him in the finals.

Others to watch out for at 141 are Topher Ewing (Iowa Central), Tommie Harris (Neosho County), Bill Morello (Niagara), Joe Mavins (Lassen) and LaShaunne Lewis (Nassau). All of these young men have high hopes and chances to pull All-American honors.

So the "Road to Rochester" is almost at its end and all of the teams and individuals in the NJCAA are gearing up for their chances at being champions. The 2004 NJCAA national tournament should prove to be one of the best in years. For those junior college wrestling fans out there, you won't want to miss this one!