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2006 National Champion: Ben Cherrington, Boise State
Printable Bracket | Interactive Bracket (Premium Service)

Where to begin? As many as five to six wrestlers had arguments for the top seed, but it ultimately went to Trent Paulson of Iowa State, while last year's runner-up Brian Stith of Arizona State draws the #2. Last year, C.P. Schlatter won the Big Ten and came in with the #2 seed, this year, he's got the #4. But before you can even look to the semifinals ANYWHERE, there's some balanced matches around the board.

Hofstra's James Strouse draws the #3, more or less because of his win over Schlatter in the early season. He's down low with Stith, along with Brandon Becker of Indiana (#6), Craig Henning of Wisconsin (#7), Moza Fay of Northern Iowa (#10) and #11 Matt Kocher of Pitt.

Up top with Paulson is Schlatter, Mike Poeta of Illinois at #5, #8 Seth Martin of Lock Haven, #9 Chris Oliver of Nebraska and #12 Matt Hill of Edinboro.

Just throw the dynamite into the bucket and see what is left, this will be one of the crazier weights come tournament time. The quarters are the make or break for many, but some pre-quarterfinal matches are likely to get nutty.

The Bad Draw ...

InterMat's breakdown of who the top guns don't want to see in the opening round.

Nathan Galloway, Rider -- The mid-season transfer from Penn State has something to prove, and it's mainly directed at the folks in State College. Galloway was rusty upon entering the New Jersey school, but wrestled a solid CAA tournament, taking true second. He knows how to keep a lead and scrambles very well. Hard guy to score on.

Ryan Hluschak, Drexel -- Went 30-8 this season and was ranked for the tail end of the year. Don't overlook this guy in the bracket because he's the #3 out of the CAA (made finals, but lost the true second match to Galloway). If you haven't wrestled him before, how do we say, yeah, Schak Attack?

Ryan Morningstar, Iowa -- A win over Paulson and an overtime loss to Stith this season showed fans that Morningstar is ready for the big time. Who's big time going to knock off in the first round?

Chase Pami, Cal Poly -- Just a very good wrestler in a lot of different ways. Hard to point out why we like this kid, but he was a winner in high school and has a few slips along the way this year, but he's got good stuff. Watch him in Auburn Hills.

Josh Zupancic, Stanford -- Gave Stith all he could handle in the Pac-10 finals. Strong rider with good stuff on his feet.

Seeds:
1. Paulson, Trent (Iowa State)
2. Stith, Brian (Arizona State)
3. Strouse, James (Hofstra)
4. Schlatter, C.P. (Minnesota)
5. Poeta, Mike (Illinois)
6. Becker, Brandon (Indiana)
7. Henning, Craig (Wisconsin)
8. Martin, Seth (Lock Haven)
9. Oliver, Chris (Nebraska)
10. Fay, Moza (Northern Iowa)
11. Kocher, Matt (Pittsburgh)
12. Hill, Matt (Edinboro)

2006 Medal Match Results
Finals: Ben Cherrington (Boise State) dec. Brian Stith (Arizona State) 7-3
3rd: Dustin Manotti (Cornell) dec. Trent Paulson (Iowa State) 8-2
5th: Derek Zinck (Lehigh) dec. Joe Johnston (Iowa) 9-8
7th: Brandon Becker (Indiana) dec. Craig Henning (Wisconsin) 9-4