InterMat: Inside info from the N.W.C.A

Quick hits

Returning National Champion: Cole Konrad, Minnesota
Printable Bracket | Interactive Bracket (Premium Service)

This is where the "any given day" chatter might cease. Minnesota's Cole Konrad has been untouchable this year. If there's any weight with a larger disconnect than 174 between #1 and #2, it might be heavyweight. Konrad, the top seed, has has two wins over Aaron Anspach of Penn State, one of which by fall

After Konrad, the field is wide open with Anspach, Bubba Gritter of Central Michigan (#3) Navy's Ed Prendergast (#6), Iowa's Matt Fields (#7), Cal Poly's Cody Parker (#10) and North Carolina's Spencer Nadolsky (#11) all have realistic chances of being in the finals opposite Konrad come Saturday night.

Those trying to play giant killer on the top side with Konrad are fourth-seeded Dustin Fox of Northwestern, Oregon State's Ty Watterson, N.C. State's Jainor Palma and Bloomsburg's Mike Spaid, seeded 4-5-8-9 respectively. Cal State Fullerton picks up a seed with Wade Sauer at #12.

The Bad Draw ...

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

Mark Ellis, Missouri -- A big, imposing redshirt freshman has seen modest success and should win a few in the tournament. His tough schedule makes the qualifiers from the smaller conferences good upset material for Ellis.

Reece Hopkin, Northern Colorado -- One of five Bears to qualify, he could have had a great run at 197 last year had UNC been eligible for D-1 post-season competition. A smaller heavy in terms of comparisons to Fox and Konrad, Hopkin's more mobile and has some great leg attacks. He'll be one to battle and one to make you check your program to go, "Hey, where's that singlet from?"

Jermail Porter, Kent State -- This guy is outright HUGE. Standing at approximately 6-8, Porter's physical stature alone might bring fans to go "Man, who's that monster out there." Well, that's Mr. Porter and he's pretty good. This might not be the year for him to really make a huge statement come nationals, but he'll have some unsuspecting heavyweight's eyes WIDE open when he takes to the mat. Great experience for Porter is this year's tournament and with the right draw, he could be making noise in the Round of 12 this year, but next year, this guy will be a contender.

Payam Zarrinpour, Sacred Heart -- The Iranian native was a match away two years ago, but has matchup problems here and there. He's another guy that makes your eyes get big when you see him standing across from you. Want to tie up with the guy? Good luck. His snaps will cause you to reach for Advil in the morning.

Seeds:
1. Konrad, Cole (Minnesota)
2. Anspach, Aaron (Penn State)
3. Gritter, Bubba (Central Michigan)
4. Fox, Dustin (Northwestern)
5. Watterson, Ty (Oregon State)
6. Prendergast, Ed (Navy)
7. Fields, Matt (Iowa)
8. Palma, Janior (N.C. State)
9. Spaid, Mike (Bloomsburg)
10. Parker, Cody (Cal Poly)
11. Nadolsky, Spencer (North Carolina)
12. Sauer, Wade (Cal State-Fullerton)

2006 Medal Match Results
Finals: Cole Konrad (Minnesota) dec. Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State) 5-2, TB2
3rd: Greg Wagner (Michigan) maj. dec. Cain Velasquez (Arizona State) 9-1
5th: Mike Faust (Virginia Tech) dec. Bode Ogunwole (Harvard) 3-2, TB2
7th: Jake Hager (Oklahoma) FALL Kirk Nail (Ohio State) 2:28.