The Builder Wrestling Squad is set to compete at the 2020 Mid-Atlantic Conference Championships on Saturday. The top-five place winners at each weight will earn an automatic bid to the NCWA National Championships in March.
After winning eight straight MAC titles from 2003-2011, Apprentice has yet to knock off Liberty University since joining the division in 2012. Liberty and Apprentice lead the division 1 post-season rankings by a wide margin at #1 and #2. Fellow conference foe East Carolina leads the division 2 rankings by an even wider margin, followed by James Madison in 3rd . In fact, five MAC teams occupy the top-five rankings in either division 1 or 2. The region will be well-represented in Texas come March.
Weight by weight preview;
At 125 lbs, three builders are ranked in the top eight. Junior Kris Smith shot up the rankings from 21st to 7th after a runner-up finish at the USCAA Invitational. Freshman Dillon Messick also shot up the rankings from 13th to 5th and sports a 11-1 NCWA record, his only loss to his brother Colton. 2X National Finalist and 2018 champ Colton Messick remains the man to beat at 125 and is still ranked #1 in the country. The only viable contender to challenge at this weight is 8th ranked Guillermo Torres of James Madison, who lost a back-and-forth bout with the younger Messick at USCAA's.
Another pair of Builders occupy the top-eight at 133 lbs. Like Messick, #1 Kolin Johnson leads the pack by a wide margin holding a 8-0 NCWA record. "Special K" is the defending National Champion at this weight, with 20 pins on the season. Waiting in the wings is 6th ranked Raekwon Jackson. Rae-Rae is currently 1-0 against NCWA opposition with a win over #7 Manuel Canfijn. He will likely have to go through 5th ranked Rashun Lawrence of ECU. #13 Chip Brothers of Tennessee is the only other top-20 opponent at this weight.
141 lbs is likely the most exciting bracket of the tournament, featuring three returning All-Americans. Jumping from 6th to #4, Shalek Colon of Apprentice has continuously improved this season closing the gap on #2 Wesley Hollingsworth. His only NCWA losses on the season are to #1 Marcos Mercado of STCC and Hollingsworth, both close decisions. At USCAA's Shalek knocked off previous #4 Jack Coulston of Mont Alto. He will look to stop #8 Charlie Hudson of Liberty for the second time this season, previously defeating Hudson 8-6 at the National Duals.
Thomas Allison, coming off an impressive runner-up finish at USCAA's, will look to qualify for his first National tournament at 149 lbs. TA will need to redeem two previous losses to #13 Christian Govan of ECU to hopefully square off with #6 Michael Gowan of Liberty to challenge for a MAC title.
Two more top-20 Builders enter the MAC at 157 lbs. 2017 All-American Bryson Woody entered the rankings at #7 after pinning previous #12 at USCAA's. William Heath entered the rankings for the first time this season at #18 after unseating previous #4 Collin Mancuso of Tuscarawas. #1 and defending National Champ Andrew Burgette of Liberty has been absent as of late, but #4 Chad Cantrell is also in the ranks for Liberty. The last time Woody and Burgette met, Woody stopped Burgette from All-American honors in the blood round at Nationals. Another contender in the mix is Calvin Kopstein of James Madison. Kopstein is currently #3 at 165 but has been competing at 157 the majority of the season.
Freshman AJ Deutel holds the #8 spot at 165 lbs. Doodle currently holds a 2-1 NCWA record, his only defeat a late come-from-behind loss to #7 Mackay Revis of UConn. In-conference competition is tight, with #1 Joe Scott of Liberty, and previously mentioned Kopstein.
174 lbs could be up for grabs, as #9 David McElravy looks for his first tournament title as a Builder. Holding the top spot is #2 Cody Richmond of Liberty. The two have not met in competition, but have nearly identical records against head-to-head opponents. Liberty junior David Cox is currently ranked 10th at 165 lbs, but has only competed at 174 this season. Cox has been absent but could be a possible contender to watch out for.
#1 Liberty senior Sam Karel is the favorite at 184 lbs, followed by #4 Builder Wes Sorey. Wes will look to redeem his National Duals loss to Karel for the MAC title. The only other ranked wrestler is #8 Ethan Martin of Liberty. Sorey and Martin have not met in collegiate competition.
The Liberty stranglehold of the upper-weights continues at 197 lbs, with #1 Austin Amos and #2 Blake Barrick in the top spots. #7 Ryan Thomas of James Madison is the only other ranked wrestler in the bracket. Resurgent senior Jeremy Mosley will look to qualify for his 4th consecutive National Championship at his 4th different weight. Mosely is coming off an impressive 3rd place finish at USCAA's and is currently 5-3 since re-entering the lineup in late January.
Sophomore Russ Pierce is likely the only candidate with a chance stop Liberty at 235 lbs. The 4th ranked Builder is 11-2 in the NCWA, his only losses to #1 Jeffrey Allen and #3 David Smith both from Liberty. Russ defeated Smith in the consolation quarter-finals at Nationals last season, but Smith most recently defeated Russ at the Builder Invitational. Senior Vandan Schmidt has returned to the line-up at 235 and will be looking to close out his Apprentice career as a two-time National Qualifier.
#7 Builder Heavyweight Peter Cortapasso is looking to bounce back from a lackluster season after his second consecutive USCAA title. Passo has a pair of losses to both #2 Rick Weaver of Liberty and #6 Thomas Hudson of ECU. Since the loss to Weaver at the National Duals, Passo has been perfect ever since including three falls.
Action starts at 10 am Saturday, Feb 29. Apprentice will have the chance to qualify 15 wrestlers in 11 weight classes for the National Championships in Allen, TX.