Staff Reporters Matthew Valinski and D.J. Palomares break down each weight class at the NCAA wrestling tournament and the chances of CMU wrestlers to obtain All-America status.

125: SENIOR NO. 8 MATT STEINTRAGER

In his final season at CMU, Steintrager is taking advantage of his first and final shot at national tournament glory.

He and Maryland senior James Knox, who he defeated in the second round of the Midlands tournament in December, will face each other in the first round. Streintrager’s win against Knox at the Midlands was a 2-0 sudden victory that propelled him to a fourth-place overall finish.

With a victory in the first round, Steintrager would likely compete against standout freshman Jarrod Patterson of Oklahoma. Patterson started the season third in the depth chart for Oklahoma. Since earning the starting spot, Patterson has posted a 28-9 record and earned a Big 12 tournament title. However, the true freshman has never earned a win greater than major decision.

As the eighth seed, Steintrager needs a victory against top-seeded senior Angel Escobedo of Indiana to guarantee an All-America finish, though there are other ways to earn it. Escobedo has earned All-America honors in each of his years at Indiana, including a national championship in the 2007-08 season.

Chances of All-American Honors: Probable

133: SOPHOMORE NO. 11 SCOTTI SENTES

A year after earning All-America honors at 125 pounds, Sentes started the season at 133 pounds with pins in five of his first six matches, including a pin against No. 9 Steve Bell of Maryland on Nov. 28.

However, Sentes slowed down at Midlands and National Duals, going 3-4 with losses to No. 1 Jayson Ness of Minnesota (26-0) and Wisconsin’s No. 8 Tyler Graff (26-7). On Feb. 5 in the match-up of Floridians, Sentes lost to No. 3 Franklin Gomez 5-3 to end Sentes’ four-match winning streak. Sentes then racked up another four consecutive wins to end the regular season, highlighted by a 3-2 win against Kent State’s No. 6 Dan Mitcheff on Feb. 21.

Sentes then took third at the MAC tournament, losing to Mitcheff in the MAC finals, 8-2. Sentes faces Lehigh’s Matt Fisk (21-6) in the pigtail matchup with the winner taking on Wyoming’s Cory Vombaur (18-8). Fisk took second at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association tournament, falling to No. 7 Mike Grey (Cornell) 8-2 in the finals.

Chances of All-American Honors: Possible

141: SENIOR CONOR BEEBE

Beebe looks to have a better result in the national tournament than last season, where he was eliminated after two consecutive losses.

Beebe enters the national tournament as a MAC tournament champion for the first time in his career. As an unseeded wrestler, Beebe takes on No. 11 Christopher Diaz of Virginia Tech. Diaz defeated Beebe in a 7-4 decision when the two teams met in a dual match on Jan. 29.

Beebe finished the season with a 7-1 record after losing to Diaz. Diaz finished his season with a second-place finish in the ACC tournament. If Beebe scores an upset in the first round, he would likely take on Iowa sophomore Montell Marion. Marion finished the season with a No. 6 overall ranking after finishing third in the Big Ten tournament.

Chances of All-American Honors: Doubtful

149: SENIOR TONY D’ALIE

After D’Alie began the season 1-1 with a loss to America’s Kyle Borshoff, D’Alie then rattled off eight consecutive wins and avenged the loss to Borshoff with a 5-3 win in sudden victory at Midlands.

However, D’Alie got injured at Midlands soon after the victory against Borshoff and was out of the lineup until Jan. 17. D’Alie then went 8-4 down the stretch and was given a wild-card bid after taking third at MACs. D’Alie takes on No. 10 Barrett Abel from UC Davis, who went 21-7 on the season. Abel took first at the PAC-10 went 11-3 down the stretch.

Chances of All-American Honors: Possible

157: SENIOR NO. 12 STEVE BROWN

Brown sat out for a month with a shoulder injury that kept him from competing. Since returning to the lineup, Brown has posted an undefeated record, including winning a MAC tournament title.

Brown opens the tournament against Citadel freshman Turtogtokh Luvsandori from Mongolia. As a true freshman, Luvandori posted a 26-10 overall recorded, six pins and a Southern Conference tournament title. However, Luvandori has never posted a win against a ranked opponent.

With a win, Brown would likely take on America’s No. 5 Steve Fittery in the second round. Fittery has lost just once this season in a 5-4 loss to then-No. 18 Thomas Scotton of North Carolina. Fittery has only two wins against a ranked opponent.

Brown would likely face Penn State senior Cyler Sanderson in the quarterfinal round.

Chances of All-American Honors: Probable

165: SENIOR TYLER GRAYSON

Grayson won his first eight matches but, like many of his teammates, hit a snag and went 5-5 with all five losses to wrestlers in the tournament. Two of the losses were to top seed Andrew Howe of Wisconsin.

Grayson then got back on track and won his last six matches of the year, with the closest match being by five points. Grayson took first at the MAC tournament, defeating Buffalo’s John Martin-Cannon 7-2 in the championship.

Grayson takes on No. 8 Shane Onufer (27-5) of Wyoming in the first round. Onufer has not lost since Jan. 29 against Oklahoma State’s Alex Meade.

Chances of All-American Honors: Doubtful

174: FRESHMAN NO. 7 BEN BENNETT

Bennett cruised through the MAC tournament by winning the title with a major decision in the semifinals and a 15-0 technical fall in the finals.

Bennett has not lost a match since Jan. 9 against No. 13 Scott Glasser from Minnesota. Bennett opens the tournament against unseeded opponent Lehigh freshman Robert Hamlin and would likely move on to face Illinois sophomore Jordan Blanton.

Blanton finished the season by losing three of his last four matches. Each loss was at the hands of a ranked opponent, which brought his season record against wrestlers in the top 20 to 1-6. Bennett did not face either his first round or second round opponent in the regular season.

In the quarterfinal round, Bennett would likely face Iowa junior Jay Borschel in a rematch of the Midlands finals match. Borschel won the match in an 8-1 decision and went on to dominate the Big Ten tournament.

Chances of All-American Honors: Probable

184: JUNIOR MIKE MILLER

After falling in the national championship last year against Michigan’s Steve Luke at 174 pounds, expectations were high for Miller as he returned this season.

The preseason No. 1 ranked wrestler at 174 pounds, Miller lost the spot to teammate Ben Bennett and moved up to 184 pounds. Miller started the season 10-2 before dislocating his shoulder at National Duals on Jan. 9.

Miller was not able to return until the MAC Championships, where he ended up taking third place after winning two matches in the consolation bracket to give him an automatic bid into the NCAAs.

Miller takes on another wrestler who has had a disappointing year. No. 10 Mike Pucillo of Ohio State came into the season coming off two consecutive visits to the national championship, winning it two seasons ago. Pucillo has seven losses on the season, but three were to No. 2 John Dergo of Illinois.

Chances of All-American Honors: Doubtful

197: JUNIOR ERIC SIMAZ

Simaz is the only unseeded wrestler for CMU to take on an unseeded wrestler in the first round.

Lehigh sophomore Joe Kennedy matches up against Simaz in the first round for the right to likely take on No. 3 Maryland senior Hudson Taylor.

Simaz and Kennedy met at the Midlands tournament earlier this season. Kennedy walked away with a 7-2 victory, which ended the tournament for Simaz. However, it was Simaz who came away with a 5-2 victory when the two faced each other in 2008-09 .

Taylor is on a 15-match win streak. In the stretch, Taylor has pinned nine opponents, including every opponent he faced in the ACC tournament, which brings his season total to 24 wins by pin.

Chances of All-American Honors: Doubtful

285: SOPHOMORE JAROD TRICE

After losing to Maryland’s Pat Gilmore in his fourth match of the year, Trice started showing others what he was capable of.

Trice won an individual championship at Midlands on Dec. 29 with a victory against now-No. 1 seed David Zabriskie of Iowa State. Trice won 20 consecutive matches from Nov. 28 till March 6 at the MAC Championships.

At the MAC Championships, Trice lost in a bout with Kent State’s Brendan Barlow that went into an extra set of overtime periods before Barlow won based on riding time. Trice then forfeited the third-place match to Eastern Michigan’s David Wade, but Trice still received a wild-card bid to Nationals.

Trice wrestles West Virginia’s Brandon Williamson (18-7) in his opening match. Williamson won his first nine matches to start his year, but then lost his next six. Then, he rebounded to win his next nine matches before falling to Pittsburgh’s Ryan Tomei to take second at the Eastern Wrestling League Championships.

Chances of All-American Honors: Likely