Across the country everyone is getting excited because it is one of the best times of the year. Yes, for many it is March Madness, but for another group of people it is March Matness! We’ve had the individual state tournament, we’ve had the Team State, we’ve had the collegiate Division 2 and 3 national championships, but now it’s time for the biggest one of them all, the division 1 national tournament.
As Wisconsin fans there are a lot of stories for us to keep an eye on so I’ve done my best to round them all up! I just want you all to sit back, relax and consume as much wrestling as you can this weekend!
Hodge Trophy Race
There is not 1, not 2, but 3 Wisconsin natives who are all in the final group of the Hodge Trophy rankings coming into the national tournament. For reference, the Hodge is equivalent to the Heismen in football. Leading our group is sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State). He has a 22-0 record, 94% bonus rate and a dominance score of 4.78. To climb higher he may need some help from another Wisconsin native we will talk about in a moment. Mesinbrink’s only decision victory came the other weekend in the finals of the Big Ten tournament against Caliendo of Iowa 4-1.
Next would be senior Keegan O’Toole (Missouri). O’Toole is 16-0 with 2 pins, 87% bonus rate and a dominance score of 4.5. O’Toole is a 2x national champ and for him to win his 3rd title he will have to win one of the toughest brackets this weekend at 174 pounds. In his way will be returning national champ at 157 pounds Levi Hanes from Penn State. O’Toole defeated him in a very close match earlier this season and may have to do it one more time in the national finals. Both O’Tootle and Mesenbrink went to Arrowhead high school.
The final name is Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) at 184 pounds. He has a 23-0 record, 2 pins, 87% bonus rate and 4.47 dominance score. Keckeisen won the 184 pound title last season and to do so again this year, he would have to take out another Hodge finalist and one of the all time college wrestling greats 4x National Champ Carter Starocci from Penn State. Starocci will go down in history as the first and only 5x national champion as a result of the Covid year. Some may recall that Keckeisen and Starocci wrestled to an overtime match at the beginning of this year, but because it was in the All Star Classic it does not count “officially” on the record, but for many Hodge voters it will.
All three of these guys are finalists for the Hodge which is history already for Wisconsin, but one of them winning over Gable is still possible. The last Wisconsin native to win the Hodge was Ben Askren in 2007.
Bianchi Brothers
When you hear the name Bianchi in Wisconsin you probably affiliate it immediately with Two Rivers and really good wrestlers. The family has a growing total of 10 state titles with a chance at 1 more by the youngest Angie next year. The first family of Two Rivers wrestling. However, if you look at college and hear their name you would possibly think of them as the first family at Little Rock. Both Matty and Joey Bianchi have now qualified for their 2nd national tournament for Little Rock. They both won Pac 12 titles as well a couple weekends ago to secure the bid for nationals. However, if you go a little deeper into a very new college program you would find that just a few years ago their older brother Paul Biachi was the very first national qualifier in school history for Little Rock.
This weekend Matty Bianchi will be wrestling at 157 pounds for the Little Rock Trojans. He is the 11 seed and is matched up in the first round against 22 seed Ed Scott. A tough draw tho for Bianchi as Scott finished in the blood round last year and was an All American placing 5th two years ago. Matty Bianchi has a 23-4 record this year.
Joey Bianchi will wrestle at 165 pounds this weekend. He is the 21 seed with a 13-5 record. First round he has 12 seed Minto from Nebraska. Joey is a graduate student currently, but I believe has 1 more year of eligibility if he chooses to take it.
165 Pounds
It’s a Wisconsin takeover at 165 pounds as there are 5 Wisconsin natives wrestling in this bracket. Top seed Mesenbrink (Penn State) is a large favorite to win it all with a 22-0 record. Braeden Scoles (Illinois) has a 16-5 record. He is a Kewaskum high school native and is the 11 seed this weekend. Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell) is the 17 seed with a 13-6 record. He was teammates with both Mesenbrink and O’Toole at Arrowhead high school. Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) is the 21 seed with a 13-5 record. He wrestled for Two Rivers in high school. The final individual is Cody Goebel (Wisconsin) the 31st seed with a 13-9 record. He is a native from Mukwonago high School.
With so many guys in the bracket it is very possible we see several of these guys matchup. The easiest one to point to would be if both Mesenbrink and Mulvaney win the first round match they will then be each other’s opponents in the second round. An all Warhawk matchup for a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. The other 3 are all in different quads of the bracket meaning they wouldn’t see each other until semifinals or somewhere on the backside.
When the 165 pound bracket comes up make sure you are not only in your seat but you have several screens up because it is almost certain that several of these guys will be wrestling at the same time.
4 National Champs??
The title of this section sounds ludicrous but it is actually very realistic. The odds of all this happening are incredibly high, but putting this into a 4 leg parlay feels right. Wisconsin could go back to back to back to back. Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Keegan O’Tootle (174), Parker Keckeisen (184), Stephan Buchanan (197) are all top 2 seeds this weekend. Meaning by seed, they would be the favorite to make the national finals. Mesenbrink and O’Toole are both 1 seeds while Keckeisen and Buchanan are both 2 seeds.
Buchanan of Iowa was undefeated and #1 until his most recent match. He lost 4-2 to Cardenas in the Big Ten finals. He could turn that result around in the national finals if they both make it. Carenas did lose to Josh Barr earlier this year and Barr is the 4 seed so those two could match up in the semis. Buchanan has a nice draw as the 2 seed in his senior season. He is the only one in this group of Wisconsin natives to not yet make the national finals.
Keckeisin has already won a national title as he is the returning 184 pound champ. He will have two big obstacles. His semifinal will likely be the freshman from Minnesota McEnelly who was undefeated this year until his overtime loss in the Big Ten finals to Starocci. McEnelly as a freshman has a 81% bonus rate and only one loss. Then in the finals Keckeisen will likely have Starocci the 4x national champ. Parker lost 4-1 in overtime at the All Star Classic earlier this year.
Mesenbrink lost last year in the national finals to David Carr in a tense matchup. Carr defeated both O’Toole and Mesenbrink in back to back matches. This time Mesenbrink is the favorite to win it all as the 1 seed. His potential toughest opponent is 3 seed Caliendo from Iowa. These two have a long history dominated by Mesenbrink. This year they have wrestled twice. Once in the dual where Mitchell won by TF and then again 4-1 in the Big Ten finals. Caliendo has found a way to close the gap in their most recent match, but Mitchell still has gotten the job done each time.
O’Toole is the last of the 4 and is already a 2x National Champ. The 1 seed really paid off as Hamiti and Haines are both in the bottom half. Both individuals who O’Tooole beat this year, but both in overtime matches. This weekend he will only have to defeat 1 of them to win the national title. Assuming one of them makes the finals as they are the 2 and 3 seeds.
To win 4 weights would be historic and almost certainly never happen again for us Wisconsin folk. To even have 4 finalists would also be historic. Just because they compete for other teams do not let this go unnoticed or the magnitude of this pass you by. This is monumental for our state.
No matter how you slice it, this weekend will be awesome! I will be glued to my TV for the next 3 days and I imagine you all will be too. Relax, enjoy and head to social media to cheer or an advocate for your guys!
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