The Southern Scuffle has been one of the biggest tournaments in the country throughout the year. This year it may be a little watered down but there are still some awesome matches that you should look out for.
Matches to look out for (rankings based on pre-seeds):
#1 Keegan O’Toole vs #2 Shane Griffith
Keegan has been nothing short of phenomenal this season and has been pretty much untouched. The problem is he has not faced any top tier guys at this weight and he will get his chance to prove himself to be on the level many claim he is already at. By no means should anyone overlook the defending NCAA Champion Shane Griffith he has done many things against the odds in his career. He has a couple losses to Julian Ramirez and Evan Wick already this season but this match could very well go either way. If Keegan wins this match we believe he should be around #2 in the rankings behind Evan Wick since Shane is not the man to beat anymore.
Projected Champion: Keegan O’Toole
#1 Rocky Elam vs #2 Michael Beard
First thoughts you are probably having is why is this a match since Beard is a back up. Beard is behind none other than Max Dean who by some is considered to be a favorite over Ferrari this season so far. Rocky Elam won a world title a couple months ago while Beard has been somewhat off the grid so this match should be interesting. If you go back to 197 pounds last season the difference between first and 8th place was not that big. AJ Ferrari beat Jacob Warner and Myles Amine by a single point and only beat last years 8th place finisher Stephen Buchanan 4-2. This should be a very well contested bout with Elam as an ever so slight favorite.
Projected Champion: Rocky Elam
#1 Clay Carlson vs #2 Andrew Alirez or #3 Real Woods
Wow what a bracket. Carlson and Alirez met in the finals of the CKLV where Carlson broke open a close match with a late pin to take the title. We do have Real Woods taking out Andrew Alirez in a close semifinal bout which could very well go either way. For the finals this should be a very interesting match. The last time that Carlson and Alirez wrestled it was an 11-4 outcome in Carlson’s favorite. We do not think it will be that dominant this time around but with Carlson being on a 4 match pin streak who knows.
Projected Champion: Clay Carlson
Full Pre-Seeds
125-
- Killian Cardinale
- Patrick McKee
- Noah Surtin
- Fabian Gutierrez
- Caleb Smith
- Reece Witcraft
- Tristan Daugherty
- Eddie Ventresca
133-
- Rayvon Foley
- Chace Rich
- Codi Russell
- Jake Gilva
- Kellyn March
- Jackson Disario
- Richie Koehler
- Sean Carter
141-
- Clay Carlson
- Andrew Alirez
- Real Woods
- Allan Hart
- Dusty Hone
- Angelo Martinoni
- Dylan Droegemueller
- Cody Phippen
149-
- Jaden Abas
- Jonathan Millner
- Josh Finesilver
- Josh Edmond
- Alex Madrigal
- Zach Price
- Victor Voinovich
- Chris Sandoval
157-
- Brayton Lee
- Brock Mauller
- Jared Franek
- Jarrett Jacques
- Chase Saldate
- Joe Lee
- AJ Kovacs
- Dazjon Casto
165-
- Keegan O’Toole
- Shane Griffith
- Luke Weber
- Peyton Hall
- William Formato
- Thomas Bullard
- Andrew Sparks
- RJ Mosley
174-
- Matt Finesliver
- Cade DeVos
- Michael O’Malley
- Peyton Mocco
- Tyler Eischens
- Triston Wills
- Thomas Flitz
- Scott Joll
184-
- Jonathan Loew
- Hunter Bolen
- Jeremiah Kent
- Isaiah Salazar
- Layne Malczewski
- Kyle Cochran
- Cade King
- Matthew Waddell
197-
- Rocky Elam
- Michael Beard
- Owen Pentz
- Cameron Caffey
- Michael Foy
- Tanner Sloan
- Alan Clothier
- Jaron Smith
285-
- Wyatt Hendrickson
- Lewis Fernandes
- Michael Wolfgram
- Brandon Metz
- AJ Nevills
- Hunter Catka
- Owen Trephan
- Deonte Wilson
Southern Scuffle will be starting today at 10am EST and can be viewed on Flo wrestling.