Mat Bracketology: Defending 133 lb. champ Logan Stieber top seed for 2013 NCAAs

Ohio State’s Logan Stieber, 2012 NCAA 133-pound champ, finds himself as the No. 1 seed in his weight class at the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, according to brackets released by the NCAA Wednesday night.

The Buckeyes’ redshirt sophomore will have 32 other wrestlers gunning for his title at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines March 21-23. Four are from Steiber’s conference, the Big Ten: second-seeded Tony Ramos of the University of Iowa, No. 3 seed Tyler Graff of Wisconsin, fifth-seed Chris Dardanes of Minnesota, and Penn State’s Jordan Conaway, the No. 12 seed.

Among the top four seeds who is not in the Big Ten is A.J. Schopp of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, 2013 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) champ, who is the fourth seed.

Looking back at the 2012 NCAAs: Stieber won the 133-pound national title as a second seed by unseating the top-seeded, defending champ Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State, 4-3, in the finals. Ramos and Dardanes ended up placing third and fourth, respectively, at the 2012 NCAAs, earning All-American honors.

Wondering what happened to Oliver? The Cowboy has moved up two weight classes, and will be wrestling at 149 at the 2013 NCAAs.

Meet the seeds: Of the 33 wrestlers in the 133-pound bracket at the 2013 NCAAs, three are originally from the Chicago area… two are from Ohio… and two from Pennsylvania.

1. Logan Stieber, Ohio State: This redshirt sophomore who hails from Monroeville, Ohio, brings a perfect 21-0 season record, the 2013 Big Ten title, and the 2012 NCAA crown to Des Moines.
2. Tony Ramos, Iowa: A native of Carol Stream, Ill. in suburban Chicago, this redshirt junior was 27-1 this season, and runner-up to Steiber at the 2013 Big Tens.
3. Tyler Graff, Wisconsin: A redshirt junior who has 28 wins and 4 losses this year, is originally from Loveland, Colo.
4. A.J. Schopp, Edinboro: The 2013 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) champ from Tyrone, Pa. is a redshirt sophomore with a 29-3 record.
5. Chris Dardanes, Minnesota: A product of Oak Park-River Forest High School just outside Chicago, Dardanes is a redshirt sophomore with a 17-6 mark this season.
6. Nathan McCormick, Missouri: Originally from Leawood, Kan., this 2013 Mid-American Conference (MAC) titlewinner is 30-4 as a senior.
7. Jon Morrison, Oklahoma State: Yet another native Chicagoan (from Orland Park’s Carl Sandburg High), this junior brings the 2013 Big 12 title and a 23-6 record to the NCAAs.
8. Cody Brown, Oklahoma: The 2013 Big 12 runner-up is a redshirt freshman from Oak Park, Mo. with a 21-5 season record.
9. Levi Wolfensperser, Northern Iowa: This runner-up from the 2013 MAC championships is a redshirt sophomore originally from Denver, Iowa, with 23 wins and 8 losses this year.
10. Scotti Sentes, Central Michigan: A third qualifier from the MAC, this native of Fort Myers, Fla. is 19-6 in his senior year.
11. George DiCarmillo, Virginia: The 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference champ is a freshman from Highland Heights, Ohio, with a 30-8 record.
12. Jordan Conaway, Penn State: This redshirt freshman from Abbottstown, Pa., is 16-8 for the year.

First matches for the top four seeds: Here are the first-round match-ups for the top four seeds in the 133-pound bracket at the 2013 NCAAs:

• No. 1 seed Stieber vs. unseeded Brandon Gambucci of Duke, 19-6
• No. 2 seed Ramos vs. unseeded Nick Wilcox of Bloomsburg University, 25-7
• No. 3 Graff vs. unseeded Randy Cruz of Lehigh, 31-10
• No. 4 Schopp vs. unseeded Rossi Bruno of Michigan, 14-16

Want to know more? For complete brackets for the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, click here. And check out all College Wrestling Examiner articles on the 2013 NCAAs.

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