Title up for grabs in 165-pound class
Editor's note: This is the sixth in a 10-part series previewing the 10 weight classes for the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships beginning tomorrow in The Bryce Jordan Center. This story previews the 165-pound class.

By CHRIS ANTONACCI
Collegian Staff Writer

It could be anybody's bracket.

With no supreme force dominating the 165-pound weight class, almost any one of the 33 wrestlers who qualified for the NCAA Div. I Championships can win.

This weight class is perhaps the closest match of the 10, with only two All-Americans returning.

But there are favorites, nonetheless.

Leading the pack is Iowa State freshman Joe Heskett, who finished the season with a perfect 32-0 record. Heskett has held the No. 1 position since he defeated Boise State's Kirk White, then the No. 2 grappler in the nation at 165, in overtime during the NWCA All-Star Classic. Heskett placed first at the Big 12 Championships.

"I never put a lot of stock in freshmen, but I think he will do well -- he's legit," Iowa State coach Bobby Douglas said. "But to say Heskett will be national champ is going too far."

That is where White could come in. White qualified for NCAAs last year and ended the season with a 27-6 record for the year.

Also in the mix is Big Ten champion Don Pritzlaff, cousin of Penn State's 174 pounder Glenn Pritzlaff.

"Don is right there," Michigan coach Dale Bahr said. "He's awful solid, awful solid."

The 165-pound Pritzlaff notched an impressive 23-1 mark this season, with his lone loss coming as a pin against Heskett early in the season. Last year Pritzlaff finished sixth at 150 pounds in the NCAA Championships and was rewarded with All-American accolades for his efforts.

Also in the mix is Oklahoma's Rod Jones, who has posted a 35-4 mark thus far this season and finished third at the talent-stacked Big 12 Championships.

Penn State's representative, Alex Leykikh, could very well win the tournament, even though the transfer from Virginia is unranked. Last season, Leykikh won the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship at 158, and comes in with a 28-9 record.

Teammate Clint Musser said Leykikh is in contention for the national championship, ranked or not.

"Donnie's tough, he looked real good at Big Tens," Musser said. "Heskett has done a good job, but I think Alex can beat anyone.

"He has improved so much this year. He is going nose to nose, neck and neck with me now, and I used to handle him earlier in the year."

Still, only time will tell who will stand on top of the podium when all is said and done.

"165 is clearly a weight that is up for grabs," Pennsylvania coach Roger Reina said. "That is going to be a weight that will be very difficult to predict."