FULL SERIES: Panther Lineup

184: 

Depth Chart

197 is pretty simple. There’s only one guy listed at the weight on the roster – Izaak Shedenhelm. Shedenhelm went 8-3 last season, taking third at the Pat Flanagan Open and fourth at the Duhawk open.

So that was easy, on to heavyweight!

Wait…something doesn’t seem right. Weren’t there a couple of other guys that were supposed to be around at 197?

In fact there is a returning NCAA qualifier at the weight, but he’s not listed at 197 pounds on UNI’s roster. Jacob Holschlag qualified a weight above where he is listed knocking off more than a couple ranked wrestlers in the process. He defeated number 11 Shawn Scott at the MAC Championships to bring home third place there and knocked off a pair of number 18 ranked wrestlers in Oklahoma’s Brad Johnson and Buffalo’s James Benjamin.

But Foster never really looked comfortable at the weight. He was giving up hight and bulk to many of his opponents. He only took over at 197 halfway through the season last year going just 10-8 bumping up. Based solely on his roster weight it does not appear as though much has changed since last season.

UNI fans were expecting to see Tyler Hoffman in this slot, however the two-time Junior College National Champion is no longer on the UNI wrestling squad.

So it seems as if UNI will have a toss-up between the freshman Shedenhelm and Holschlag. If Shedenhelm were a year or two older, I would give the nod to him. UNI’s coaching staff has shown in the past that they aren’t afraid to put young guys in the lineup but I think Holschlag’s experience wins out. The not-197-but-is-now-a-197-pounder will have to find offense from his feet, as most of his wins last season came from turning his opponent when he was on top and not from takedowns.

I would think that wouldn’t come as a surprise to opponents this year, who might try to push the action more against Holschlag. But until Shedenhelm, or another, unknown, 197 pounder comes along, the weight should be the Hog’s.

285:

Depth Chart

At 285 pounds Panther fans will get something they haven’t seen in a long time – youth. Both heavyweights on the roster are redshirt freshmen and both are above average guys for the starting spot.

But one was a top four recruit coming out of high school, was a two-time Iowa high school state champion and has really high expectations going forward.

Carter Isley is that heavyweight. The redshirt freshmen went 23-7 overall last season wrestling in open tournaments. Competition will ramp up this season but Isley will have his chance to make his mark right away, as the Big 12 Conference does not return any All-Americans at the weight.

In fact Isley is the highest ranked B12 wrestler by wrestlestat.com. The Panther comes in at number 11, and the next highest Big 12 wrestler is Frank Walsh, UNI’s other heavyweight. The highest non-Panther is Iowa State’s Marcus Harrington at number 20. Wrestlestat’s rankings always get a little more “accurate” throughout the year, so take these early rankings with some salt.

Walsh went 13-10 last season competing as a redshirt freshman. He placed fourth at the Grand View Open and fifth at the Duhawk Open.

Even still it bodes well for the Panthers to have two guys ranked so high. For the last two years they have only had one man at heavyweight (aside from the Missouri dual last season where an injured Jared Bartel took over for JJ Everard). Depth, competition in the room, and just the knowledge that there is a capable backup ready to go are all great signs for a weight that hasn’t been as deep for UNI in the past.