NDSU has three automatic qualifiers in Franek, Weber, and Metz.

New rankings are out today and in the Trackwrestling rankings, Franek is up to #8 in the country. I think that will wind up being slightly higher than he actually gets seeded. I could see him seeded anywhere from 8-12, putting him with a very winnable first match and then squaring off with a Jacori Teemer, Kendall Coleman, Jarret Jacques, Brady Berge, or Justin Thomas type to get to the quarterfinals. He has lost very close matches to Teemer and Coleman last year, lost to Jacques in an early match this year, and has beaten Thomas 3 times. I'm hoping he has Thomas or Teemer to get to the quarterfinals.

Weber is all the way up to 15th in the country. He has a great record, has a great top win, and has a really long winning streak. If they take only this year into consideration, Weber could be seeded as high as ~10. There are only 2 guys I'm hoping he avoids, and they are #1 Marinelli and #4 Griffith. Early on, I would prefer he doesn't get matched up with Purdue's Nijenhuis and Missouri's O'Toole.

Metz is up to #22, which seems about right. Christian Lance, Tate Orndorff, Luke Luffman, and Deonte Wilson are matchups I'd love for him to get in round 1.

As far as NDSU's possible at large selections, most wrestling media outlets aren't predicting NDSU to get any at large selections, but Kellyn March and Owen Pentz deserve to get in.

March is up to #22 in the rankings and that also seems fair (although Rich being ahead of him doesn't make sense with Turner beating Rich at P12s and March beating Turner). Michael McGee is a lock to get a WC, which leaves 5 spots available. Drury will get one over March by beating him and placing higher at B12s. That leaves 4 spots for March, Heilman (NC), Medley (Mich), Sullivan (WV), Smith (UVU), Van Vleet (AFA), Greenwood (Wyo), Marten (CMU), Bianchi (formerly NDSU, now ARLR), Miranda (Stan), and Rich (CSUB). Rich beat McGee and has a good record, so he will likely get in. For the final three, March placed higher than Smith, Van Vleet, Sullivan, and Greenwood (although Sullivan injury defaulted out). My at large choices would go to: McGee, Rich, Drury, Sullivan, March, and Van Vleet. March's winning percentage hurts him, but his 7th place finish, and wins over Turner, Van Vleet, Skudlarczyk, and Smith are more impressive than most.

Pentz is up to #28 and I'd argue he should be a couple spots higher. He's behind some pretty decently large B1G and ACC names, who haven't had great results this year. They're higher than Pentz based on name and school alone. Pentz is helped by the weight having 7 wildcards. Tommy Penola and Tanner Sloan are locks, which leaves 5 spots available. Reenan, Pellham, Pentz, Hoffman, and Janzer make the most sense to me for the final 5. Wroblewski could get in, but the B1G doesn't deserve 3. Pentz' win percentage, 7th place finish, and wins over Hutchinson and Seely help a lot.

The only two other possible considerations are Dylan Droegemueller and Austin Brenner, who are both long shots.

Dylan is up to #30 in the rankings. Had Dylan gotten 5th, he'd have a pretty strong case, but he didn't. He's only lost to NCAA qualifiers, and Zollman from Wyo, who may wind up a qualifier as a WC. Dylan's winning percentage is below .500, but that's because he's had a tough schedule.

Brenner joins the rankings at #32. His only significant win is over Cade King, which I don't think will be enough to get in. Brenner is aided by his winning percentage (against largely backups) and by his 7th place B12 tournament.