The bottom half of the 171 bracket is tough! Any one of Sponsel, Malloy or Steinmetz could come out of there, but as you say, they could be pretty spent. Nathan Payne is a very determined individual. He was disappointed at a 4th place finish at state as a freshman and never wants that to happen again. It is very hard to bet against him, especially at the state tournament. I know he was not happy about his two losses this year, especially losing to Baylor two years in a row. Not to take anything away from any of the other 171's, but Nathan Payne is the real deal. Should be fun to watch, though!