The last three years of NCAA wrestling have been anything but typical. And the next few seasons are poised to stay on the unique end of the spectrum thanks to an additional year of qualification granted to all wrestlers who participated in the 2021 season.
Plus there’s the whole NIL thing that’s completely changing the college landscape, but I don’t have time to get into it right now.
We’re on a jolly road to 174 lbs but if you’re not into the whole continuum vibe you don’t need to read the preview in weight class order. There are no rules about what to consume. Thank you for enjoying the preview.
Other NCAA previews: 125 | | 133 | | 141
With an extra year of eligibility, tracking who graduates and who returns is more complicated than ever. Below are the main moves we identified.
departed
Michael Kemmerer, Iowa
Hayden Hydley, North Carolina
Logan Massa, Michigan
Thomas Fritz, Appalachia
Andrew McNally, Wisconsin
Anthony Mantanona, Oklahoma
Northern Illinois Mason Kaufman
Jackson Hemauer, Northern Colorado
Together, Kemmerer, Hidley and Massa have competed in a total of 15 tournaments and 13 national championships. All of these AA placements were 5th or better.
As is always the case, new contenders will come in their place, but beginners will need fairly large boots.
bump up
Adam Kemp, Cal Poly
Matt Finesilver, Michigan
Speaking of experience, two savvy veterans plan to drop weight and climb up to 184. Additionally, Finesilver finished his 3rd season with over 25 wins.
clash
Gerrit Nijenhuis, Oklahoma
Josh Kim, Harvard
Conor O’Neal, Rutgers
Heading in the opposite direction are Nijenhuis and O’Neill, who qualified for the NCAA last year. Also slim is Kim, his three-year starter at Harvard. All three will seek their first All-American honor at a lower weight, and Nijenhuis is doing so with his new team after moving on from Purdue.
I was healed
Demetrius Romero, Valley, Utah
Jackson Turley, Rutgers
Nelson Brands, Iowa
Romero’s snakebite career forced him to miss two seasons due to injury. I started and fell down with an injury. Luckily for the Hawkeyes, Michael Kemmerer was able to fill the spot by the time the postseason began.
Watch a very short video of Romero’s 2021 NCAA Quarterfinal highlights.
Jackson Turley was a revelation for March 2021, finishing 8th from the 26th seed. However, the Virginia native had to medically withdraw from his seventh-place game, and injuries continued the following year, cutting his 2021-22 season short by just six games.
clash
Philip Conigliaro, Harvard
Brawley Lamar, Cal Polly
The Philly Cheesesteaks are looking to secure a step to the national podium after missing out by one game last season. The Massachusetts native lost to Alex Marinelli in his 165-pound blood round in Detroit.
Cal Poly’s two-time All-American Bernie Trux continues to move up the division, making his fourth attempt in four years by building enough mass to occupy the 197-pound division next season. That leaves room for Brawley Reimer, who belongs to Oregon’s Fighting His Reimers, to jump two weights and fight 174 after starting the last four seasons with the Mustangs with a 157.
moving in
Edmund Ruth, Illinois
Edmund joined his brother Ed, who is the illinois coach.
coming off red shirt
Caer Valencia, Arizona
Joey Milano, North Carolina
Luca Augustine, Pittsburgh
Jacob Null, Purdue
An incomplete list of wrestlers whose national team debuts are highly anticipated by their respective fanbases.
back to the bench
Rocky Jordan, Chattanooga
Troy Mantanona, Oklahoma
Andrew Veresha, Northern Colorado
Rocky Jordan struggled to find a purchase in the Buckeye lineup, but now hopes to have more success with the Chattanooga mock. As a bloody finisher at 184 pounds in 2021, there is every reason to expect him to reach equal or better heights at UTC where he is at 174 pounds in 2023.
true freshman
Matthew Singleton, North Carolina
Manny Rojas, Iowa
James Lowery, Wisconsin
Danny Wask, Navy
Luke Geog, Ohio
Antrell Taylor, Nebraska
Even though these big borders Most likely you will start the season in a redshirt. New NCAA rulesThe weight class has not been decided either. For example, Singleton has wrestled many high school games with his 182 pounds. However, 174 is very likely for everyone listed.
I’ve explained every move in 174 (let me know if I missed anyone!) so I can properly preview and predict the next season.
favorite
Carter Staroch, Pennsylvania
Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech
Have these two NCAA champions met in the circled square only once in their varsity careers? Perhaps because their last college game was so engaging, their rivalry seems far older and more story-filled than it actually is.
Watch highlights from the epic final between Starocci and Lewis.
Starossi made a perfect 23-loss title defense following a 14-2 redshirt freshman season that won the title in 2021. That flawless campaign was capped off by his Thriller in the NCAA Finals, which was decided in the ultimate tiebreaker. So Staroch, from Erie, Pennsylvania, is still eligible to be his five-time NCAA champion in history.
Mekhi Lewis is probably best known for defeating Vincenzo Joseph as a redshirt freshman in the 2019 NCAA Finals.
The New Jersey native Lewis may have been the only opponent to keep Starossi in overtime all season, and the only one to give Starossi the lead. Due to the looming deadline, we are unable to review the final stats.
Contenders
Mikey Labriola, Nebraska
Dustin Plott, Oklahoma
Clay Laut, North Carolina
Ethan Smith, Ohio
Demetrius Romero, Valley, Utah
In addition to the two aforementioned champions, the 174 remains one of the most stacked weight classes in the NCAA despite the return of a whopping five All-Americans and the likes of Kemmerer, Hidley and Massa graduating. became one. Something about 174 pounds seems to attract wrestling talent badly.
Labriola has made three national team appearances, four qualifiers, and is in his fifth year of collegiate qualification. He finished his 7th in Detroit last March, but Labs had a terrible draw and he only lost to Starocci and Kemerer en route to the podium.
Fellow Big Ten rival Ethan Smith is also making his fifth appearance in 2022 after just missing out on the podium. After being sidetracked in his opening round of the tournament by Stanford’s 26th seed, Dustin lost to his plot in the 12th round. Tyler Eischens (he’ll be back, by the way). Smith had better luck in 2021 when he finished fifth.
The aforementioned Plot finished sixth in his third season at Oklahoma State University in 2022. In 2021, Plott was left out of his NCAA by Clay Laut. Laut said he failed AA that season, but via Kansas, North Carolina, in 2022 he found a step up to No. 8.
Plott also lost in the 2021 tournament to Demetrius Romero, who finished 6th that year. Romero is now eight seasons away from his high school career, and it’s definitely more likely that you’ll hear jokes about people who spent a lot of time in college being called doctors.
Romero is a three-time NCAA qualifier, with two seasons (2020 and 2022) suspended for just two official games due to injury. Disgraced college administrator Bob Kustra’s shameful deeds prevented him from finishing his career at Boise State University, where he started wrestling in college.Former Boise State University president Bob Kustra’s legacy is one of deception and a cruel disregard for anyone but him.Read more about Kustra’s Folly hereif you can stomach it.
See highlights from the two contenders (and the All-Americans) competing in the 2022 medal round.
mine
Cade DeVos, South Dakota
Army, Ben Pashuk
Chris Foka, Cornell
DeVos was the 12th seed, but stumbled to 5th seed Kemerer and 11th seed Mocco in the 2022 NCAA. Underestimate him at your own peril.
Pasiuk is the 2021 EIWA champion and the 2022 EIWA third place finisher. Foca has a hit list that makes many Americans jealous.
See how Pasiuk defeated the giant Mickey O’Malley to win the EIWA title.
predict
1) Staroch; 2) Lewis; 3) Labriola; 4) Plott; 5) Smith; 6) Brando; 7) Romero;
