2024 NCAA DI National Championships Preview (149 lbs)

The 2024 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Kansas City, with hopes of a national title on their minds. Now it's in a city that hasn't hosted nationals since 2003 , but by all accounts, should be a great host. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. The Top Seed: Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) Two years ago, Ridge Lovett emerged as the tenth seed from a wild bottom half of a 149 lb bracket to make the national finals and All-American for the first time. That time he fought hard but ended up losing as Yianni Diakomihalis captured the third of his four NCAA titles. After a redshirt season, Lovett returned and has been better than ever. That 2022 finals run came as the tenth seed - now he starts atop the bracket. Lovett started the year ranked number one at the weight class, but really proved his mettle at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. In a weight class that featured almost the entire top-ten, at the time, Lovett captured the title with wins over a pair of past All-Americans. Not only has Lovett picked up wins this year, he’s doubled his bonus point percentage compared to his best total from a previous season (56% from 25.9%). Ultimately, Lovett would win his first 21 matches of the year before suffering a slight upset to Kyle Parco on the final weekend of the regular season. Lovett showed he was able to learn from the loss and bounced back in style with his first Big Ten championship. In the semis, Lovett pitched a shutout over Penn State freshman Tyler Kasak in the semifinals before downing Michigan’s Austin Gomez in the finals. It was the second win of the year for Lovett over the dangerous Gomez. While most do not want to engage in upperbody battles with Gomez, Lovett did not shy away from the possibility in this meeting. Lovett is looking to become the first Cornhusker to bring a national title back to Lincoln since the legendary Jordan Burroughs in 2011. However it works out, 149 lbs will produce a first-time champion, Lovett or otherwise. The Contenders: #2 Kyle Parco (Arizona State), #3 Jackson Arrington (NC State), #4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech), #5 Ty Watters (West Virginia), #6 Austin Gomez (Michigan) The Conference Champs: ACC: #3 Jackson Arrington (NC State) Big 12: #5 Ty Watters (West Virginia) Big Ten: #1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) EIWA: #9 Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) MAC: #11 Quinn Kinner (Rider) Pac-12: #2 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) SoCon: #18 Cody Bond (Appalachian State) Top First-Round Matches: #16 Kelvin Griffin (Lehigh) vs. #17 Graham Rooks (Indiana) #12 Ethen Miller (Maryland) vs. #21 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma) #14 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State) vs. #19 Joe Zargo (Wisconsin) #10 Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) vs. #23 Drew Roberts (Minnesota) #15 Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan) vs. #18 Cody Bond (Appalachian State) Even though he had a head-to-head win over Lovett, Kyle Parco had to settle for the second seed since he had a 21-3 (21-2 officially) record on the year. Parco has already placed at the NCAA Tournament during each of his previous three appearances. The 2023 tournament marked his best showing as Parco made the NCAA semifinals before finishing in fourth. During the 2023-24 regular season, Parco took third at the CKLV and defaulted out of the Midlands after losing to an unrostered opponent. The #3/#4 seeds belong to the ACC contingent of the contenders. Jackson Arrington gets the nod after his ACC finals win over returning All-American Caleb Henson. During the dual season, it was Henson who prevailed - as he did twice last year when both were true freshmen. Henson is looking to take a more direct route to the podium this year. Last season, he was also the fourth seed and was upset in the Round of 16 and had to win three straight matches to clinch All-American honors. Arrington only has two losses on the year, and after he beat Henson, he has avenged both of them. A pair of true freshmen, ones who weren’t necessarily expected to be in this position, are seeded fifth and seventh. Ty Watters came to West Virginia after being named the #32 overall recruit in the Class of 2023. With a win over an NCAA qualifier in his collegiate debut and wins in eight of his first nine matches, Watters quickly proved he was capable of competing right away. He would go on to win the Big 12 title with three bonus point wins and an injury default. Kasak was expected to redshirt and even competed early in the season at 141 lbs. After returning All-American Shayne Van Ness was lost for the year with an injury, Kasak stepped up to replace Van Ness at 149. Kasak has filled in more than admirably earning a regular season win over returning All-American Dylan D’Emilio and replicating that result at the Big Ten Championships. In Maryland, only Lovett beat Kasak, and the freshman finished in third place. As always, perhaps the most dangerous wrestler in this bracket is Austin Gomez. The 2022 Big Ten champion and NCAA All-American Austin Gomez comes in as the sixth seed. Gomez joined Michigan after the first semester and has fought to a 9-2 record. His only two losses have come to Lovett. Gomez closed the distance on Lovett from match one to match two. Their dual meeting bordered on a major decision, while the Big Ten finals was a one-point decision. Gomez does hold a pair of wins over Lovett from the 2021-22 season. For a high All-American finish, don’t count out the eighth seed, Casey Swiderski. Swiderski had an up-and-down true freshman season, but turned it on late with a Round of 12 finish at 141 lbs. This year, he moved up to 149 and has been excellent. Swiderski was the top seed at the Big 12 Championships, but was knocked off in the semis by Jordan Williams. He has EIWA champion Ethan Fernandez and Lovett in his quarterfinal, but isn’t someone who will be phased by either. Darkhorse All-American Candidate: #17 Graham Rooks (Indiana) Last postseason, Graham Rooks emerged as a legit All-American contender with some timely upsets. In the 2023 Big Ten Championships Rooks upset Gomez to make the semifinals and downed another past AA, Yahya Thomas, to finish fifth. Then in Tulsa, Rooks had upsets in his first two matches (#13 Kellyn March and #4 Caleb Henson) to make the national quarterfinals. His tournament ended in the bloodround courtesy of Michael Blockhus. Once again, Rooks has the potential for a deep run. Though he may have a second-round matchup with Lovett, the way the consolations could break might be in his favor. Extreme (20+) Darkhorse All-American Contender: #20 Jordan Williams (Oklahoma State) This is one that probably should have an asterisk to denote “if healthy.” Jordan Williams was one of the top recruits in the Class of 2022 after winning freestyle titles in Fargo on three occasions (twice as a Cadet; once as a Junior). Even so, he had to fend off a challenge from Rutgers transfer Sammy Alvarez just to secure the starting role for the Cowboys. Williams saved his best for the Big 12 Championships when he defeated qualifier Alek Martin and top-seed Casey Swiderski to make the finals. As alluded to above, Williams had to default out of the finals bout against Ty Watters. If he’s close to top form, Williams could be in for a deep run this week. The Team Race: From a team race standpoint, perhaps the most important bout in this bracket could come in the quarterfinals as #3 Jackson Arrington is expected to meet #6 Austin Gomez. A win for Gomez could put him in good position to out-wrestle his seed, while the loser had to get their hand raised in the bloodround to lock up a place in the top-eight. Though D’Emilio and Caleb Rathjen are both seeded outside of the top-12, they are both battle-tested through the Big Ten and have a decent shot at breaking into the top-eight. With NCAA tournament scoring being so dependent on your high-finishers, Lovett is obviously Nebraska’s best shot at a champion and/or a finalist. For them to challenge for that second spot, as a team, they’ll need Lovett to make it to Saturday night. Projected Quarterfinals: #1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. #8 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) #12 Ethen Miller (Maryland) vs. #4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) #3 Jackson Arrington (NC State) vs. #6 Austin Gomez (Michigan) #7 Tyler Kasak (Penn State) vs. #2 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) Projected Semifinals #1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. #4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) #6 Austin Gomez (Michigan) vs. #2 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) Projected All-Americans 1st: Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) 2nd: Austin Gomez (Michigan) 3rd: Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) 4th: Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 5th: Tyler Kasak (Penn State) 6th: Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) 7th: Jackson Arrington (NC State) 8th: Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) Projected Round of 12 Finishers: #12 Ethen Miller (Maryland), #13 Caleb Rathjen (Iowa), #5 Ty Watters (West Virginia), #17 Graham Rooks (Indiana) Projected Consolation Round of 16 Finishers: #15 Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan), #21 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma), #19 Joe Zargo (Wisconsin), #9 Ethan Fernandez (Cornell)

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2024 NCAA DI National Championships Preview (149 lbs)

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