The most fun weekend of the year for wrestling fans is here and the big question is will Penn State have 10 All-Americans by the end of the weekend?
Here’s what I’m calling for champions Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
125 – Luke Lilledahl, Penn State wrestling: I was dead wrong about Purdue’s Matt Ramos beating Lilledahl in the semifinals at Big Tens. I’m not going to make that mistake again. Lilledahl may be naturally good enough to get it done in his first crack.
133 – Drake Ayala, Iowa: There are so many possibilities here. It doesn’t feel right picking Ayala after Illinois’ Lucas Byrd just beat him for the Big Ten Championship but here we are again. I could see Ayala, Byrd and a handful of others making a run for the title.
141 – Jesse Mendez, Ohio State: Remember what I said about 133 pounds where I can see a handful of guys winning? Ditto for 141. Beau Bartlett absolutely could get it done after being upset in the Big Ten Championships.
I haven’t even mentioned Nebraska’s Brock Hardy yet as the top seed. So many possibilities.
149 – Caleb Henson, Virginia Tech: We’ll go with a repeat champion again like I did with Mendez. Henson is back at it again this year at 18-0, but I could also see Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett or PSU’s Shayne Van Ness giving him a heck of a match in the finals.
157 – Tyler Kasak, Penn State: Kasak just feels like he’s on a mission this year. I’ve felt that ever since the flex while lifting Iowa’s Jacori Teemer in the dual meet.
You won’t see many better endings than this. Tyler Kasak lifts Jacori Temmer into the air and fires up the crowd at the same time,
Penn State leads 18-5 going into the break. pic.twitter.com/74TDGsbLbL
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) February 1, 2025
Maybe he gets tested a couple times along the way, but it’s his bracket to win.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.165 – Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State: It would be interesting to see Mesenbrink wrestle former Lion Terrell Barraclough in the semis. Barraclough has carved out a great season at Utah Valley. The other half of the bracket opposite of Mesenbrink is rugged and also has a few candidates to make a run.
174 – Keegan O’Toole, Missouri: PSU’s Levi Haines has been fantastic in bumping up two weight classes this year. The only problem is there’s a buzzsaw probably waiting for him in the finals. O’Toole has been awesome his whole career. I don’t see that stopping now.
184 – Carter Starocci, Penn State: If you saw the match between Starocci and Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen at the NWCA All-Star match this year, you know that you want to see that again on Saturday night. It was as close as it comes back in November, but I won’t pick against Starocci until he loses one of these big matches.
How Carter Starocci Went From Isolation to Best in the Nation
197 – AJ Ferrari, Cal State-Bakersfield: No matter what you think about him, Ferrari is an unbelievable talent. He’s done this before back in 2021, and there’s a lot of reason to believe he can do it again.
285 – Gable Steveson, Minnesota: It’s amazing how stacked heavyweight is this year. Greg Kerkvliet is the returning national champion and seeded third. It’s just so hard to see anyone beating Steveson.
Will PSU have 10 All-Americans? No. Only for the reason of the health concerns of Braeden Davis and Josh Barr.
Team champion: Penn State. I don’t think they’ll surpass last year’s record of beating the second place team by 100 points, but not by much.
Outstanding wrestler: Steveson.
