Every March the best college wrestlers in the country, get together for the NCAA Wrestling Championships! This tournament is the culmination of a lifetime of hard work for these young men, and only one (in each weight class) can be crowned champion.
This year’s tournament takes place March 21-23th, in Kansas City, Missouri, at the T-Mobile Center.
In this article we will discuss last year’s 149 lb champion and who the top contenders are for this season.
2023 Champion: Yianni Diakomihalis completed his quest for four NCAA titles defeating Ohio States Sammy Sasso in the finals by a score of 4-2. Yianni’s college career will be remembered as one of the most dominant in NCAA history. Yianni finished his career with an impressive 115-2 college record, where he scored bonus points 65% of the time.
This Year’s Contenders: The way I see it, its a two man race for the NCAA title this year between Ridge Lovett and Austin Gomez.
Ridge Lovett of Nebraska Ridge is a returning NCAA finalist losing to Yianni in in the 2022 finals. He has quality wins over Austin Gomez, Tyler Kasak, and Caleb Rathjen. He is currently 24-1 on the season.
Austin Gomez of Michigan. Austin was a 3X Illinois state champion with a record of 195-7. In college he is a 3X NCAA qualifier and a Big 10 Champion in 2022 as well as a NCAA all-american, finishing 4th in 2022. He has quality wins over Sammy Sasso, Ridge Lovett, Yianni Diakomihalis, Roman Bravo Young, Nick Lee, and Austin DeSanto. He is ranked 4th in the country with a 9-2 record. When healthy Gomez is capable of beating the best wrestlers in the country.
Dark Horse Contenders: Casey Swiderski of Iowa State. Casey was a 4X Michigan state champion with a career record of 166-3. At Iowa State he has shown flashes of brilliance, pushing Real Woods to the limit last season, before suffering an injury that slowed him in the second half of the season. He is currently 16-3 and ranked 6th in the country. When Casey is healthy he is a dynamic wrestler with the potential to beat anyone in the country.