A pretty heavy clash at 49, will be dominated by the young and hungry lions with only 2 seniors returning but 8 AA’s in total. The Reigning champ in Caleb Henson by some opinions can’t be challenged by anyone. Shayne Van Ness returns from injury. Senior experience in Lovett and Kyle Parco and a move up from Anthony Echemendia, make this weight really interesting. While the presence of Henson looms large over the entire class, the 149 class seems to be wide open.
#1. Caleb Hanson-
There is no way to shift around this one, the rightful reigning champ will more than likely take a victory bow after the finals at the NCAA’s this year, or will he? With the return of Shayne Van Ness in full we could almost say this is a two man race. Losing to SVN at nationals in 2023 (5-3 dec) leaves them at 1-0 head to head but Henson having a better record against like opponents going 8-3 where SVN is 11-6, it would be a safe bet to put them both in the finals. Henson had an incredible freshman year beating then #2 Sammy Sasso in his first dual debut and went on to beat 7 AA’s that season terrorizing ACC fans. So achievements are 2024 national title, 2X AA, 2023 ACC champion, 2X NQ, and 2023 ACC freshman of the year. Stunning 57-7 record overall at an 89 percent win rate. A preseason rank #1 from flowrestling and #1 from wrestlestat. Unanimously voted #1 in almost any preseason ranking.
#2. Shayne Van Ness-
There is no way we could put anybody else at number 2, coming off of an injury back in December of last year, he posted an update video of his rehab progress back in May and looks phenomenal. With a whole 6 months from then till now there is no reason to think injury will hold him back this year. Hopefully we’ll get to see him matchup against some of the others on our list other than Henson and Parco as he has no history with Ty Watters, Anthony Echemendia, or Kannon Webster. With a victory over the national favorite in Henson, it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see him crowned in 2025. Achievements are a 2023 AA and NQ with a 29-7 record overall at an 80 percent win rate. A preseason rank #2 from flowrestling and shocking #6 from wrestlestat.
#3. Ty Watters-
Being Iowa matmen we would love to put Kyle Parco here but just can’t, as Watter’s pinned him last year at nationals. We also can’t say that he’s got him figured out either so a rematch would be more definitive when it comes to determining dominance in the rivalry, they’ve both lost to Henson in duals which isn’t surprising and Parco does have a slight edge in like opponents at 8-3 where Watters is at 7-4, the question is, does it count? Being that out of the 11 opponents they’ve faced, almost half of them are no longer competing. 4th place finish at nationals last year, Big 12 Champion, grabbing a NQ and an AA. 26-5 record overall at an 83 percent win rate. A preseason rank #3 from flowrestling and #3 from wrestlestat. Almost #3 across the board, he is one of many young and talented guys in this weight on the rise.
#4. Kannon Webster-
Once again we push Parco down the list for the buzz surrounding Webster, we have to. Out of 21 matches, his only loss to Watters means he’s earned it and only by a 2 points (4-2 dec). Where Parco was pinned by him, it only makes sense. Taking out D’Emilio gives us more than enough confidence to put him here, and without a match to Parco yet we could be proven wrong. Him and Parco have an even 4-1 record against like opponents so it will be great to see if Webster can live up to the hype, Illinois needs it after a long drought without any superstars since Imar. 19-1 record overall to this point at a 94 percent win rate. A preseason no faith rank #12 from flowrestling and the same with wrestlestat at #11.
#5 Kyle Parco-
Finally we made it, does it make you angry Iowa fans? Several factors have placed him here as previously mentioned but something also looms against Parco and Teemer, the level of competition here in the Big Ten is a whole lot different than the Pac-12. There is also a concern with stamina over the course of the season, but to their advantage, Iowa has plenty of weapons in Caleb Rathjen and Cael Voinovich to make that happen. Saddens us to put him at #5 even ranking as high as #2 last year, but the facts are the facts, Webster lost better to Watters than he did even though Parco was actually beating Watters deep into the 3rd period. Hopefully we see a breakout year from Parco in his final season and rolls through this whole list. 4X AA and 3X Pac-12 Champion, 4X NQ is one out of 8 in Arizona state history to become a 4X All American. 103-20 record overall at an 83 percent win rate. A favorable #4 preseason rank from flowrestling and #2 from wrestlestat.
#6 Ridge Lovett-
Had to put Lovett here with a 5th place match loss to Parco at nationals, but why is there so much animosity against him? We get he hasn’t had the greatest finishes at the last two nationals but the most recent was super close. 1-0 Decision against Caleb Henson in the semi’s deserves some kind of respect, a lot of other preseason ranks barely have him on their list which is wild. He also racked two wins against #2 Austin Gomez, which are big wins as well, he should almost be higher on our list. Two losses to Parco says otherwise, but Lovett does have a 22-9 record against like opponents where Parco is 19-11. Still not enough to determine whether he’s capable of a revenge win this year, Lovett will have to find a way to beat him. Yet at the same time, he’s capable of making a title run if he can avoid Parco in the bracket. 2X AA and 4X NQ with a 75-19 record overall at a 79 percent win rate. A preseason rank #5 from flowrestling and #4 from wrestlestat.
#7. Anthony Echemendia-
With a controversial history long forgotten in his tenure with Ohio State, Iowa state will get another full season from him and most noteworthy, a head to head with Kyle Parco. You could almost say by any measure that a win is guaranteed being that Iowa’s back up Caleb Rathjen has beaten him before where Ridge Lovett has beaten Rathjen. We could almost say that Tom Brands has Echemendia figured out, dishing losses to him from Iowa along with Rathjen are Real Woods and Jaydin Eierman. With a long history against Iowa, he’ll have to find a new strategy against Parco in the Cy-Hawk dual. Along with a move from 41 could prove difficult to get into the higher matches at nationals this year. 29-7 record last season at an 80 percent win rate. A preseason rank #7 from flowrestling and #8 from wrestlestat.
#8. Jackson Arrington-
Probably our most controversial pick on any list to date, we have a lot of faith in this dark horse but one main reason to pick him. Even though he’s lost to Caleb Henson three times, he pushed him Sv-1 4-1 in the ACC tourney last year and that’s enough to barely crack the list. It’s hard not to put Lachlan McNeil here finishing nationals in 4th at 41 or even Chance Lamer who’s capable of a higher push after the round of 12 two years in a row.
Exciting years ahead for 149 with a lot of young blood but 8 AA’s returning this weight could be considered wide open. Others that we haven’t mentioned in Chance Lamer, Dylan D’Emilio moving up from 41, Jaden Abas who’s another round of 12 guy could easily move up to this list as well. Out of everything at this weight, the most we could hope for is a rematch with SVN and Henson to end the debate at the top.
