Along with 174, these two weight classes are the most anticipating in terms of what could possibly happen at nationals. Two Juggernauts at the top, some big names leaving in Trey Munoz who finished 3rd last year and Bernie Truax graduating. There are also some big additions with Edmund Ruth, Silas Alfred, Gabe Arnold, and obviously Carter Starocci.
#1. Parker Keckeisen- Showing partiality to the returning champion, we believe that if he gets the chance to come up against Starocci that his relentless offense will be too much for his defensive style. Not many people know that these two have faced off in the past under freestyle. Parker came out on top back in 2018, but the same question for Haines vs. O’Toole still counts here, how will the match go under folk style. These two just wrestled an outstanding match at the NWCA All-Star Classic. The match ended in overtime with a 4-1 Carter Starocci victory. We suspect a different result the next time out, although either man winning is possible. 102-6 overall with a 94 percent win rate. Preseason rank of #2 with Flo and #2 with wrestlestat.
#2. Carter Starocci- Striving to become one of the greatest of all time, it is hard to place him here based off of a freestyle match that happened forever ago but a win is a win. We think we speak for all of us when we ask, will he be able to remain dominant with the move up from 74. While his losses are only due to injury, his wins are dominating and he remains control over everyone he faces but he’s not the bonus machine like Parker is. For these little things we put him in 2nd. Although, he more than proved he is capable of winning the whole damn thing. Honestly the top 2 could go either way. Preseason rank of #1 with Flo and #1 with wrestlestat.
#3. Dustin Plott- Perfect spot for him at No. 3, once again, maybe Dave Taylor has come in and introduced something new for Plott to use against Keckeisen being that they’ve faced off three times, Parker winning all three. To Plotts credit he only lost to Lenny Pinto outside of Parker, he’s a tremendous wrestler but we believe this is a two man race at the top. Unanimously preseason ranked #3 across the board and we agree.
#4. Gabe Arnold- Has already showcased three wins on the season this year in the first three duals as a freshman, took on some high profile All Americans last year in Lennox Wolak and Will Feldkamp showing he can wrestle in the top 5. Has a good chance at taking out both Bennett Berge and Dustin Plott. Also capable of pushing points against the top 2, but a win might be too much to say just yet. 10-1 overall record at 90 percent win rate. #6 with Flo and #8 with wrestlestat.
#5. Bennet Berge- Looking really solid last year at 25-7, had a great final match against Trey Munoz finishing 4th, he has to be on every podium list. He had two tough losses against Sam Wolf, once in a dual and the other in the Big 12’s which knocks him down on our list a little bit. We’ve seen him lose to Dustin Plott already, It will be interesting to see how he does against Ruth. 32-12 record overall with a 72 percent win rate. Preseason rank of #6 with Flo and #5 with wrestlestat.
#6. Edmond Ruth- Returning Big 10 champion at 174 eventually falling to Rocco Welsh at nationals but still beat him at Big 10’s. Held his own remaining within the top 5 for most of the season , is holding out okay at 84 so far with a 4-2 record. Suffered tough losses against Brian Soldanoin and Will Ebert. Bounced back defeating Dylan Fishback.
#7 TJ Stewart- even though he struggled at nationals last year, we have a spot on our list for wild cards. Losing to #9 Isaiah Salazar in the 3rd round then beating #6 Chris Foca, before losing to #4 Bernie Truax, finally finishing in 7th beating #23 David Key, he’s all over the place. We’ll see if he discovers some consistency this year but we still believe he finds his way to the podium. 28-9 Overall at 75 percent. Preseason rank of #9 with Flo and #8 with wrestlestat.
#8. Max McEnelly- Took on some quality wins last year as a freshman, #26 Brian Soldano #10 Aaron Ayzerov, #11 Colton Hawks and several other unranked guys, a lot of people underestimated this young talent, but we believe he has the capability to make it even higher on this list. Undefeated 15-0 to date, Preseason rank of #11 with Flo and #15 with wrestlestat.
Looking back again at 184, most of us could agree it’s looking like a two man race at the top with Dustin Plott being unable to find a way to beat Keckeisen. Are one of these guys outside the top 2 able to come in and bring an upset? I don’t believe so, but stranger things have happened.