2021 NCAA Wrestling Championship Preview
The 726-day wait is finally over as the mats are set for another wrestling championship. The 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championship is set to begin Mar. 18-20th at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
On Mar. 12, 2020, NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors released a statement announcing the cancelation of the 2019-2020 wrestling season along with the remainder of winter sports championships and the spring season sports. This decision was made due to the upcoming global health threat of COVID-19.
A total of 330 wrestlers will be competing for a chance to become an NCAA Champion, but only 10 will wear the crown. For the three-day tournament, 33 wrestlers will cut down to one with the finals being live-streamed on ESPN starting from the 125lb weight class to 285/Heavyweight class. The complete championship schedule can be found below:
The full 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship brackets can be found here. The No. 1 seeds in each bracket will be heading into the tournament all with undefeated records.
125lb Weight Class
Iowa College’s Spencer Lee enters the championship with an undefeated record of 7-0 for the season. Lee is aiming to finish his senior year with his third NCAA title. Last season, Lee was named the NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler and Big Ten Wrestler of the Year while also earning a spot at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials after winning the U.S. Senior Nationals.
133lb Weight Class
Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix secures the No. 1 seed with an undefeated record of 9-0. The redshirt sophomore did not compete last season in order to focus his training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which was postponed to 2021. Fix has engraved his name in Oklahoma State’s wrestling program in the 2018-19 season by becoming the 10th freshman ever to reach the national finals and the 38th All-American freshman in the program’s history.
141lb Weight Class
Iowa College’s Jaydin Eierman is aiming for a high podium spot for his fourth NCAA tournament appearance with a clean 8-0 record. Senior Eierman has finished fifth in the 2016-17 season, fourth in 2017-18 and his highest finish of third for the 2018-19 season.
149lb Weight Class
Ohio State University’s Sammy Sasso returns to the tournament with a 12-0 record. The redshirt sophomore received honors last season as a Big Ten Finalist, NCAA Qualifier and NWCA Scholar All-American.
157lb Weight Class
Northwestern University’s Ryan Deakin returns to the NCAA Championships once again as the No. 1 seed with a record 6-0. This will be Deakin’s third championship appearance, excluding his No. 1 seed position last year prior to the tournament’s cancellation. The redshirt senior will look to continue his undefeated streak as his last loss was on Mar. 21, 2019 to receive a sixth place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships.
165lb Weight Class
Iowa College’s Alex Marinelli continues his streak of entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed for the third consecutive year with a record of 5-0. With a seventh place finish in 2018-19 and a sixth place finish in 2017-18, Marinelli has his aim set on a higher podium spot to close out his senior year.
174lb Weight Class
Iowa College’s Michael Kemerer 7-0 makes his third tournament appearance with a record of 9-0. Brooks previously placed third at the NCAA Championships at the 157lb weight class back in the 2016-17 season and followed with a fourth place finish in the 2017-18 season. The redshirt senior was seeded No. 2 for the tournament last season with his Big Ten Championship runner-up performance and a record of 15-1.
185lb Weight Class
Penn State University’s Aaron Brooks is set to make his first NCAA Championship debut with a polished record of 9-0. Brooks was seeded No. 3 last season before the tournament’s cancellation with an overall record of 15-1 and a Big Ten Championship title as a true freshman. Brooks also was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, which was Penn State’s third-ever in program history along with First Team All-American.
195lb Weight Class
University of Michigan’s Myles Amine returns to collegiate athletics after designating his fifth-year senior status as an Olympic redshirt and qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games and UWW World Championships. Amine enters the tournament 6-0, attempting to outdo his third place finish back in the 2018-19 season.
285lb Weight Class/HWT
University of Minnesota’s Gable Steveson continues his winning streak with a 12-0 record dating back to the wrestlebacks round in the 2019 NCAA Championships. After his 4-3 loss against No. 1 Anthony Cassar, Steveson went on to win 29-straight matches, attain another No. 1 seed for last year’s tournament prior to cancelation, and will aim for the top podium spot this year.
Below is the list of last winners of the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships:
Complete 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships brackets can be found here.
The Team to Beat
Iowa College’s wrestling program is no stranger on the championship mat. The Hawkeyes have won 23 National Titles over 46 years, which is more titles than any other school. The Hawkeyes have also won 84 NCAA individual titles, won 37 Big Ten Titles, crowned 117 Big Ten champions and have over 160 All-Americans who have earned All-American status 345 times. Iowa previously placed fourth in the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championship behind third-place Oklahoma State, runner-up Ohio State and four-time reigning champion Penn State.
Penn State’s wrestling program is not to be taken lightly. The four-time reigning champions have won eight of the last nine contested NCAA Championships, not including last year’s tournament due to cancelation. The last championship stolen from the Nittany Lions was back in 2015 to Ohio State.The Nittany Lions will be sending nine wrestlers to the 2021 Wrestling Championships with four attaining top-four seeds.
Below are the current national team rankings: