NCAA Wrestling Championships

[Carolina Speed]

For anyone interested, the NCAA Wrestling Championship Finals are on ESPN at 7 this evening. A true test of courage, strength, and athleticism!

 

[SneakyQuick]

Penn State wins the 2024 DI men's NCAA wrestling championship

Full results from the 2024 Division I men's wrestling NCAA tournament in which Penn State won the title.

www.ncaa.com

 

[SneakyQuick]

I don’t follow the sport enough to know what athletes were white and which weren’t but on average my understanding is that it’s still a largely white dominated sport

 

[Carolina Speed]

I don’t follow the sport enough to know what athletes were white and which weren’t but on average my understanding is that it’s still a largely white dominated sport

There are 10 weight classes. Four of the champions were black or mixed. Which is up over recent years. Typically, there's 2-3 black wrestlers winning....and this year there were 5 black or mixed wrestlers in the finals. That's up as well. That's half. I don't know that I remember 5 blacks in the finals. In each of those five finals, it was black vs white and black wrestlers won 4 of 5 head to head. However, 2 of the white wrestlers Mesenbrink and Welsh are Freshmen going against Carr, who is a 5th or 6th year wrestler and Starocci who has been at Penn St. at least 4 years, maybe five. It was 6 white or white/hispanic mix that won championships.
With the exception of Dalton Fix, the first four year runner-up in NCAA history and Michigan's Lucas Davison all other white wrestlers in the finals should be back.
Black wrestlers, all seniors David Carr, Carter Starocci. Aaron Brooks, who is a great guy, and Greg Kerkvliet all four champions should be moving on.

I would like to make special mention to Virginia Tech sophomore Caleb Henson. He won the 149lb. class. He's from Cartersville Georgia. It's not often that a deep southerner wins a wrestling championship. The mid-west and mid-atlantic PA/NJ region of the country seem to dominate the sport. As a follower from the south, I'm very happy for Henson. Both my sons were wrestlers and one made all-state in NC. To get better, I took them to Mid-western states such as Ohio to wrestle the best in the country and make them better. It's very difficult competing against the mid-west as you guys are born wrestlers, it seems. Much respect to the sport as I mentioned in the thread. A true test of courage, strength and athleticism.

 

[SneakyQuick]

I remember that at my high school wrestling had the hardest practices out of any sport, period.
My buddies that wrestled were all sick athletes who seemed to be able to do other sports with relative ease.

Also we had had plenty of vibrancy in the school but our wrestling team was overwhelmingly white.

 

[Logos5]

Is there a list of which weight-divisions(I'm assuming that its called that) that our guys are champions in?

 

[Carolina Speed]

I remember that at my high school wrestling had the hardest practices out of any sport, period.
My buddies that wrestled were all sick athletes who seemed to be able to do other sports with relative ease.

Also we had had plenty of vibrancy in the school but our wrestling team was overwhelmingly white.

Right SneakyQuick. Wrestling is without a doubt the most grueling sport in terms of conditioning. Also, wrestling prepares you for other sports like football as most wrestlers are excellent tacklers.
Track is also tough in terms of conditioning to run.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Is there a list of which weight-divisions(I'm assuming that its called that) that our guys are champions in?

Yes. SneakyQuick posted that link on post #2 of this thread.

 

[Logos5]

Yes. SneakyQuick posted that link on post #2 of this thread.

so basically 5 white champs, 4 black champs and 1 hispanic champ!

damn whites are doing really well in wrestling, and judging from what you guys have been saying, sounds like a very intensive sport.

One interesting thing I've noted is that the blacks seem to be dominating the higher weight divisions while the whites are dominating the lower and middle. Is that something that happens regularly, like a pattern?

 

[Carolina Speed]

One interesting thing I've noted is that the blacks seem to be dominating the higher weight divisions while the whites are dominating the lower and middle. Is that something that happens regularly, like a pattern

No. Last year the two highest weight classes 197lbs, and 285 lbs. were won white wrestlers. Nino Bonaccorsi and Mason Parris. Only two black wresters won championships last year in 2023. 4 black champions this year are the most I've ever seen.
I wouldn't expect that again next year as all 4 black champions should be moving on.