149 is another real competitive and loaded weight in the Big Ten. With 10 wrestlers ranked in the top twenty-four in the country, the Big Ten has only 9 automatic qualifiers for the NCAA National Tournament.
Ranked #8 in the country, Caleb Rathjen is 15-3 on the season with one pin, five tech falls, and two major decisions. He is 3-2 vs. ranked opponents.
With the depth of ranked wrestlers there will be some real good matches in the Round of 16 just to get to the quarterfinals. Top to bottom this may be the most entertaining weight to watch at Big Tens.
It looks as though Rathjen will get the #3 seed.
Rathjen did not compete in the final dual meet of the season against Oklahoma State. I can only hope that he is ready to go in a rugged Big Ten bracket at 149.
InterMat Rankings at 149 in the Big Ten
1.Ridge Lovett (Nebraska)
4.Austin Gomez (Michigan)
8.Caleb Rathjen (Iowa)
9.Tyler Kasak (Penn State)
10.Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State
12.Ethen Miller (Maryland)
13.Graham Rooks (Indiana)
16.Joe Zargo (Wisconsin)
19.Drew Roberts (Minnesota)
24.Michael Cetta (Rutgers)
2023-24 Season – Caleb Rathjen (149)
Lindenwood Open
Ramiro Mosquera (Cumberland) W-TF 22-5 1-0
Sam Cartella (Northwestern) L-D 7-4 SV1 1-1
Victor Guzman (Cumberland) W-TF 24-8 2-1
Charlie Fifield (Illinois) W-TF 22-6 3-1
Jaden Two Lance (Carl Albert State College) W-TF 15-0 4-1
Joel Jesuroga (Iowa) W-D 3-2 TB1 5-1
Richard Fedalen (Columbia) W-MD 15-3 6-1
Soldier Salute – 1st Place
Carter McCallister (Missouri) W-D 10-6 7-1
Daniel Kimball (SDSU) W-MD 11-1 8-1
Cade Siebrecht (Iowa) W-TF 18-3 9-1
#8 Victor Voinovich (Iowa) W-D 6-3 10-1
Anthony Ferrari (Unattached) W-D 7-2 11-1
#1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) L-D 6-0 11-2
#13 Drew Roberts (Minnesoeta) W-D 7-3 12-2
#8 Kannon Webster (Illinois) L-D 4-1 SV1 12-3
Aiden Vandenbush (Northwestern) W-Pin 3:46 13-3
#10 Tyler Kasak (Penn State) W-D 11-8 SV1 14-3
#19 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) W-D 8-1 15-3
Sat and Sun March 9-10 – at Big Ten Championships (College Park, Maryland)
Thurs-Sat March 21-23 – at NCAA Championships (Kansas City, MO)
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
