The 2024 NWCA All-Star Classic presented by Nike Wrestling will take place on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at 7:00 pm (ET) in Rec Hall on the campus of Penn State. 

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This event can be viewed only on FloWrestling and will feature 10 highly ranked Division 1 folkstyle matchups along with 5 cross-divisional women’s freestyle matches.

One of the premier matchups of the night is a match between 149-pound All-Americans Shayne Van Ness and Ty Watters. Check out the article below for a full preview and prediction of this incredible match. 

Shayne Van Ness, Penn State

Van Ness’ Stats

• 29-7 career college record
• 2023 All-American - 3rd place

Van Ness’ College All-American Hitlist:

• Kyle Parco (X2)
• Caleb Henson
• Quinn Kinner

Ty Watters, West Virginia

Watters’ Stats:

• 30-6 career college record
• 2024 All-American - 4th place

Watters College All-American Hitlist:

• Kyle Parco
• Casey Swiderski
• Jaden Abas

Breaking Down The Matchup

In some ways, Watters and Van Ness are very similar. Their career records are almost identical and both had very good freshman seasons, wrestling their best at NCAAs - Van Ness placed 3rd while Watters placed 4th. 

However, the similarities become much fewer once you start actually analyzing their wrestling on the mat. Watters is one of the taller, lankier 149-pounders in the country while Van Ness is shorter and stockier. Watters is more scramble-reliant on his feet and frequently lets wrestlers in on his legs whereas Van Ness is stingier defensively holding better position. Both are tough on their feet and on top but Watters relies more on his length while Van Ness is a power wrestler. This is truly a fascinating matchup and a clash of styles that could play out in a variety of ways at the All-Star Classic. 

Beyond the style matchup, this bout will also tell us a lot about Van Ness and Watters. Last season, expectations were incredibly high for Shayne Van Ness before he went down with a season-ending injury. Prior to the injury, Van Ness defeated Kyle Parco at the All-Star Classic and many were projecting Van Ness as an early favorite to win NCAAs. The match against Watters will tell us if Van Ness is back to form and ready to win a title this season.

Van Ness' win over Kyle Parco at the 2023 NWCA All-Star Classic:

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Watters is coming off a fantastic true freshman season where he got progressively better, culminating in his All-American finish. Despite finishing fourth, Watters lost two decisive decisions to NCAA Champ Caleb Henson along with matches against Tyler Kasak, Casey Swiderski, Ty Whalen, and Willie McDougald placing Watters a clear tier behind the title contenders at this weight. However, the match against Van Ness will tell us if Watters has continued to improve and if he’s ready to insert himself in the title conversation this year. 

Watters' win over Air Force's Joe Fernau:

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Who Wins At The All-Star Classic?

This is will be one of the most interesting matchups of the night, and because of the clash of styles, it will be incredibly challenging to predict. As mentioned above, Watters possesses some unconventional leg defense and could stifle Van Ness’ offense to keep the match low-scoring. However, Van Ness is an incredibly powerful wrestler and a high-percentage finisher on his leg attacks. Watters frequently allows wrestlers in on his lead leg, which could play right into Van Ness’ strength. 

Then there’s the mat wrestling. Watters has a tough top game and is highly effective with his turns from a tight waist and half. He’ll have a huge length advantage and could be dangerous if he gets on top of Van Ness. On the other side of things, Van Ness isn’t a prolific turner but is capable of putting together a tough ride on top and could at least earn riding time against Watters. 

There’s a case to be made for both wrestlers but I’m picking Van Ness in the All-Star Classic match. I think his offense will be too much for Watters to handle and we’ll see Van Ness use his arsenal to expose Watters’ lack of baseline defense. Beyond that, I don’t think Watters will be able to turn Van Ness and that means the winner of this match will be decided by who’s better on their feet - leaving Van Ness the clear favorite in my eyes. Watters is more than capable of proving me wrong and regardless of who comes out on top, this should be an incredible bout from start to finish.