Few weight classes in Division I wrestling possess more top-end talent this season than 141 pounds. 

There could be nine past All-Americans in the weight class at some point this season, including two NCAA champions, three wrestlers who have reached the national finals and the top three returning placewinners from last season. It’s a group headlined by 2023 NCAA champ Andrew Alirez of Northern Colorado, 2024 champ Jesse Mendez of Ohio State and returning finalist Beau Bartlett of Penn State. 

But that’s not all. 

Nebraska’s Brock Hardy is coming off his second straight All-America season after placing third in Kansas City. Conference champions Anthony Echemendia of Iowa State and North Carolina State’s Ryan Jack could be back in the 141-pound mix after earning All-America status last season. 

And Minnesota’s Vance VomBaur, 2022 All-American C.J. Composto of Penn and Virginia Tech’s Sam Latona, who earned All-America status at 125 and 133, are also in the picture at 141 after reaching the NCAA podium. 

Returning 2024 All-Americans

Jesse Mendez, JR (Ohio State) — 1st 

Beau Bartlett, SR (Penn State) — 2nd 

Brock Hardy, JR (Nebraska) — 3rd

Anthony Echemendia, SR (Iowa State) — 5th 

Ryan Jack, SR (North Carolina State) — 7th 

Vance VomBaur, JR (Minnesota) — 8th 

Previous Year All-Americans 

Andrew Alirez, SR (Northern Colorado) — 1st in 2023 

C.J. Composto, SR (Pennsylvania) — 8th in 2022

Sam Latona, SR (Virginia Tech) — 6th in 2021 at 125, 7th in 2023 at 133 

The Favorites 

Ten current wrestlers at the D1 level have won NCAA titles and two of them could collide sometime this season at 141 pounds. 

Alirez begins the season ranked #1 after becoming Northern Colorado’s third national champion and first since 1962. He went 28-0 en route to the 2023 title before stepping away from the college scene last year to focus on freestyle. 

After placing sixth as a true freshman at 133, Mendez moved up to 141 last season and compiled a 30-2 record. He pulled out dramatic, down-to-the-wire wins against Bartlett in the Big Ten and NCAA finals after losing to the Nittany Lion earlier in the season, winning the conference crown on a footsweep to a double-leg in the closing seconds and then rolling his way out of trouble and into the winning takedown just before time expired in the national finals.  

The Contenders 

The narrow, last-second losses were the only blemishes on Bartlett’s 24-2 record last season. Over the course of the last two years, he’s 51-5. His last four losses have come against the other three wrestlers in the top four — two to Mendez, a 6-2 defeat against Alirez in the 2023 NCAA semifinals and a 7-3 setback against Hardy in the 2023 Big Ten Championships. 

Hardy reached the NCAA semis as a freshman in 2023 but got off to a 10-5 start last season, which contributed to his #9 seed in Kansas City. Nonetheless, he rounded into form at the national tournament and won four consecutive consolation matches to finish third. 

It remains to be seen where Echemendia will wind up in the Iowa State order. The Cyclones have plenty of options with the front half of their lineup. Echemendia began last season at 149 before cutting down to 141, where he won 21 of his 27 matches, captured a Big 12 title and reached the NCAA semis. 

Jack is coming off the best season of his career after winning his first ACC title and punching through to the NCAA podium in his third trip to the national tournament. But he has options and so does his team. Jack could redshirt or move up to 149. If he opts for either of those routes, it creates a path for two-time All-American Kai Orine to move up from 133. 

VomBaur entered the NCAA Championships as the #26 seed and left as an All-American, thanks to overtime wins against Northern Iowa’s Cael Happel and Missouri’s Josh Edmond. 

Latona has been a consistent winner during his time at Virginia Tech and he has the frame to handle the move up to 141 after earning All-America honors at 125 and 133. 

Breakthrough Candidates 

There’s a pack of highly-skilled wrestlers looking to break through after falling short of the podium last season, including all four wrestlers who lost in the 141-pound bloodround in Kansas City — Happel, Edmond, Navy’s Josh Koderhandt and Cleveland Belton, who transferred to Oklahoma after wrestling last season for Oregon State. 

Happel’s record — he went 18-8 as a sophomore and 22-10 as a junior — might not illustrate the strides he made last season. But he notched two wins over Hardy and posted victories against Echemendia, All-American Cole Matthews, Edmond and Michigan’s Sergio Lemley and Oklahoma State’s Tagen Jamison, both of whom were seeded in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships. 

Koderhandt registered 10 wins against ranked opponents last season and owns a 75-29 record the past three seasons.  

Lemley and Jamison looked like podium contenders heading into Kansas City. Both posted head-turning wins last season. Lemley majored returning NCAA finalist Real Woods in February and Jamison notched five victories over All-Americans. 

Arizona State’s Jesse Vasquez went 11-4 last year as a sophomore. The four-time California state champion’s losses came against three All-Americans and Koderhandt, who ended his season in the round of 16 in Kansas City.

Newcomers, Old Faces And New Places 

West Virginia’s Jordan Titus, Cornell’s Vince Cornella, Lehigh’s Malyke Hines are past NCAA qualifiers here. Titus went 21-6 last season for the Mountaineers. Cornella has posted wins in college over All-American Cole Matthews, Belton, Edmond, Hines and Koderhandt. Hines reached the round of 12 in 2023 when he posted a major decision win against Jack at the NCAA Championships. 

Oklahoma’s Mosha Schwartz, a three-time NCAA qualifier, is back after an injury shelved him for much of last season. It remains to be seen whether he’ll lock down the 141-pound spot for the Sooners or if Oklahoma will use Belton here. Both could be candidates to cut down to 133 as well. 

Northwestern’s Frankie Tal-Shahar is back after a medical hardship season a year ago. He’s a two-time NCAA qualifier for the Wildcats and has been battle-tested in the Big Ten. 

Rutgers senior Joey Olivieri was an NCAA qualifier two seasons ago at 133. He compiled a 7-1 record last season at 141 while redshirting. 

Campbell’s Shannon Hanna took a redshirt season last year after posting a 24-10 mark and reaching the NCAA Championships in 2023. 

Iowa’s Ryder Block and Maryland’s Dario Lemus are two of the freshmen to keep an eye on here. Block was a two-time Fargo freestyle champion. Lemus won a California state title as a senior.  

Predictions 

Flowrestling’s Jon Kozak’s predictions of who will finish where on the 141-pound podium in Philadelphia: 

1. Jesse Mendez (Ohio State)

2. Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado)

3. Beau Bartlett (Penn State) 

4. Brock Hardy (Nebraska)

5. Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) 

6. Kai Orine (NC State)

7. Cael Happel (Northern Iowa)

8. Josh Edmond (Missouri)