#6 Stephen Little & #9 Zac Braunagel Set For NWCA All-Star Classic At 197
#6 Stephen Little & #9 Zac Braunagel Set For NWCA All-Star Classic At 197
All-American Stephen Little and Greco World-teamer Zac Braunagel are set to square off at the 2024 NWCA All-Star Classic on November 16 in State College.
Little Rock All-American Stephen Little and Greco-Roman World teamer Zac Braunagel are set to square off at 197 lbs in a top-ten battle at the NWCA All-Star Classic. This will be the first meeting between Little and Braunagel.
When Zach Braunagel started his college career at Illinois, Stephen Little was a freshman at Union County high school in Kentucky. Since that time, Braunagel has redshirted twice and qualified for NCAAs four times, including round-of-12 finishes in 2022 and 2023. Little used his redshirt during the 2022-23 season then earned All-American honors last year after finishing 7th at 197 lbs. Now, these two top upper weights will meet for the first time at the NWCA All-Star Classic.
#6 Stephen Little is entering his redshirt sophomore year for the Trojans after a 7th place finish at NCAAs in his first trip to the tournament. Little was 10-4 against D1 competition during his redshirt year, but started his first varsity season with a bang, defeating Maryland's Jaxon Smith in the finals of the Tiger Style Invite. That victory established Little as an AA contender, and he lived up to that expectation in Kansas City. Little's most impressive NCAA victories came against former All-Americans Louie DePrez of Binghamton and Michael Beard of Lehigh.
Stephen Little's win over Jaxon Smith
#9 Zac Braunagel has been a staple on the NCAA scene for years. He qualified for NCAAs for four straight years between 2020 and 2023. In his last two attempts, Braunagel finished just one victory shy of All-American honors. In 2023, he even defeated All-American Michael Beard along the way. Braunagel took an Olympic redshirt for the 2023-24 season after making the USA senior level Greco-Roman World Team at Final X in 2023. Now, Braunagel is returning to the Illini lineup with his sites set on All-American honors. A victory over Stephen Little would go a long way in establishing him as a strong All-American threat.
Highlights of Zac Braunagel's victory over Michael Beard at NCAAs
