If you just looked at the final team scores from Kansas City, you’d think the 2024 NCAA wrestling championships brackets were a foregone conclusion. Penn State won. Again. They didn't just win; they nuked the record books with 172.5 points, finishing a full 100 points ahead of second-place Cornell.
But honestly? The brackets were total chaos.
Numbers next to names didn't mean much once the whistles started blowing at the T-Mobile Center. We saw the #9 seed win a title. We saw a #8 seed take down the bracket at 125. We even saw a #6 seed—who happened to be a defending world champ—remind everyone that regular-season records are basically just suggestions.
The Seeding Mess at 174 Pounds
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Carter Starocci. Because of a knee injury at the Big Ten tournament, he ended up with the #9 seed. It was weird. It felt wrong. Usually, a three-time defending champ doesn't sit that low, but the math is the math.
This put Starocci on a collision course with the #1 seed, Mekhi Lewis, way earlier than anyone wanted. It turned the 174-pound quadrant into a "bracket of death."
Starocci wrestled with a heavy brace and, quite frankly, didn't look like the explosive guy we're used to. He was gritty. He won close matches. He beat Lewis 4-0 in the quarters and then edged out Shane Griffith. By the time he faced Ohio State’s Rocco Welsh in the finals, he was basically wrestling on one leg. He won 2-0.
It wasn't pretty, but he became only the sixth person ever to win four NCAA titles.
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125 Pounds: The Bracket of Broken Dreams
If you bet on the 125-pound bracket, you probably lost money. This weight class was a blender all season.
Braeden Davis, the Penn State freshman, was the #1 seed. He didn't even make the podium. Think about that. The top seed in the entire tournament failed to become an All-American.
Instead, we got Richard Figueroa from Arizona State. He was the #8 seed. He didn't care about the rankings. He wrestled a tactical, mean tournament and took out Drake Ayala of Iowa in the finals with a 7-2 decision. It was a masterclass in peaking at the right time.
Quick Look: The 125 Podium Finishers
- 1st: Richard Figueroa (#8) - Arizona State
- 2nd: Drake Ayala (#3) - Iowa
- 3rd: Anthony Noto (#12) - Lock Haven
- 4th: Eric Barnett (#10) - Wisconsin
Vito Arujau and the "Disrespectful" #6 Seed
At 133 pounds, the bracket makers put defending champ Vito Arujau at #6. Why? Because he missed some time and had a couple of losses to Lehigh’s Ryan Crookham.
Vito took it personally.
He didn't just win; he dominated. He dismantled Crookham 13-3 in the semifinals. Then he met Daton Fix in the finals. Poor Daton Fix. The guy is a legend, a four-time finalist, but he just couldn't get past the Cornell buzzsaw. Arujau won 5-3, securing his second title and leaving Fix as perhaps the greatest wrestler to never win the big one.
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The Greatest Team Performance Ever?
We have to mention the Penn State machine. Cael Sanderson’s squad didn't just win; they broke the 1997 Iowa scoring record of 170 points.
They did it with four champions:
- Levi Haines (157): Undefeated. Calm. Collected.
- Carter Starocci (174): The four-timer with the bad knee.
- Aaron Brooks (197): He was arguably the most dominant athlete in the building. He pinned and tech-falled his way to his own fourth title.
- Greg Kerkvliet (285): He finally got his title after years of being right there. He majored Lucas Davison 13-4 in the final.
But it wasn't just the wins. It was the "backside" of the bracket. Tyler Kasak, a freshman at 149, lost his very first match. Most kids fold there. Kasak rattled off seven straight wins to take third place. That’s where the record-breaking points come from.
David Carr’s Last Dance at 165
The 165-pound bracket was probably the most talented group in Kansas City. You had Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) and David Carr (Iowa State)—two guys who have been trading blows for years.
They met in the semis. It was a war. Carr won a tight one, 8-6.
Then he had to face Mitchell Mesenbrink in the finals. Mesenbrink is like a Tasmanian devil—he never stops moving. He actually took an 8-7 lead late in the match. But Carr, the veteran, used his riding time advantage to stay in it and eventually won 9-8. It was the perfect ending for one of the classiest guys in the sport.
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What This Means for Next Season
If you’re looking at these results and trying to figure out what’s next, keep an eye on the transfer portal. With the 2024 championships over, the "super-senior" era is mostly winding down, but the parity at the lower weights is at an all-time high.
Actionable Insights for Wrestling Fans:
- Don't overvalue regular season records: As Figueroa and Arujau proved, the "postseason version" of a wrestler is often a different animal.
- Watch the "Round of 12": Also known as the "Blood Round." This is where All-American status is decided. In 2024, some of the most intense matches happened here, not just in the finals.
- Follow the Freshman: Names like Braeden Davis and Tyler Kasak showed that the gap between high school and elite college wrestling is shrinking.
The 2024 NCAA wrestling championships brackets will be remembered for the historical dominance of Penn State, but the individual stories of injury, upsets, and four-time legends are what really gave the tournament its soul.
If you want to understand the sport, don't just look at the top of the bracket. Look at the guys clawing through the consolation rounds on Saturday morning. That's where the team titles are actually won.
Next Steps:
You should check out the official NCAA career records for four-time champions to see where Starocci and Brooks rank among the all-time greats like Cael Sanderson and Logan Stieber.