Kyle Parco Downs #1 Ridge Lovett To Upend 149lb Division

Arizona State's #3 Kyle Parco defeated Nebraska's #1 Ridge Lovett, injecting chaos into the 149-pound weight class.

Feb 25, 2024 by Andrew Spey

Kyle Parco Downs #1 Ridge Lovett To Upend 149lb Division

Nebraska's top-ranked Ridge Lovett stood alone as the only undefeated 149-pounder going into the last day of the NCAA college wrestling regular season. That changed after the Huskers dual in Tempe against the Sun Devils, as #3 Kyle Parco handed Lovett his first collegiate defeat since the 2022 NCAA finals.

.@kyle_ocrap is HERE ‼️ pic.twitter.com/9frzGKBjwb
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) February 25, 2024

Parco scored the go-ahead points in the second period after a scoreless first. Lovett would mount a comeback but would come up just short, as Parco won by the final score of 4-3.

The upshot for Nebraska fans is they ultimately won the away dual against the Sun Devils by the score of 26-9.

This will throw a previously placid weight class into considerable tumult. Lovett may yet retain his number one ranking, as Parco has a loss to both #2 Caleb Henson and to Ty Whalen, who is deferring eligibility for a season at Princeton. Henson, meanwhile, has a loss to Lovett at the 2023 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Watch Henson defeat Parco in the CKLV semifinals:

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Watch Lovett defeat Henson in the CKLV finals:

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How that weight class and every other division shakes out in the rankings will now be up to the rankers. However, It will be up to the wrestlers to see how they emerge from their respective conference tournaments, which are all scheduled to take place during the weekend of March 8-10.

Coming up next for Parco is the Pac-12 tournament, which is small -- with just six programs -- but mighty, with four nationally ranked competitors including three in the top ten. Besides Parco there is also #8 Jaden Abas of Stanford and #9 Chance Lamer of Cal Poly.

Lovett's journey through the Big Ten Championship bracket will be equally fraught, as he will have seven other top 20 challengers with which to contend.

Henson will likely have a rematch with #4 Jackson Arrington, who he recently beat in a dual meet on Friday 4-1, in the finals of the ACC tournament.

However it all turns out, things just got a little more exciting at 149 thanks to Parco's victory over Lovett.