Did you know that pumpkin spice contains no actual pumpkin flavoring? It's true! And the only reason I mention that fraudulent seasoning is because its invasion and saturation of the supermarket shelves can only mean that NCAA wrestling is right around the corner. As such, we shall continue our previews with the 165-pound weight class. 

165-Pound Preseason Rankings

Savvy wrestling fans acknowledged that 165 was one of the deepest NCAA weight classes last season. The talent that did not reach the podium in Cleveland is both shocking and extraordinary.  

Isaiah Martinez, one of the best to ever lace them up in college, has graduated. IMar was a four-time finalist and two-time champ. His three career losses were twice to Vincenzo Joseph and once to Jason Nolf, both of whom are two-time NCAA champs and counting. Others significant departures from the weight class include the graduation of Rutgers' Richie Lewis, Rider's Chad Walsh. Two of last year's eight All-Americans, David McFadden and Chandler Rogers, are expected to bump to up to 174. 

Despite this exodus, 165 remains seemingly as deep as before.   

NCAA Previews: 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157

The Favorite

#1 Vincenzo Joseph, Penn State

Joseph is the two-time reigning national champion, but if he enters the 2019 NCAA Tournament as the #1 seed it will be for the first time, as he was seeded third in the previous two tournaments. Joseph also never won a Big Ten championship, though it's not like he nor any of the Nittany Lion faithful would trade conference titles or top seeds for the two national titles Cenzo's won.

IMar, the man who won the last two Big Ten 165-pound titles and has handed Joseph half of his six career losses, has run out of eligibility. 

Nevertheless, Joseph's path to a third consecutive championship will be anything but easy. As we shall soon see, hammers abound as 165 reloads for yet another monstrous middleweight season. 

Watch Joseph win his second NCAA title:

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The Contenders

#2 Evan Wick, Wisconsin

#3 Chance Marsteller, Lock Haven

#4 Alex Marinelli, Iowa

#5 Logan Massa, Michigan

Cradle-machine Evan Wick slapped on a farside variant of his favorite pinning combination to secure third-place at the NCAAs in dramatic fashion over Chance Marsteller, in what has to be one of the biggest disparities in height between opponents in NCAA history. Wick was down 4-1 before ensnaring Marsteller. Chance has one of the slickest elbow-post hi-c's in the game and is also an underrated scrambler, but it was all for naught once that vice-like cradle tightened up on him. 

Those two are the highest returning placers after Cenzo, and are a good bet to place highly again in Pittsburgh. 

Watch Wick and Marsteller below in their third-place match:

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Logan Massa got injured at the early season meatgrinder that is the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December of 2017. He had an uneven season upon his return, at least by his lofty standards, but if Massa regains his peak form 2016-17 form, when he only lost to national champions, he will be right there with the rest of the 165-pound contenders. 

Best of the Rest

#6 Joe Smith, Oklahoma State

#7 Bryce Steiert, Northern Iowa

#8 Jonathon Chavez, Cornell

#9 Isaiah White, Nebraska

Smith is coming off a redshirt season where he saw limited action. He reached All-American status his true freshman and sophomore season, however, and there is no doubt that he's talented enough to bang with anyone in the weight class. 

Bryce Steiert has yet to make the podium, but the Panther train was rolling full steam ahead at the 2018 Southern Scuffle where Steiert placed second, losing only in the finals to Cenzo. Like Smith, Steiert is also coming off redshirt, adding another hammer the weight class.

Check out Steiert defeating Chance Marsteller in the semifinals of the Scuffle:

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As the #16 seed, Chavez was not expected to finish seventh in Cleveland.  The Idaho native is a three-time age level national champion in Greco-Roman, though, so his performance should not have come as a shock, at least not to those who have seen him go toe-to-toe and throw-for-throw with the best in Greco wrestlers in the country. 

The cut off for this section is always the toughest to make, but alas there is only so much time in the preseason to pound away at the keyboard before the season starts, and so we've drawn the line here at Zay Zay. White arguably had the best season of any returning non-All-American, with wins over Evan Wick, Jon Chavez, and Richie Lewis, among others. He should be a factor in the top of the rankings all season long.

Sleepers and Landmines

#16 Zac Carson, Ohio

#20 Jon Viruet, Brown

Seldon Wright, Old Dominion

With such a solid top of the division, anyone who wants to be a 'March surprise' is going to have their work cut out for them. 

One wrestler who could cause problems is Ohio's national qualifier Zac Carson. The powerful Carson came to the Bobcat program by way of Eastern Michigan after that university dropped their wrestling program, bringing great shame to an otherwise proud institution. 

Jon Viruet has first-hand experience playing the spoiler, having upset two-time All-American Chandler Rogers in the first round of the 2018 NCAAs. The unseeded Viruet missed the podium while the eighth-seeded Rogers placed to his seed. Viruet nonetheless proved his landmine capabilities and will be a danger to all who are foolish enough to look past him.

After a year up ay 174, the two-time NCAA qualifier Seldon Wright is coming back down to 165. Wright is just outside the bubble of the top 20 rankings but he could change that in a hurry as the Monarchs will take on powerhouses NC State and Missouri before heading to the always difficult Midlands tournament. 

One name we purposely didn't include was Arizona State's Anthony Valencia, not because he is not talented enough to be a danger to anyone in the weight class, but because there are rumors he may redshirt this season. Valencia took an Olympic redshirt as a true freshman, so he still has a regular shirt to use. If Valencia does defer a year of eligibility, look for All-American Josh Sheilds to bump up to 165 and for national qualifier Christian Pagdilao to man the 149-pound slot. Or none of that could happen, we'll all have to just wait and see!

New Blood

#16 Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech

Stephan Glasgow, Rutgers

Kaleb Romero, Ohio State

Jake Allar, Minnesota

By my count, newly minted junior world champion Mekhi Lewis beat at least six national qualifiers last year as a redshirt true freshman. His only two losses were to Chance Marsteller, on the front and backside of the Southern Scuffle, where Lewis finished fourth. Lewis should be on every wrestling fan's radar this season.

Watch Lewis major two-time NCAA qualifier Gordon Wolf in the consolation semifinals of the Southern Scuffle:

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Stephan Glasgow was Lewis' teammate at New Jersey high school powerhouse Bound Brook. He didn't see any collegiate action last season while taking a prep year at St. Benedict's in Newark, NJ, but Glasgow was only seven spot below Lewis on the 2017 Big Board, so the Scarlet Knight faithful should be pumped to see Glasgow finally get into the collegiate mix. 

Kaleb Romero is expected to earn the starting spot at 165 for last season's runner-up Buckeyes, allowing Te'Shan Campbell to move up to 174. Jake Allar is projected to start at 165 for the Gophers after the graduation of Nick Wanzek. Both are Big Ten names to remember.

Key Dates

• November 16 - Wisconsin at Nebraska (Wick vs White)
• January 12 - Northern Iowa vs Nebraska (Steiert vs White)
• January 13 - Wisconsin at Penn State (Wick vs Cenzo)
• February 1 - Michigan at Penn State (Massa vs Cenzo - in the Bryce Jordan Center)
• February 2 - Lock Haven at Cornell (Marsteller vs Chavez)
• February 17 - Iowa at Wisconsin (Marinelli vs Wick)
• February 24 - Iowa at Oklahoma State (Marinelli vs Smith - this dual once again!)

2018 will be light on big time duals for the 165-pound weight class, so make sure you tune into the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and Southern Scuffle, at which you should see most of the top contenders vying for medals.

January and February have the most enticing scheduled one-on-ones, with Iowa at Oklahoma State once again providing marquee matchups.

Spey's Spredictions

1st: Vincenzo Joseph, Penn State

2nd: Chance Marsteller, Lock Haven

3rd: Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech

4th: Evan Wick, Wisconsin

5th: Alex Marinelli, Iowa

6th: Logan Massa, Michigan

7th: Bryce Steiert, Northern Iowa

8th: Isaiah White, Nebraska

R12: Joseph Smith, Oklahoma State

R12: Jonathan Chavez, Cornell

R12: Branson Ashworth, Wyoming

R12: Connor Flynn, Missouri

I predict all the way out to the Round of 12, unlike Nomad, who remains a coward. 

As I gaze into my crystal ball, I see Vincenzo Joseph winning his third national title. But let's be honest, one does not need an orbuculum to call for a Cenzo-threepeat in his home city of Pittsburgh.  

Perhaps I'm letting personal bias factor into my pick of Marsteller to make the finals in his final year of eligibility, but it's hard not to root for the guy after hearing his life story. However, anyone who has seen Chance wrestle objectively knows he has the chops to reach the pinnacle of the sport. 

I'll also cop to a bias in picking Mekhi Lewis because I picked him on my fantasy wrestling team. But, the reason I picked the junior world champion on my fantasy team is because I've seen enough of his skills to be a believer. You could watch the gains Lewis made all year long, as he won every tournament he entered except the prestigious Southern Scuffle, where he took fourth. Winning a junior world championship in his third freestyle tournament EVER is also pretty impressive, I'd say.

I picked Evan Wick fourth with the caveat that he can potentially end any match with anyone in the weight class with his devastating cradling ability. Marinelli at fifth also comes with the caveat that he's got a win over Cenzo and definitely has the talent to win a national title in his third season in Iowa City. Massa, likewise, is better than his 1-2 record at last season's NCAAs, and I wouldn't be shocked for him to go all the way either. 

What I am saying is all these guys are really, really good, so I'm hedging my bets with all of them. 

I really liked what I saw of Steiert and White last year and though it feels too low, in this weight class, anywhere on the podium is a massive achievement. It's so crowded that Joseph Smith is the first one out of the top eight, although I expect I will come to regret this pick by the end of next March. Jon Chavez is right there with Smith for engendering the same sentiment. 

Flynn and Ashworth were right on the cusp of breaking through to the next level all last season. I could see them both turning the corner this year, and will be not-at-all displeased if they prove my non-placement predictions completely wrong. 

We've now rounded the half-way mark of our preseason previews. The season inches closer and closer. How exhilarating! 

Nomad covers 174 next. See you in two days for 184!