It's SHOCKtober, the most delightfully fiendish month in the most fiendishly delightful season of them all! Not only do all the little "boils" and "ghouls" have trick-or-treating on Halloween to look forward to, but college wrestling fans are going absolutely batty with anticipation of the new NCAA season. 

To prepare for wrestling season, we've been working in our lab, late at night, so that your eyes could behold the eerie sight of today's 184-pound preview. Join us, as we mash through this monstrous division. That is... IF YOU DARE. 

184-Pound Preseason Rankings

It's not often that an updated roster provides the biggest news of the offseason, but that's what happened at 184-pounds when Penn State hit refresh on their website back in August. Two-time defending national champion Bo Nickal was listed at 197-pounds, while 2018's 197-pound seventh-placer Shakur Rasheed was penciled in at 184. 

Assuming those weights are accurate, and there is no reason to think they're not, then that would be a big name no longer competing at 184. Pete Renda and Domenic Abounader, both one-time All-Americans, also exit the weight class after completing their collegiate eligibility. Those departures will be offset by an impressive batch of new entrants to the weight class, making it once again one of the toughest and most exciting divisions in the NCAA.

NCAA Previews: 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174

The Favorite

#1 Myles Martin, Ohio State

Myles Martin spent every week of last season ranked #2. Bo Nickal was all steady and wavering at #1 from start to finish. But all signs point to Bo Nickal competing at 197 this season, and so Myles Martin now stands alone at the top of the 184-pound mountain. 

Can Martin go wire-to-wire at #1? Well, he is pretty good. And he did go undefeated against everyone not named Bo Nickal. And he's got that scary combination of strength, speed, and technique. So I like his chances. 

Here's Myles winning a convincing 8-4 match against Zack Zavatsky to make his second NCAA finals appearance:

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The Contenders

#2 Emery Parker, Illinois

#3 Taylor Venz, Nebraska

#4 Zack Zavatsky, Virginia Tech

#5 Shakur Rasheed, Penn State

Emery Parker went "ultimate road warrior" at the 2018 NCAAs. He lost in the first round to Chip Ness and but then came storming back, winning seven straight consolation bouts to take third. Parker also avenged his loss to Ness in the process. Despite this, the Illinois native may still be a little under the radar. Martin and Parker didn't wrestle each other last season, but the season before that they split matches, and he should very much be considered a title threat.

Taylor Venz was also flying under the radar at the start of last season, after a solid yet unspectacular redshirt true freshman season against mostly inferior competition. Venz made his presence known at the CKLV, however, placing third in a loaded bracket.  The Minnesota native would rack up seven wins over All-Americans by the time the season was over, including a 9-4 decision of Emery Parker at Big Tens. Venz is as dangerous a 184-pounder as they come.

Watch Venz clinch third at the CKLV over Zack Zavatsky:

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Zavatsky failed to place after receiving the fifth seed at both of his first two NCAA tournaments. The senior from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, finally got over the hump last season, placing sixth from the sixth seed. With that All-American monkey off his back, ZZ can let loose in his last go around the college circuit.

Shakur Rasheed drops down to 184 to fill the void left by Bo Nickal's climb up to 197, where Rasheed took seventh at the 2018 NCAAs. Rasheed has proven to be deadly with a cross-face cradle, and one would think he'd have no trouble hitting the same maneuver at a smaller weight class. But it's possible Rasheed will be better scouted this season, and we can see a wide range of results from him at the 2019 NCAAs. He's got the potential to win it all, but that's far from a sure thing at this point. 

Best of the Rest

#6 Chip Ness, North Carolina

#7 Ryan Preisch, Lehigh

#8 Max Dean, Cornell

#9 Nick Reenan, North Carolina State

#10 Jacobe Smith, Oklahoma State

#11 Drew Foster, Northern Iowa

It was tough leaving anyone of the guys in this section off the contender's list, as they are capable of doing big things in March. We did have an easier time drawing the line after Foster, as he was the lowest ranked All-American in the top 20, which made for a natural boundary to this section.

There are eight other All-Americans besides Drew Foster who are expected to compete at 184-pounds this season. Foster took seventh at the 2017 NCAAs. His rank of #11 tells you more about the depth of the division than it does about Foster's ability.

One of those All-Americans, Chip Ness, surprised a lot of people by making the podium last season as an unseeded competitor. He will likely not be able to take anyone by surprise this time in this his senior season. 

Ryan Preisch is also entering his final year of eligibility. The Pennsylvania native has made three consecutive NCAA Tournaments and agonizingly finished in the bloodround in the last two. He will be a sentimental favorite to finish in the top eight in Pittsburgh. 

Max Dean found a way onto the podium his freshman campaign despite not winning the EIWAs and going 3-3 in Cleveland. The Michigan native got it done when it mattered most, however, and helped Cornell finish yet again in the top 10, despite relinquishing the EIWA crown for the first time in over a decade. 

Nick Reenan's rise has been swift, from going 0-2 as a 174 pound true freshman at the 2017 NCAAs, to the bulking up to 184 pounds and going 21-4 during a redshirt campaign that included a win over Zavatsky, to making Final X at 86kg and finishing second on the USA team ladder behind David Taylor. Expect big things from the young Wolfpacker from Texas.

It remains to be seen how the Cowboys are going to manage their roster, which is overflowing with All-Americans. We're expecting to see Jacobe Smith, 2018's seventh placer at 174-pounds, bump up to 184 this season, but we will have to wait until the season is well underway to be sure.  

Watch Nick Reenan take out NCAA qualifier Greg Bulsak of Clarion at the Wolfpack Open:

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Sleepers and Landmines

#16 Corey Hazel, Lock Haven

Kordell Norfleet, Arizona State

Brandon Krone, Minnesota

Keegan Moore, Northern Iowa

Dakota Geer, Oklahoma State

We're including Brandon Krone and Keegan Moore here because they are both good enough to start and qualify for the NCAAs. I say that because both Krone and Moore qualified for the NCAAs last season. So how is that for expert analysis? But guys are not currently projected to start, however, as Moore has All-American Drew Foster to contend with at 184 and Krone will have Owen Webster in his path, the latter of whom is returning from injury and began last season as the Gophers' starter. 

Dakota Geer is in a similar situation a Moore and Krone. All-Americans above him, All-Americans below him, and here Geer is, stuck in the middle between Preston Weigel, Jacobe Smith, and Chandler Rogers. Geer, an NCAA qualifier in 2017, is the only Cowboy in that group yet to have climbed a podium step in March. He used his redshirt last season and will begin this season with sophomore eligibility. 

New Blood

#17 Louie DePrez, Binghamton

#18 Nino Bonaccorsi, Pitt

Jelani Embree, Michigan

Cameron Caffey, Michigan State

A very promising crop of youngsters shed their redshirts and enter the weight class with freshman eligibility. DePrez is the most credentialed of the bunch, having won the Wilkes, Edinboro and National Collegiate Open. Nino Bonaccorsi is right there with him. Those two have wrestled each other many times, from Super 32 in high school, to the aforementioned Edinboro Open, to the 2018 Junior U.S. Open. DePrez seems to always find a way to get his hand raised at the end of the match but it doesn't always come easy, as Bonaccorsi took DePrez to tiebreakers in the finals of the Edinboro Open. Their continued rivalry will be a joy to watch unfold at the NCAA level. 

Watch DePrez once again get the better of Bonaccorsi in the finals of the 2018 National Collegiate Open:

Speaking of budding NCAA rivalries, the competition between Jelani Embree and Cameron Caffey mirrors that of DePrez and Bonaccorsi. It was Embree who won their most recent matchup, also at the Junior U.S. Open. There should be no shortages of opportunities for Caffey to get revenge, however, as Michigan and Michigan State show up on each other's schedule quite often. 

Key Dates

• December 2 - Lehigh at Penn State (Preisch vs Rasheed)
• December 16 - Cornell at Northern Iowa (Dean vs Foster)
• January 6 - North Carolina State at Ohio State (Reenan vs Martin)
• January 12 - Northern Iowa at Nebraska (Foster vs Venz at Tumble N Rumble, a wrestling and women's gymnastic co-event)
• January 20 - Nebraska at Penn State (Venz vs Rasheed)
• January 27 - Virginia Tech at Lehigh (Zavatsky vs Preisch)
• February 1 - Northern Iowa at Oklahoma State (Foster vs Smith)
• February 1 - Ohio State vs Illinois (Martin vs Parker)
• February 17 - Penn State at Illinois (Rasheed vs Parker)

As per every weight class, but especially for 184, don't sleep on the CKLV and Southern Scuffle. Ohio State and Nebraska, among many others, headline the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational at the end of November, while Penn State and Oklahoma State are the biggest team names scheduled to pay a visit to Chattanooga, Tennesee on New Year's Day. 

Big Ten dual meets dominate most of the year's marquee matchups, but stay woke on the ACC, as three contenders are expected to come out of that conference. 

Spey's Spredictions

1st: Myle Martin, Ohio State

2nd: Emery Parker, Illinois

3rd: Nick Reenan, North Carolina State

4th: Taylor Venz, Nebraska

5th: Shakur Rasheed, Penn State

6th: Zack Zavatsky, Virginia Tech

7th: Ryan Preisch, Lehigh

8th: Louie DePrez, Binghamton

R12: Chip Ness, North Carolina

R12: Max Dean, Cornell

R12: Drew Foster, Northern Iowa

R12: Jacobe Smith, Oklahoma State

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

Fortune's wheel is a fickle one, and only a fool would presume to know just how the fateful wheel will turn. Luckily I've no aversion to foolishness and calling the shots of outrageous fortune's slings and arrows comes naturally. 

I like Myles Martin to get back to the top spot of the podium for the first time in four years. I don't think it will be easy, though, as Emery Parker is a beast once he gets rolling. 

I expect Nick Reenan to continue his meteoric rise to the upper echelon, and for Taylor Venz to be right there with him. Both are entering their third year in a college room. 

Shakur Rasheed was the most difficult wrestler to place. He'll get plenty of opportunities to prove me wrong, as Penn State's dual meet schedule has Rasheed facing off against Big Ten rivals Parker, Martin, and Venz.  

Zach Zavatsky will also have opportunities to show that I am selling him short to start the season, as he's got a dual meet with North Carolina State and Nick Reenan slated for final dual of the year right before the conference championship. 

Louie DePrez will be able to prove his bona fides at the Southern Scuffle, with Rasheed and Zavatsky also expected to be in attendance. 

My four round of 12 picks all earned All-American status before, so it should shock exactly zero people if they all find their way back on the podium and make a mockery of my prognostication prowess. 

Nomad will be back tomorrow for 197-pounds, and then I will bring us home with the heavies. See you then!