Without 4X NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis no longer in the field, 149 has opened up into quite an entertaining weight class this season. Before diving deep into this weight class preview, I encourage you to go check out all of the awesome preview content surrounding the NCAA Championships HERE.

The Big Ten, the nation's toughest and deepest college wrestling conference will hold their championship on Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10 in the Xfinity Center on the University of Maryland's College Park campus, and no we have the pressed for the tournament!

Austin Gomez, representing Mexico, defeated Team USA's Nick Lee on Friday, March 1 at the Pan-Am Olympic Games Qualifier in a high-scoring, 22-12 match. The win for Gomez puts him in the semifinals and just one match away from qualifying for the Olympics. Gomez then went on to defeat University of North Carolina All-American Lachlan McNeil (who is representing Canada) in the semifinals to punch his ticket to the Paris Olympics.

Ridge Lovett has risen to the top of the national rankings at 149 pounds thanks to performance, consistency and a touch of attrition.

What: #2 Iowa (10-0, 5-0 B1G) vs #13 Michigan (5-3, 3-2 B1G)When: Friday, February 2 at 7:30 p.m. CT (8:30 p.m. ET)Where: Ann Arbor, Michigan (Crisler Center)How To Watch: Big Ten Network/Fox Sports AppSeries History: Iowa leads 34-26-1

What: #1 Penn State (5-0) vs #14 Michigan (5-1)When: Friday, Jan. 19, 2024 at 5 p.m. CSTWhere: Ann Arbor, Michigan (Crisler Center)How To Watch: Big Ten Network

Twice, Austin Gomez has stepped away, but has been unable to stay away from college wrestling.

After officially announcing he would not be applying for a medical redshirt and be done with college wrestling in May, Austin Gomez has entered the transfer portal. Gomez never retired from the sport of wrestling, just NCAA wrestling. After graduating from Wisconsin in the spring, he moved to Ann Arbor where he has been training with the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club. Gomez represented Mexico at the 2023 World Championships.

Below is a comprehensive list of the wrestlers who competed at the 2023 World Championships, results from the tournament, and the colleges they attended. Some wrestlers are listed twice since they attended multiple schools.