2024 All-Star Classic Preview

Tomorrow night is one of the crown jewels of the college wrestling season, the All-Star Classic. The event returned to college wrestling in the 2022-23 season and had been the place for marquee matchups to occur. When previous iterations of the event started to die out, it was because intriguing matchups didn’t always take place. One of the benefits of having NIL is that there is now some added incentive for athletes to participate. 

Like the 2023 Classic, this event has a handful of women’s matches - each featuring opponents from different championship divisions doing battle. Also, there is a clash between a top-ranked wrestler from the D2 and D3 ranks. Each is an impressive national champion, in their own right. 

Finally, there is a full slate of bouts between DI competitors. One is a rematch of the 2024 NCAA finals, others could end up being previews of NCAA semifinals and finals, while the main event features two of the best wrestlers in college wrestling today. 

Here’s a match-by-match look at what to expect from the 2024 All-Star Classic. 

110 - #1 Emma Baertlein (Southern Oregon) vs #4 Kendra Ryan (North Central)

The women’s collegiate matches bring a sense of intrigue as each of these matches features a woman from an NAIA school against one from the NCWWC. In this contest, we have Kendra Ryan who is a three-time NCWWC All-American, and Emma Baertlein, who has earned All-American honors twice herself. Ryan was the top seed at nationals last season and suffered her only two losses of the year at the national tournament - taking fourth. Baertlein was knocked off in the quarterfinals, but bounced back with four straight wins to take third and avenged her loss with a fall in the third-place bout.

To see the full article purchase an InterMat Premium membership for $10 per month or $50 per year. This gives you access to the top coverage of wrestling throughout the season.
Click here to purchase your Premium membership today!