Penn State's Bo Nickal will look to capture his third NCAA title (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Is it a race for second place at the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships?
It definitely looks like it could end up that way.
On paper, the top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions are the clear favorite to repeat as national team champions.
Penn State has won the last three team titles and seven of the last eight. And the Nittany Lions are coming off a dominant performance at the Big Ten tournament.
They are a loaded and stacked team with talented and proven performers once again.
PSU also is wrestling close to home with the tournament being held in nearby Pittsburgh this season. No doubt, the Nittany Lions will have plenty of crowd support at this event.
But there are a handful of teams with strong lineups who will have their opportunity as well during the NCAA tournament on March 21-23.
The top contenders to knocking off Penn State appear to be Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Iowa and Michigan.
Why are the Nittany Lions such a big favorite? That's an answer most wrestling fans already know.
They feature a deep and experienced roster with standout wrestlers who have delivered on the big stage.
Penn State features arguably the two best wrestlers in the field in two-time national champions Jason Nolf (157 pounds) and Bo Nickal (197). Both are seeded No. 1 and heavily favored to capture their third titles.
Nolf and Nickal also are bonus-point scoring machines and the Nittany Lions have traditionally excelled in that area in this tournament.
Big Ten champion Mark Hall is one of three PSU wrestlers seeded No. 1 (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)PSU also features two-time national champion Vincenzo Joseph (165) and national champion Mark Hall (174).
Joseph is seeded second after losing to Iowa's Alex Marinell in the Big Ten finals. Hall is the No. 1 seed after avenging his 2018 national finals loss to Arizona State's Zahid Valencia this season.
The Nittany Lions also have strong title contenders in Shakur Rasheed at 184 and Anthony Cassar at heavyweight.
Rasheed is seeded second in his weight class while Cassar, coming off a win over then-No. 1 Gable Steveson of Minnesota, also is seeded second.
All-American Nick Lee is back at 141 for Penn State and he is seeded third for nationals.
The Nittany Lions also have top young wrestlers Roman Bravo-Young (No. 10 at 133) and Brady Berge (No. 12 at 149) in their lineup.
With so much firepower in the PSU lineup, it will take a tremendous team effort to overtake them for the championship.
Ohio State's Myles Martin won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and enters the NCAAs ranked No. 1 (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Ohio State has battled the Nittany Lions close in recent years after winning the NCAA team title in 2015.
The Buckeyes may have the best shot of anybody to defeat Penn State this year.
Ohio State is led by national champion Myles Martin and two-time third-place finisher Joey McKenna. Martin is seeded No. 1 at 184 and McKenna is the 2 seed at 141.
The Buckeyes also feature highly seeded wrestlers in Kollin Moore (No. 2 at 197), Micah Jordan (No. 2 at 149), Luke Pletcher (No. 5 at 133) and Ke-Shawn Hayes (No. 11 at 157).
Oklahoma State's Kaden Gfeller after winning the Southern Scuffle (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com)Oklahoma State also features a deep squad with the potential to be in contention in Pittsburgh.
The Cowboys, the winningest program in NCAA history, are led by No. 1 seeds Daton Fix (133) and Derek White (285).
Oklahoma State also has highly seeded wrestlers in Nick Piccininni (No. 2 at 125), Preston Weigel (No. 3 at 197), Kaden Gfeller (No. 7 at 149) and Jacobe Smith (No. 7 at 174).
Iowa's Austin DeSanto is seeded No. 7 at 133 pounds (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)The Iowa Hawkeyes also are highly ranked, and they feature a strong squad capable of scoring their share of team points.
The Hawkeyes are led by returning national champion Spencer Lee (125) and No. 1 seed Alex Marinelli (165 pounds). Lee is seeded third after finishing second at the Big Ten tournament.
Iowa also has highly seeded wrestlers in Jacob Warner (No. 5 at 197), Kaleb Young (No. 6 at 157), Austin DeSanto (No. 7 at 133), Pat Lugo (No. 10 at 149) and Cash Wilcke (No. 12 at 184).
Marinelli is seeded No. 1, but his draw is far from favorable.
He could have a tough first match against Oklahoma State's Joe Smith, a two-time All-American who is the No. 33 seed at 165. Smith competed at 174 during the regular season and was ranked in the top five in that class. He moved down to 165 and beat two-time All-American Chandler Rogers in a wrestle-off before the postseason.
Iowa heavyweight Sam Stoll is a returning All-American, but he has competed only sparingly this season while not being 100 percent physically. Stoll was ranked No. 1 in the preseason.
Stoll is seeded just 29th with a 9-5 record. He will face No. 4 seed Jordan Wood of Lehigh in an intriguing first-round match.
Michigan's Stevan Micic is undefeated and seeded No. 2 (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com)Michigan also has its share of standouts, led by returning NCAA runner-up and No. 2 seed Stevan Micic at 133.
The teams chasing the Nittany Lions obviously will need to score as many bonus points as they can to try and keep pace.
It may be a race for second place at the 2019 NCAAs, but there certainly is the potential for a close race for the gold trophy.
Plenty of wild and crazy developments can occur when the stakes are highest during three highly competitive days of wrestling.
But it would definitely take an impressive all-around performance for anyone to knock off Penn State.
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