The All-Quarter Century project gave us an opportunity to reflect two weeks ago on the superstars who ruled college wrestling’s 165-pound class — a weight that featured 10 multi-time NCAA champions — during the last 25 years. 

And last week we looked back on the incredible run of unbeatens at 174 pounds, where the national champ navigated through the season without a defeat for seven consecutive years. 

This week, it’s time to remember the greats of the 184-pound class, which shares some similarities with the previous two weights we explored for the Flowrestling All-Quarter Century Team presented by Defense Soap. 

During the past 25 years, the 184-pound class has been home to 10 multi-time NCAA champions, which matches 165 for the most since 2001. That group includes seven wrestlers who won at least three national titles. No other weight class has had more than five wrestlers who have won at least three NCAA titles during the last quarter century. 

Some of those stars — Carter Starocci at 174 and Cael Sanderson at 197, for example — fell into other weight classes during the Flowrestling All-Quarter Century voting. Nonetheless, there was no shortage of high-caliber options at 184. 

Here’s a look at some of the top stars who missed the final cut at 184:

Jake Herbert (Northwestern) — There’s certainly a strong case to be made for Herbert as one of the four finalists at 184. He went 66-0 in two seasons at the weight with 51 bonus-point victories. He won an NCAA title in 2007 and another in 2009 when he didn’t surrender a takedown during his Hodge Trophy-winning senior year. Herbert also placed third and second at 174 in his first two trips to the NCAA Championships. He compiled a 135-4 career record at Northwestern.  

Gabe Dean (Cornell) — Cornell’s all-time wins leader racked up 152 career victories with the Big Red and lost just seven times on his way to four NCAA podium finishes, three finals appearances and two titles. Dean is also Cornell’s career leader in bonus-point victories with 101 and ranks second on the Big Red pin list with 50. 

Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) — One of Northern Iowa’s all-time greats. Keckeisen placed third or better five times at the NCAA Championships with three trips to the finals and a title in 2024 when he went 31-0 with 28 bonus-point victories. Keckeisen compiled a 133-6 career record with the Panthers and won five Big 12 titles. 

Building The Quarter Century Team

We put together a list with every NCAA champion since 2001 — all 160 of the guys who combined to win the 240 individual national titles during that time frame — and the Flowrestling team pared it down to 40 (the top four at each weight) with a staff vote. Ultimately, we'll cut the list down to 10 with the help of a fan vote on social media. 

Now you can cast a vote for the top 184-pounder from the past quarter century. 

Who was the best 184-pound wrestler of the Quarter-Century?

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) July 21, 2025

(Listed in chronological order) 

Greg Jones (West Virginia)

A couple matches before Cael Sanderson completed his 159-0 career, Jones won his first NCAA title as a freshman at 174 with a 12-5 victory in the finals, sparking chatter about the West Virginia star becoming college wrestling’s next four-time national champ. That talk lasted a year. Jones got knocked off in the opening-round of the 2003 NCAA Championships as the top-seeded 174-pounder. He moved up to 184 as a junior and never lost again with the Mountaineers, going 51-0 during his final two seasons. He finished his career with a 126-4 record. 

Ed Ruth (Penn State) 

Ruth was an integral part of Penn State’s first four NCAA titles under Cael Sanderson. He placed third as a freshman at 174 in 2011 before winning national titles each of the next three seasons, including a pair at 184. He went 136-3 with the Nittany Lions — a 97.8 percent winning percentage that currently ranks in Penn State history behind Mitchell Mesenbrink’s 98.1 clip. Ruth’s name is all over the Nittany Lion career charts. He’s second in career bonus-point victories (104), sixth in pins (46) and sixth in technical falls (25).  

Bo Nickal (Penn State) 

Like Jones and Ruth, Nickal was also a three-time NCAA champ who began his career at 174. After getting upset in the NCAA finals as a freshman, Nickal moved up to 184 and won a pair of titles before moving up to 197 as a senior in 2019 when he won the Hodge Trophy. Nickal went 120-3 during his career with the Nittany Lions with 59 pins, one behind Jason Nolf for the top spot on Penn State’s all-time leaderboard. Nickal went 57-1 during his two seasons at 184. His first title came in 2017 when he stopped Dean from becoming a three-time NCAA champ with a 4-3 win in the finals. The following year, Nickal pinned Ohio State’s Myles Martin in the championship bout to lock up the NCAA team title for the Nittany Lions. 

Aaron Brooks (Penn State) 

Brooks finished his career at 197 and won a Hodge Trophy there in 2024, but he did most of the heavy lifting at 184 on his way to becoming the seventh four-time NCAA champ in Division I history. Brooks won his first three titles at 184 by beating Trent Hidlay, Myles Amine and Parker Keckeisen in the NCAA finals. He compiled an 89-3 career record with the Nittany Lions and went undefeated during two of his title runs.