The sensational freshman season of Max McEnelly came to a conclusion on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, and the Waconia native will head into the offseason as not just an NCAA All-American but also the third-best wrestler in the country at 184 pounds.

The 2025 Big Ten Freshman of the Year defeated Oklahoma State's Dustin Plott to take third place, finishing only behind Penn State's Carter Starocci and Northern Iowa's Parker Keckeisen, who will face off on Saturday night in the 184-pound finals. Notably, Starocci and Keckeisen are the only two to defeat McEnelly this season, both needing overtime to do so.

With the win over Plott, McEnelly finished his redshirt freshman season with a 24-2 record, improving his career record to 35-2 after going 12-0 as a true freshman in 2023-24.

With Starocci and Keckeisen both in their final years of collegiate wrestling, McEnelly will have a strong chance of being the top-ranked wrestler in the 184-pound weight class next season

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