125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165      

For collegiate wrestlers, there's not much of a break during the Christmas Holidays.  Maybe a day or two, but that's it.  Especially if they have to prepare for the top-notch competition at the 2015 Defense Soap & Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Based on this week's Intermat Team Tournament rankings, over half of the Top 25 and four of the top eight teams in the nation are set to compete at the two-day event hosted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

TheSouthernScuffle.com has provided fans with its #LetsScuffle previews of the 125-165 brackets.  The #LetsScuffle breakdown continues today with a look into the competition at 174 and 184.

174 has a ton of Scuffle experience with five placers from last year's tournament returning.  Penn State senior Matt Brown leads this group as a 2014 finalist.  The two-time All-American and 2013 NCAA runner-up is currently No. 4 in the nation with a 7-1 overall record. 

Pittsburgh senior Tyler Wilps is another returner who made the podium at last year's Scuffle and is one of three All-Americans competing at 174.  He was fourth at the Scuffle a year ago and seventh at the NCAAs in March.

Both Brown and Wilps will be chasing Nebraska senior Robert Kokesh.  He is 15-0 on the year and No. 1 in the rankings at 174.  He is one of four top-ranked individuals in the Scuffle field.

“There are three All-Americans at 174, but there are a bunch of guys who could make the finals at this weight,” said UTC head coach Heath Eslinger.  “Kokesh is off to a great start and Brown and Wilps are both legitimate national title contenders.  However, you can't overlook guys like Blaise Butler of Virginia and Iowa State's Tanner Weatherman.”

Butler is currently No. 6 at 174, while Weatherman is right behind him at No. 7.  Weatherman was sixth last year, followed by Oklahoma State's Kyle Krutchmer and Mikey England of Missouri.  They are No. 18 and No. 16 in this week's rankings, respectively. 

Other ranked competitors at 174 include No. 13 Davanote Mahomes (Michigan), No. 15 Pete Renda (N.C. State), No. 17 Caleb Marsh (Kent State) and No. 20 Keaton Subjeck (Stanford). 

There is a trio of wrestlers taking the mat for the Mocs.  Led by senior Levi Clemons, this group also includes sophomores Sean Mappes and McCoy Newberg. 

Clemons is coming off a knee injury and just recently re-entered the lineup.  He was a Southern Conference Champion and NCAA qualifier last season. 

Mappes missed last year with an injury and has competed at 174 and 184.  Newburg is a transfer from Nebraska who has already posted some nice wins this season.

“We have three very talented guys at 174,” added Eslinger.  “Clemons is the senior and most experienced and we have put Mappes at 184 a few times trying to get a win.  These three are very close and it will be interesting to see if one of them can distance themselves from the other two at the Scuffle.”

Cornell's Gabe Dean shocked the wrestling world when he upset Penn State's Ed Ruth at 184 last season.

Each year, the Scuffle features at least one upset that shocks the wrestling world.  That certainly happened in the finals of the 184 bracket in 2014. 

Three-time defending champion and two-time defending NCAA Champion Ed Ruth of Penn State took his No. 1 ranking into the championship match against Cornell freshman Gabe Dean.  Dean shocked everyone when he scored a 7-4 win.  It was Ruth's first loss since 2011 and snapped his personal 84-match winning streak.  You can watch this match by checking out the Flowrestling replay here. 

Dean is back and ranked No. 7 at 184 this week.  Pittsburgh senior Max Thomusseit is No. 1 at 184 this week, while Lehigh junior Nathaniel Brown is No. 3.  The Scuffle has four of the top 10 at 184 when you include No. 9 Willie Miklus, a freshman from Missouri.

Thomusseit already has a 6-4 win over Brown in a dual meet earlier in the year.  Thomusseit is 9-0 overall while Brown is 9-1. 

“Thomusseit is another No. 1 guy in the field and I think he has to be the favorite at 184,” added Eslinger.  “He has already beaten Nathaniel Brown, but that was a very close match and a rematch would be fun to see.  However, don't count out Gabe Dean, or anyone else.  As we have seen in the past, this weight can be full of surprises.”

Others ranked at 184 in the field include No. 15 Ben Stroh (So. – Wyoming), No. 16 Dominic Abounader (So. – Michigan), No. 17 Lelund Weatherspoon (So. – Iowa State) and No. 19 T.J. Dudley (So. – Nebraska).  Weatherspoon was fifth at 174 last season.  Oklahoma State's Nolan Boyd is also back after finishing seventh a year ago.     

Taking the mat for the Mocs are junior John Lampe and sophomore John Shrader.  Lampe was an All-SoCon performer last season, while Shrader missed the year with a knee injury. 

“Lampe and Shrader are two other guys who are competing for a spot in the lineup,” added Eslinger.  “This is a great test for both of them and they could go a long way in the tournament.”

The 2015 Defense Soap and Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle takes place at the McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Jan. 1-2.  For tickets, local attractions and hotel information, visit TheSouthernScuffle.com.

Flowrestling and Trackwrestling provide complete coverage of the event through live video and live scoring.  Links for both are on TheSouthernScuffle.com.

Once again, the official hashtag of the Southern Scuffle is #LetsScuffle.  Last year, the tournament trended nationally on social media.  Be sure to use the #LetsScuffle hashtag when tweeting about the 2015 tournament.