Northeastern State RiverHawks make history with first home wins, set NCAA Division II attendance record
TAHLEQUAH — Northeastern State men’s wrestling made history Wednesday, earning the first home victories in program history while setting an NCAA Division II attendance record with nearly 3,000 fans in attendance.
The RiverHawks celebrated the milestone with a pair of dual victories, defeating Southeast Community College 40-11 before taking down Murray State 35-9.
The crowd of nearly 3,000 established a new NCAA Division II attendance record, adding another milestone to the program’s first home event.
Against Southeast Community College, Northeastern State earned seven individual victories and benefited from two forfeits. Colden Dyer and Clay Giddens each recorded a fall, while Dimitri Kizer posted a 19-3 technical fall in 3:58. Canaan Brummett earned an 8-5 decision, Evan Rodriguez won by major decision, and Christian Clark added a 21-7 major decision.
The RiverHawks carried that momentum into the second dual against Murray State, collecting eight individual victories. Chase Dyer, Ethan Day and Preston Shorter each recorded a fall, while Silas Foster earned a 19-4 technical fall in 6:29. Zane Donley, Cameron Kiser, Kaiden Cue and Brock Byrd added decisions.
Northeastern State returns to the mat Saturday for the Viking Open in Poteau, Oklahoma.
Northeastern State vs. Southeast Community College — NSU wins 40-11
125 pounds: Colden Dyer (NSU) def. William Fontenot, fall, 2:05
133 pounds: Canaan Brummett (NSU) def. Case Jurgens, decision, 8-5
141 pounds: Che Jenkins (SCC) def. Sean Gonzalez (NSU), technical fall, 21-5, 6:43 … more at … https://goriverhawksgo.com/news/2026/11/4/mens-wrestling-riverhawks-make-history-with-first-home-wins-set-ncaa-division-ii-attendance-record.aspx?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Missouri’s Brian Smith Announces Retirement Following 2026-27 Season
COLUMBIA, Mo. — After nearly three decades leading Mizzou Wrestling, head coach Brian Smith announced that the 2026-27 season will be his final at the helm of the Tigers. Smith will retire following his 29th season leading the program, leaving behind a legacy that has helped establish Tiger Style as one of the nation’s premier collegiate wrestling programs.
With Smith’s retirement, Mizzou Director of Athletics Laird Veatch has appointed current associate head coach Kendric Maple to take over as the program’s head coach following the 2026-27 season.
Mizzou Athletics will host a press conference Thursday, Nov. 5, at 3 p.m. CT inside the EquipmentShare Club 1926 in Memorial Stadium’s North End Zone, featuring Veatch, Smith and Maple.
“For almost 30 years at Mizzou, Brian Smith has established a championship program and an elite team culture that has shaped generations of student-athletes and elevated our entire wrestling program,” Veatch said. “We’re grateful for everything Brian has given this university — and we’re incredibly excited to support Kendric Maple as he builds on that foundation. Our focus right now is on the 2026-27 team and the opportunities ahead this season, and the best way to honor Coach Smith’s legacy is to keep competing and pursuing championships.”
“Very few coaches get the opportunity to leave on their own terms. I’m … more at … https://mutigers.com/news/2026/11/4/wrestlings-brian-smith-announces-retirement-following-2026-27-season?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email and …
https://www.kansascity.com/sports/article317932171.html?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Little movement in first Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll of regular season
Manheim, Pennsylvania – With just seven duals involving ranked teams during the opening week of the season, there was minimal movement in the first regular-season NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll presented by Theraworx, released on Wednesday. Sixteen of the 25 teams held their spots, and there were no upsets of ranked teams to shake things up.
Penn State remained No. 1 with 16 first-place votes, and the entire top eight was unchanged. Second-ranked Oklahoma State, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Iowa, No. 5 Virginia Tech, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Stanford and No. 8 Minnesota have yet to compete.
The biggest change near the top came from Missouri, which moved up one spot into a tie with Iowa State at No. 9 after opening the season 3-0 on Monday. The Tigers beat NAIA Central Methodist 46-3, Division II Maryville (Mo.) 44-6 and Division II Central Missouri 47-0. Iowa State (1-0) beat Bucknell 29-12 on Sunday.
Michigan also climbed one spot to No. 13 after shutting out VMI 50-0 on Sunday, while No. 17 Oklahoma held its spot after blanking Division II Northeastern State 46-0. Wyoming beat Western Wyoming of the NJCAA 51-0 on Saturday.
The rest of the lower half saw minor shuffling.
There are 11 duals involving ranked teams this coming week, including … more at … https://mailchi.mp/7f9f0dd3d3c9/nwca-coaches-poll-19881996?e=b8a1a7029f
The ultimate men’s college wrestling fan guide for the 2026-2027 season
Nov. 1 marks the formalized start of the college wrestling season.*
Here’s everything new and returning fans need to know about the structure of the season, the scoring in duals and the top teams who will be competing for a national championship in March.
*Wyoming and Hofstra kicked off their seasons early this year, with dual wins over Western Wyoming College and Sacred Heart by scores of 51-0 and 35-7 respectively on Oct. 31.
When does the college wrestling season start?
The college wrestling season starts Nov. 1 with nine duals and a handful of open tournaments, wrestle-offs and exhibitions across the country. Four ranked teams start their season in dual action on opening day including No. 9 Iowa State, No. 10 Missouri, No. 14 Michigan and No. 17 Oklahoma, though none of these programs will wrestle fellow ranked foes.
The first top-15 team battle of the year comes next week when No. 5 Virginia Tech takes on No. 12 Lehigh in a dual headlined by a potential bout between senior world champion Bo Bassett and U20 world champion and two-time All-American Luke Stanich at 141 pounds.
How does the college wrestling schedule work?
Everything about the college wrestling season builds towards March.
Teams typically compete in non-conference duals on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons in November and December as a way to create opportunities for individual athletes to ease into the season and assess their standings in their weight.
Open tournaments in the first half of the season … more at … https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling-men/article/2026-11-01/ultimate-mens-college-wrestling-fan-guide-2026-2027-season?lid=t39qanmip4c3&primo=
The 2026 Offseason Coaching Carousel
We’ve almost made it through the long offseason. With the 2026-27 season less than a month away, it’s time for one last check on the coaching carousel. I’m sure we’ll get another couple of changes between now and November, as head coaches try to round out their staff before then; however, he’s a final(ish) look at the changes that took place over the offseason.
Below are the new DI hires for the 2026-27 season:
New Hires
Air Force Head Coach: Joe Johnston (Air Force – Associate Head Coach)
Army West Point Associate Head Coach: Mike Macchiavello (Lehigh Valley WC Athlete)
Binghamton Assistant Coach: Luke Welch (The Citadel – Interim Head Coach)
Bloomsburg: Ricky Donald
Bloomsburg: Gable Strickland (Lock Haven – Athlete)
Cal Poly Assistant Coach: Nelson Brands (Iowa City Regina HS Head Coach)
Columbia Assistant Coach: Cesar Alvan (Columbia – Wrestler)
Cornell Associate Head Coach: Zach Tanelli (Virginia Tech – Assistant Coach)
Cornell Assistant Coach: Yianni Diakomihalis (USA Wrestling – Athlete)
CSU Bakersfield Graduate Assistant: Richard Castro-Sandoval (CSU Bakersfield – Athlete)
CSU Bakersfield Assistant Coach: Daniel Manibog … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/the-2026-offseason-coaching-carousel-10132026-r101264/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Presbyterian College Women’s Wrestling Details Winter Schedule
CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College women’s wrestling team – one of the fiercest programs in the nation who has claimed two consecutive Southeast Region Championships and six All-Americans in back-to-back years – has announced the full schedule for the upcoming 2026-27 campaign.
Expectations are sky high for the Blue Hose, who finished 5th as a unit at the NCAA Championships last spring and have eight different wrestlers on the roster who have been named an All-American at least once in their career.
Two-time Region Coach of the Year Brian Vutianitis has directed PC to three straight top-ten placements at Nationals, with the 2026 version being the first under the NCAA umbrella.
Presbyterian has scheduled seven regular-season tournaments this winter, starting with the Princeton Open on November 1. They’ll host their own bracket for the third year in a row on November 15 inside Templeton Gymnasium.
PC’s six All-Americans last season (Chloe … more at … https://gobluehose.com/news/2026/10/13/womens-wrestling-pc-womens-wrestling-details-winter-schedule.aspx?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
College stars prepare for action at the 2026 Galaxy U23 World Championships in Las Vegas
The turn to Fall signals the start of the NCAA wrestling season. While we still must wait a few more weeks for Division I men’s action to begin, this weekend in Las Vegas we will get a sneak preview of some of the top collegiate stars in international freestyle action.
The 2026 Galaxy U23 World Championships are currently underway in Las Vegas, and men’s freestyle action takes place October 16-18.
The U.S. squad is loaded as it looks to repeat as team champions, and college wrestling fans will recognize a lot of names, as these athletes are also expected to compete for NCAA titles at the 2027 NCAA Championships in St. Louis in March.
Here is a look at the collegiate status of the 2026 U23 U.S. men’s freestyle World Team.
57 kg – Luke Lilledahl (Penn State)
The list of accolades is long for Lilledahl. On the international level, he is the reigning U23 World champion and a three-time age-group World champion overall. In two seasons at Penn State, he has won an NCAA title (2026) and finished third (2025). He was the No. 1 seed in both of his NCAA runs and a two-time Big Ten champion. What will he do in season three? Even with five of the other seven All-Americans from 2026 returning this year, he is a heavy favorite to repeat as the NCAA champion at 125 pounds.
61 kg – Ben Davino (Ohio State)
In his first year in the Ohio State lineup last year, Davino was an NCAA finalist as the second seed, going 31-2 overall, and captured the Big Ten Championship. He enters his third year on campus ranked second, behind defending champion Jax Forrest of Oklahoma State. Like 125 pounds, six of the eight 2026 All-Americans return at 133 pounds, including the top four placers.
65 kg – Bo Bassett (Virginia Tech)
One of the most decorated high school recruits of all time, Bassett will look to make an impact at 141 pounds as a true freshman at Virginia Tech. … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2026/october/13/college-stars-prepare-for-action-at-the-2026-galaxy-u23-world-championships-in-las-vegas?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
One of the most decorated high school recruits of all time, Bassett will look to make an impact at 141 pounds as a true freshman at Virginia Tech. … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2026/october/13/college-stars-prepare-for-action-at-the-2026-galaxy-u23-world-championships-in-las-vegas?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Mat Talk Online’s D-I Dual Meet Schedule
This link is to a website operated by Jason Bryant and Mat Talk Online. It lists over 550 upcoming matches with almost all of the D-I teams’ schedules. … more at … https://almanac.mattalkonline.com/standings/schedule.html?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
2026 Campbell Wrestle-Off’s LIVE
The following is a link to the team wrestle offs at Campbell and is about 1 hour and 5 minutes long.
Campbell Wrestling at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QXgdGeGQOQ
The 2026 NWCA All-Star Classic Returns To Penn State On November 24
The NWCA All-Star Classic returns to Penn State University. The best college wrestlers in the country will square off in Rec Hall on November 24.
Get ready to rumble in Rec Hall! The 2026 NWCA All-Star Classic, presented by Nike Wrestling, is returning to Penn State. The showdown between college wrestling’s most elite athletes is slated for Tuesday, November 24.
The event will once again include 15 mega matchups, with all ten weight classes being represented by two of the top-ranked D1 competitors, in addition to four women’s bouts and another face-off between a DII and DIII men’s wrestler.
Those matchups will be announced as we get closer to the event. But you can … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2026/10/19/national-wrestling-coaches-association-the-2026-nwca-all-star-classic-returns-to-penn-state-on-november-24.aspx
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
Martin Fleming, Editor
Takedown Report
