Hayden Hidlay Returns to NC State Wrestling
RALEIGH – NC State wrestling’s first-ever five-time All-American is returning to Raleigh to rejoin the NC State wrestling staff, this time as an assistant coach, as announced by head coach Pat Popolizio on Tuesday.
One of the most decorated athletes to come out of the NC State wrestling program, a Raleigh reunion will be had with Hayden Hidlay as he returns to his alma mater.
Hidlay joins the Wolfpack staff after spending the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons as an assistant coach at Stanford, as well as the 2023-24 season at North Dakota State. Immediately following his graduation from NC State back in 2022, the five-year member of the Pack served as the student-athlete development coordinator for NC State wrestling.
“Hayden was one of the most impactful student-athletes we’ve ever had, not only just within our program, but both at the conference and national levels too,” said head coach Pat Popolizio. “As one of the winningest wrestlers in NC State school history, he was our program’s first-ever five-time All-American, all while accumulating academic accolades across the board as well.
He’s spent the last few seasons growing, as a coach and as a man, at Stanford and North Dakota State. Just days ago, he guided Aden Valencia to his first national championship as a 10th-seeded redshirt-freshman at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland.
Hayden will continue to instill our program’s culture that he helped build as an athlete. We are thrilled at the opportunity to have him back in Raleigh, back in the wrestling room that he accomplished so much in.”
Over the last two seasons, Hidlay helped the Cardinal produce tremendous results during their first inaugural years in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The squad is coming off a historic season with its highest-ever finish at the NCAA Championships in sixth place and the third national champion in program history, a wrestler whom Hidlay closely oversaw.
“I am honored to be returning to NC State wrestling,” said Hayden Hidlay. … more at … https://gopack.com/news/2026/3/24/hayden-hidlay-returns-to-nc-state-wrestling
Newberry Men’s Wrestling Awarded Thrivent Community Service Team of the Week
This week’s Thrivent Newberry College Athletics Community Service Teams of the Week is the Wolves Men’s Wrestling team. The Wolves men’s wrestling team assisted the Newberry College Admissions team with set up in preparation for Admissions Preview Day.
Thrivent is a membership-owned fraternal organization dedicated to serving the unique needs of our clients—guiding them toward financial choices that will help them live the lives they want today and … more at … https://newberrywolves.com/news/2026/3/23/newberry-mens-wrestling-awarded-thrivent-community-service-team-of-the-week.aspx
UMO Features 111 Student-Athletes on the Winter Spring Academic All-Conference Teams
MOUNT OLIVE – A total of 111 University of Mount Olive student-athletes were named to the Winter/Spring Academic All-Conference teams presented by Barnes and Noble College Thursday morning.
The Conference Carolinas Academic All-Conference teams consist of junior and senior student-athletes in the conference who have competed in a conference-sponsored sport and maintained a cumulative grade-point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale in all work completed at their member institution.
The GPA is calculated based on the cumulative averages of the student-athletes through the previous semester and each student-athlete must have attended their member institution for at least one academic year. … more at … https://umotrojans.com/news/2026/3/19/baseball-umo-features-111-student-athletes-on-the-spring-presidential-honor-roll.aspx
Isaac Trumble Wins Wrestling Heavyweight National Championship
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Isaac Trumble claims the heavyweight national title at 285 lbs by completing his perfect season 21-0 at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Trumble defeated Iowa State’s No. 1 seed Yonger Bastida 5-0 to become the Wolfpack’s 10th national champion.
After a scoreless first period, Isaac Trumble got an escape and a takedown in the second period to command his win over top-seeded Yonger Bastida in the championship match. A riding time point tacked on for good measure led the sixth-year senior comfortably into the final moments of the match.
After Nick Gwiazdowski last won the heavyweight title back-to-back in 2014 and 2015, Trumble is now the fifth national champion for NC State at 285 lbs.
With the win, NC State was propelled into the 10th-place spot on the team leaderboard with 44.5 total points to jump in front of Virginia Tech. The Pack has now been in the top-10 NCAA final team scores six times under head coach Pat Popolizio.
After six seasons in Raleigh, the match marked Trumble’s final bout of his collegiate career, finishing with a total record of 88-20 across both 197 lbs and 285 lbs divisions. The Springfield, Nebraska, native looks to begin his career in the U.S. Army as a field artillery officer.
Trumble claimed All-American honors for the second season in a row after placing fourth last year in Philadelphia on a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus.
The win also marks the second straight season for the Wolfpack … more at … https://gopack.com/news/2026/3/21/isaac-trumble-wins-wrestling-heavyweight-national-championship
TDR Top 12 awards update #1
Plaque Awards for the following schools have been mailed; American Leadership Academy, Bunn, C.B. Aycock, Cleveland, Corinth-Holders, Heidi Trask, Onslow Early College, Pamlico County, Pender County, South Brunswick, Vance County, Wake Forest, Washington, West Brunswick, West Carteret, West Craven and West Johnston. These are 17 of the 44 schools that will have their plaques presented, delivered or mailed out in the next week.
The TDR Top 12 awards
We have returned from the “Big Show” of the NCAA Division I National Men’s Wrestling Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio. It was a challenging trip and we are glad to be back home. The flury of wrestling events and travel have interrupted our postings on The TDR Blog pages. For the rest of March we will be mailing and delivering plaques to the schools of the following wrestlers. The wrestlers named for the Big Awards will be announced in the coming week.
2026 TDR Top 12 Women’s team
First Team
106 — Izabella Johnson (Croatan), 107 — Alissa Austin (First Flight), 114 — Zainab Hijawi (South Central), 120 — Khiry Reese (Rosewood), Adrianna Miller (White Oak), 126 – Claire Ballard (New Bern), LaNautica Johnson (Vance County), 132 – Mia Lavigne (White Oak), 138 – Benny Jenkins (Wake Forest), 145 – Sydney Simmons (Laney), 152 – Laita Tellez (Havelock), 165 – Emma Yopp (South Brunswick), 185 – LaNesha Gause (Laney), 235 – Leslie Barden (Laney).
Second Team
107 – Peyton Smith (Jacksonville), 114 — Morgan Foy (Onslow Early College), 120 — Abby Garcia (Havelock), 126 – Mia Kiser (Laney), Gabriella Aguirre-Gomez (Manteo), Trinity Wiley (South Brunswick), Jameson McCoy (Rosewood), 132 – Lauren Hall (Heidi Trask), 145 – Zaniyah Shepard (White Oak), 165 – Evangline (Evie) Alasin (Northeastern), Emma Boychuck (Swansboro), 185 – Bella Abba (Wakefield), 235 – Malea Vinson (White Oak).
Honorable Mention 100 – Angelica Ayala-Garcia (Manteo), Yesan Huang (Laney), Alaina Vee (Swansboro), 107 – Ryleigh Cline (Swansboro), 114 – Mackynzie Bilbrey (Northside), Nyima Lovett (J.H. Rose, 120 – Skyla Simpson (First Flight), 126 – Abigail Brwer (Cleveland), 132 – Kelli Faison (Croatan), Italia Squicciarini (Topsail), 145 – Faith Bane (New Bern), Aydelyn Collins (Swansboro), Alexis Tirado (Croatan), 152 – Imani Carroll (Bunn), 185 – Leilany Hernandez-Colon (First Flight), Brilelle Bowman (Dixon).
2026 TDR Top 12 Men’s team
First Team
06 – Xavier Bernthal (New Bern), 113 – Tyler Gardner (Jacksonville), 120 – Lucas Angstadt (Ashley), 126 – Holton Quincy (North East Carolina Prep), 132 – Ashton Tennessee (West Johnston), 138 – Maxwell Davis (Jacksonville), 144 – James Campos (White Oak), 150 – Isiah Mewborn (Pamlico), 157 – Jacob Campos (White Oak), 165 – Tobin McNair (Wakefield), 175 – Aldinio Previl (Rosewood) 190 – Luke Padgett (Croatan), 215 – Judah Harris (Hunt), 285 – Mason Hocker (John Hoggard).
Second Team
106 – Sander Tran (South Central), 113 — Jackson Abel (Franklinton), 120 — Isaiah Mazura (Rosewood), 126 — Christopher Braxton (New Hanover), 132 – Miller Menteer (Currituck), Christian Riddick (First Flight), 138 – Samuel McQueen (Emsley Laney), Coy Deel (West Craven), 144 – Cade Gehris (First Flight), 150 – Aiden Campbell (Havelock), Hayden Smith (White Oak), 165 – John Bane (New Bern), Mac Kopelman (Emsley Laney), 175 – Jude Moulton (John Hoggard), 190 – Jaylin Darden (Rosewood), Rhett Stevens (Corinth-Holders), 215 – Nick Wade (Rosewood), Syler Hall (Pamlico), 285 – John Garay-Martinez (First Flight).
Honorable Mention
106 – Jonathan Helbert (West Carteret), Eliel Lopez (Rosewood), 113 — Alan Tebalan (North East Carolina Prep), 120 – Rory Gallagher (John Hoggard), Brayden Waneroik (North East Carolina Prep), Lucas Angell (Currituck), 126 – Robert Alexander (White Oak), Nate Jones (Northside, Jax), 132 – Colten Lewis (White Oak), Gael Guerrero-Perez (Bunn), 138 – Zymir Best (Charles B. Aycock), Zachary Loveless (American Leadership Academy), Jake Amiott (Topsail), Shane Mangroo (Rosewood), 144 – Vincent Valentino (Emsley Laney), Dominic Avvisato (Dixon), Stephen Rubistello (Tarboro), David Barrera-Meza (Washington), 150 –Kaliil McDowell (Wakefield), Tucker Massie (Washington), Jacob Perry (New Bern), 157 – Jonathan Nguyen (Northeastern), Noah Cerino (West Carteret), Camden Herron (Northside, Jax), 165 –Anoop Monroe (Northside, Jax), 175 – Ben McCaleb (Topsail), Bryson Mabe (West Brunswick), 215 –Wisdom Mason (North Pitt), Andrew Robinson (Pender Co.), 285 – Josh Lemke (Rosewood), Kayden Clark (SW Onslow).
2026 Dan Hodge Trophy Fan Vote Is Open
Fan voting has begun in the 2026 ASICS Race for the Dan Hodge Trophy. When the dust settled on the 2026 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships March 21 in Cleveland, seven of the 10 NCAA champions finished the season undefeated and are the finalists for the 2026 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy.
Penn State and Oklahoma State each have multiple finalists. Nittany Lions Luke Lilledahl (25-0 at 125), Mitchell Mesenbrink (27-0 at 165), Levi Haines (26-0 at 174) and Josh Barr (24-0 at 197) each won their respective weights. Mesenbrink and Haines are now two-time champs.
The Cowboys have two Hodge finalists. Freshmen Jax Forrest (18-0 at 133) and Sergio Vega (24-0 at 141) were undefeated and won at consecutive weights in the lineup. However, the two Cowboys bookended the NCAA finals after the decision was made to start the finals at 141 so the much-anticipated battle of freshmen at 133 between Forrest and Ohio State’s talented Ben Davino would be the last bout of the night. Vega won his title over two-time NCAA champ Jesse Mendez of Ohio State, considered by many to be one of the front-runners all season for this year’s Hodge
The seventh and final Hodge finalist is 285-pound champion Issac Trumble of North Carolina State. Trumble finished the season 21-0 and blanked top-seeded Yonger Bastida of Iowa State 5-0 in the finals.
The statistics of each Hodge finalist is included in the story’s main graphic.
The four criteria for the Hodge are record, dominance/bonus-point percentage, quality of competition, and sportsmanship. … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2026/03/23/2026-dan-hodge-trophy-fan-vote/
NCAA Division I wrestling not immune to NIL, transfer portal impact
Chris Easterling
Akron Beacon Journal
CLEVELAND — Kevin Dresser wrestled decades ago for legendary Iowa coach Dan Gable. Much more recently than that, he’s been a wrestling head coach, first at Virginia Tech and, since 2017, at Iowa State University.
So, needless to say, Dresser’s seen some things in both college wrestling and, more broadly, college athletics in general. And, yet, little has been as transformative since name, image and likeness (NIL) arrived on the scene on July 1, 2021. “Well, I started at Iowa State nine years ago,” Dresser told the Beacon Journal the day before the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships began in Rocket Arena, “and if you would have told me on day one that I’d be negotiating six-figure contracts with student-athletes on top of scholarship money, I would have said, ‘You’re crazy as hell.’ So, yeah, it’s been a change.”
NIL and the transfer portal have been dual-track subjects that have dominated the off-the-field conversations about college sports, only getting louder as they’ve become more established. However, so much of those discussions have revolved around the impact on football and basketball, men’s and women’s.
NCAA wresters like Indiana’s Tyler Lillard see NIL as ‘opportunity’
As 330 wrestlers descend upon Cleveland for the national championships, they’re not sheltered from the realities that exist at every level of collegiate athletics. … more at … https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/2026/03/19/david-taylor-penn-state-ncaa-wrestling-championships-nil-transfer-portal/89205304007/?utm_source=beaconjournal-newsalert-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_term=hero&utm_content=nabj-akron-nletter01
Nebraska-Kearney Wins 2026 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championship
The University of Nebraska-Kearney claimed the 2026 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championship tournament, leading all teams with a score of 83 points. The University of Wisconsin-Parkside finished as the runner-up.
The 2026 DII wrestling championships were held at Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, SD, on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14. Here is everything you need to know for the 2026 championship.
Below you can find the complete schedule of the 2026 DII wrestling championship.
2026 NCAA DII wrestling championship schedule
- Monday, March 2
- Friday, March 6
- Brackets released
- Friday, March 13 — Results
- Preliminaries and first round
- Quarterfinals and first- and second-round consolations
- Saturday, March 14 — Results
- Semifinals, wrestle-backs | 11 a.m.
- Championship finals | 8 p.m.
- 🏆 Nebraska-Kearney wins the 2026 DII wrestling championship
NCAA DII wrestling championship brackets
The brackets for the 2026 DII wrestling championships were released on Friday, March 6.
👉 Click or tap to see the final brackets
NCAA DII wrestling championship history
Nebraska-Kearney defeated Augustana (SD) for the championship last year. Below is the complete history of the DII wrestling championships … more at … https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling-men/article/2026-03-14/nebraska-kearney-wins-2026-ncaa-division-ii-wrestling-championship
Wartburg rolls to NCAA DIII men’s team title; Blume, Ross win individual crowns
Editor’s Note: WIN will provide further coverage from the NCAA DIII Men’s Championships in the upcoming Volume 32 Issue 7 Nationals Commemorative Issue!
Final Team Scores
- Wartburg 110.0
- UW-La Crosse 68.0
- Augsburg 67.5
- NYU 65.5
- TCNJ 58.5
- Roanoke 57.0
- Baldwin Wallace 55.5
- Loras 54.5
- Williams 45.5
- Central 37.5
Medal Rounds
125:1st-Place Match
Christian Guzman (North Central (IL)) over Brayden Parke (Coe) (TF-1.5 5:18 (19-3))
3rd-Place Match
Alex Diaz (NYU) over Mason Jones (Manchester) (Dec 9-3)
5th-Place Match
Malik Asfour (Eastern) over Nico Rivera (JWU (Providence)) (MD 13-1)
7th-Place Match
Brett Birchman (Wartburg) over Izzy Balsiger (Wis.-Eau Claire) (Dec 8-1)
133:1st-Place Match
Garrett Totten (TCNJ) over James Day (Wabash) (Dec 8-1) … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2026/03/11/wartburg-rolls-to-ncaa-diii-mens-team-title-blume-ross-win-individual-crowns/
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
Takedown Report 