Takedown Report

Amateur Wrestling Reports

Nebraska-Kearney wins NCAA Div. II team title; four wrestlers repeat as individual champions

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Led by eight All-Americans, including three runners-up, Nebraska-Kearney handily claimed the team title at the 2025 NCAA Div. II National Championships.
The Lopers finished with 115 points, a full 52 points ahead of runner-up Augustana (S.D.) with 63 points. St. Cloud State was third with 57.5 points, Lander in fourth with 56 points and Central Oklahoma, which had won the last two NCAA Div. II titles were firth with 55.5 points.
UNK led 26.5 points on Friday, and after pushing three into the finals on Saturday morning, it was basically a battle for second place. It was Nebraska-Kearney’s fifth NCAA Div. II national title in history. The finals were highlighted by the achievements of four athletes who repeated as Div. II national champions, Gabe Johnson of Central Oklahoma (157), David Hunsberger of Lander (165), Ty McGeary of West Liberty (184) and Derek Blubaugh of Indianapolis (197).
McGeary became a three-time national champion, with a dominant technical fall in the finals over Keegan Gehlhausen of Chadron St., 20-4.
Blubaugh became a four-time finalist with his victory in the semifinals, then finished off his second straight national title with a 5-1 victory over Tereus Henry of Fort Hays State. … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/march/15/nebraska-kearney-wins-ncaa-div-ii-team-title-four-wrestlers-repeat-as-individual-champions

March 16, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Tarleton State edges Utah Tech by ½ point to win women’s team race at NCWA Nationals

BOSSIER CITY, La. – The top three teams in the women’s division were separated by only one point at 2025 National Collegiate Wrestling Association Nationals (NCWA).
Tarleton State from Texas won its first NCWA women’s team title with 126 points, ½ point ahead of runner-up Utah Tech with 125.5 points and Ottawa-Arizona in third with 125 points. Also with a chance to win was fourth-place Washington State, which finished with 122 points.
Tarleton was led by individual champion Rachel Corley, who pinned her Tarleton teammate Emma Graves in 1:51 in the 110-pound finals. Tarleton State ultimately finished with seven All-Americans.
Utah Tech pulled into second place in the last match of the finals, when Katie Law pinned Petra Bernsten of Washington State in 4:50 to win the 180-pound title.  Utah Tech also had seven All-Americans.
Ottawa-Arizona also had an individual champion, Makayla Lopez (103), who beat Jasmine Cortez of Texas State 4-1 in the finals. Ottawa-Arizona had eight All-Americans. Washington State, which led the team race on the first two days of the competition was led by 240-pound champion Erin Kremer, who pinned O`dessa Laititi of Utah Tech in the finals in 1:29.
A pair of returning champions were able to claim another title.
At 145 pounds, Veloria Pannell of MIT repeated as champion in a 13-1 major decision over Katherine Stewart of Central Florida. … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/march/15/tarleton-state-edges-utah-tech-by-point-to-win-women-s-team-race-at-ncwa-nationals

March 16, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Menlo wins NCWA Men’s Nationals with three champions, ahead of Apprentice School and Tarleton State

Menlo College, which is making a transition from the NAIA to the NCAA, won the men’s team title at the 2025 National Collegiate Wrestling Association Nationals (NCWA).
Menlo finished with 214.5 points, with the Apprentice School in second with 187.5 points and Tarleton State in third with 183.5 points. Liberty, with 146.5 points, placed fourth and Life was fifth with 111.5 points.
Menlo had three individual champions, Elijah Valencia (125), Noah Elliott (149) and Ledger Petracek (174), and had 10 All-Americans. Valencia scored a 4-1 decision in the finals over Trevor Wilcox of Thomas More. Elliott was a 4-1 winner of Thomas McCane of Central Florida. Petracek controlled Nirrideen Ahmad-Staats of Williamstown Trade, 8-1.
The Apprentice School was led by individual champion Bruno Alves, who defeated Matthew Ellis in the 133-pound finals, 7-2. Alves was an NCWA national runner-up last year. The Apprentice School had 11 All-Americans.
Tarleton State made a big statement with three individual champions, Zachery Espalin (141), Joseph Liescheski (165) and Koby Kidd (235).
Espalin was dominant in his 20-4 technical fall over Ryan Wilson of Washington State. Liescheski defeated his Tarleton State teammate Finn Shepard in the finals, 6-4. Kidd was an 8-4 winner over Caleb Hartung of the Apprentice School, 8-4. There were no repeat men’s champions this year, … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/march/15/menlo-wins-ncwa-men-s-nationals-with-three-champions-ahead-of-apprentice-school-and-tarleton-state

March 16, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Wartburg and Johnson & Wales tie for NCAA Div. III Nationals team title

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — They expected a tight battle this weekend at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. It doesn’t get any closer.
After back-to-back wins by Wartburg to move ahead in the team race, Joziah Fry of tournament host Johnson & Wales beat Christian Guzman of North Central 10-5 in the final bout, winning his third national title at 125 pounds, ending the tournament in a tie for the championship with 83.5 points.
It marked the first time two teams have tied for the title.
It also was the first time a team other than Wartburg or Augsburg finished first as a team since 1994.
It gave Wartburg a 16-15 edge over Augsburg in team titles.
And it gave JWU Coach Lonnie Morris the championship hats and T-shirts he coveted. “We’ve always talked to the kids about it’s all about winning the hats and the T-shirts; we don’t really (care) about the trophy as much as when you win the hats and the T-shirts it means you’re the winning team,” Morris said.
“It was a great weekend. We came in and we believed we could win it right from the regionals. … At the end of the day we made it happen.”
Meanwhile, Wartburg owed thanks to North Central for helping it finish first, just as it did when it won the title in 2022. Guzman, who lost to Fry by technical fall in last year’s final kept the match within eight points so Fry couldn’t get a bonus point that would have made Johnson & Wales the sole champion. In 2022, North Central won a head-to-head championship match with Wabash that preserved Wartburg’s one-point lead over Wabash.
“North Central will always have a sweet spot in my heart because it was my first head coaching job (2005-06), so it’s kind of a crazy irony that twice now North Central has played a part in our national championships,” said Wartburg head coach Eric Keller.
Fry said he wasn’t surprised that he saw a different Guzman this year. “Guzman’s a great athlete, a great kid on and off the mat,” he said. “He’s a great competitor, so we had a great match and that’s what it is.” Fry knew what was on the line, and he actually had to battle back after Guzman scored the first takedown. But an escape and takedown gave him a 4-3 lead, then he flipped Guzman onto his back for a key four-point near fall that gave him some breathing room.
“Going into this finals match was kind of nerve-wracking because I knew I had to win in order for our team to win the national championship … ,” Fry admitted. … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/march/16/wartburg-and-johnson-wales-tie-for-ncaa-div-iii-nationals-team-title

March 16, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Top Performances by At-Large Berths at the Last Five NCAA Tournaments

On Tuesday afternoon, at-large berths were released which finalized the field of 330 wrestlers for the 2025 NCAA Championships. Just because a wrestler was forced to rely on an at-large berth doesn’t mean they can’t be a key player in the action in Philly. That group of wrestlers that received good news yesterday includes five past All-Americans and likely a few in the future. 
Of course, relying on an at-large berth can happen for various reasons. Sometimes a wrestler simply had a bad day, there’s no horrific backstory, just an unforeseen loss or two. Other times, their respective conferences may be limited in allocations at their weight. Also, injuries play a key role in this. Some, like Carter Starocci or Mekhi Lewis, weighed in and injury defaulted – assuming they’d get an at-large. 
To illustrate that relying on an at-large berth isn’t a death knell for All-American, and even national championship hopes, take a look at the wrestlers below who have either earned All-American honors or advanced to the All-American round (bloodround) at the previous five tournaments. 
There is a disproportionate amount of wrestlers on the list from 2021. Remember, that was the first NCAA Tournament after Covid and the regular season started in January. There was little data to go on for allocations and fewer were given out through the conference tournaments. 
All-Americans
1st (2024) Carter Starocci (Penn State)
6th (2024) Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech)
8th (2023) Killian Cardinale (West Virginia)
2nd (2022) Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/top-performances-by-at-large-berths-at-the-last-five-ncaa-tournaments-r100101/

March 16, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment