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Amateur Wrestling Reports

‘Bought-In’ Buckeyes Off To Blazing Start

Ohio State swept its first six duals and only dropped 10 matches along the way, but the fast start has been no surprise to those in the Buckeye room.
Ohio State cruised through the first month of the college wrestling season, winning all six of its duals convincingly while dropping just 10 individual matches along the way. 
The Buckeyes are ranked second heading into Wednesday night’s home dual against Bellarmine before Ohio State has another home dual on Dec. 12 against NC State and a trip to Nashville for the Dec. 21 Journeymen Collegiate Duals. 
The Buckeyes’ undefeated start — and the dominating fashion in which they’ve accomplished it — has turned heads in the college wrestling landscape. It isn’t a shock, however, to those in their practice room each day. “We’re definitely pleased with how the year has gone,” Ohio State associate head coach J Jaggers said. “But we aren’t surprised. This group has bought in. They’re finding their identity in terms of the style we want them to wrestle, the way they’re all capable of wrestling — their high attack rate, the fact that they aren’t protecting (leads), being fearless the entire match. 
“It’s what we’ve preached, and the guys have bought in.” Despite convincing wins over #11 Minnesota (29-6), #7 Nebraska (33-3), #3 Iowa (27-12) and most recently, a 44-0 shutout of Kent State, Jaggers insists the team and staff realize much remains.
“Now the challenge is how we respond when we aren’t playing with house money,” he said. “There wasn’t a lot of chatter about our team going into the season. It’s not like we ever left the party. We’ve never left the top 10. But the guys had a chip on their shoulders, and I think that’s helped. It’s good to hunt, to have that chip.  “Things have gone well so far this year, but how do we respond when things don’t go according to script? That’s when we’ll really see.”
Buckeye Building Blocks

Jaggers was asked to pinpoint any individual stories or other factors contributing to the Buckeyes’ dominant start beyond their aggressive approach.  “It’s what’s fun about this team,” he said. … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/14861655-bought-in-buckeyes-off-to-blazing-start

December 5, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

UNC-Pembroke Dominates Coker On Military Appreciation Night

PEMBROKE – UNC Pembroke racked up bonus-point wins in every match en route to a dominating 49-(-)2 win over Coker in Conference Carolinas dual action Tuesday night on Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. The Braves celebrated Military Appreciation Night and honored the life of the late, Mr. Adolphus Lee Turner, a staunch supporter of the wrestling program and UNC Pembroke athletics.
Coker was assessed a two-point penalty for a misconduct in the 149-pound bout.
The Black & Gold will head to Ohio to compete in the Yellow Jacket Duals hosted by Baldwin Wallace University on Friday, December 5. The Braves will take on Case Western (4 p.m.), Wilmington College (5:30 p.m.) and Baldwin Wallace (7 p.m.)
UNCP vs. COKER (W, 49-(-)2)

Cooper Davis put the Braves on the board first with a tech. fall win at 125 pounds, while sixth-ranked Logan Robinson added another tech. fall in the 133-pound bout. De’Shawn Barbee picked up a major decision at 141 pounds, with Avery Buonocore winning … more at … https://uncpbraves.com/news/2025/12/2/wrestling-dominates-coker-on-military-appreciation-night.aspx

December 5, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Nittany Lions Win Nine Titles at Black Knight Invitational

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Penn State wrestling team (1-0, 0-0 B1G) dominated the action at the Black Knight Invitational on Sunday, Nov. 23. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad notched nine individual champions and had six runners-up.
Penn State sent 20 wrestlers into competition at West Point and 19 placed (with the other bowing out with an injury). An important reminder, NCAA rules state that any result against a teammate does not count as a win or loss, including forfeits, medical forfeits, defaults, etc.
True freshman Nate Desmond won the title at 125. Desmond went 3-0 plus picked up a victory over teammate No. 1 Luke Lilledahl in the finals, winning 5-3. Sophomore Lilledahl went 2-0 with two tech falls to place second.
True freshman Marcus Blaze, ranked No. 14 at 133, won the title as well. Blaze went 4-0 with a pin, two techs and a major, including a 21-6 win over No. 27 Ethan Berginc of Army in the finals.
Junior Aaron Nagao, ranked No. 10 at 141, placed second, suffering an injury default. Nagao used two techs and a decision to advance to the finals before, while leading, suffering an injury to end the bout. Junior Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 1 at 149, took the crown for Penn State. Van Ness went 3-0 with two pins and a tech to advance to the finals. He met teammate Connor Pierce in the title bout and won 14-7. Pierce went 3-0 with a pin, a tech and a major to take second place.
True freshman PJ Duke won the championship at 157. Duke went 3-0 with three first period falls to advance to the title bout. He took on teammate Joe Sealey in the finals and notched a hard fought 2-1 win. Sealey went 3-0 with a pin, a tech fall and a major to move to the finals before dropping the close 2-1 bout to Duke.
Junior Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, rolled to the title as well. Mesenbrink went 4-0 with three pins and a tech fall. He pinned No. 18 Gunner Filipowicz of Army in the championship match.
Senior Levi Haines, ranked No. 1 at 174, took first for Penn State. Haines went 3-0 with three tech falls to advance to the title bout. He took on teammate William Henckel in the finals and posted a hard fought 4-0 win. Henckel, a true freshman, went 3-0 with two tech falls to take second place.
Sophomore Rocco Welsh, ranked No. 4 at 184, took first place at the tournament. Welsh went 2-0 with a tech fall and a major to advance to the finals. He met teammate Asher Cunningham in the finals and notched a 13-5 major. Cunningham, a true freshman, went 2-0 with two majors, including an 11-3 major over No. 17 Aaron Ayzerov of Columbia to place second in his collegiate debut. Redshirt freshman Connor Mirasola won the title at 197. … more at … https://gopsusports.com/news/2025/11/23/nittany-lions-win-nine-titles-at-black-knight-invitational
And …

How Nate Desmond made a stunning debut for Penn State wrestling
The dominating Penn State wrestling program just got another signal that it may, indeed, own its deepest roster yet under coach Cael Sanderson. Welcome to Penn State, Nate Desmond.
The rookie from Bethlehem, Pa. turned heads last weekend with a dramatic victory at 125 pounds in the finals of the Army Black Knight Invitational. Desmond pulled the upset over teammate and NCAA third-place finisher Luke Lilledahl in the finals. Desmond won his first three tournament matches last weekend by a combined score of 39-4 before defeating Lilledahl, 5-3.
It was an impressive collegiate debut for Desmond, who still figures to redshirt this season. He arrived at Penn State after winning two state titles at Bethlehem Catholic and a third at wrestling power Wyoming Seminary. He also won a national prep title as a high school junior. … more at … https://www.ydr.com/story/sports/college/penn-state/2025/11/24/nate-desmond-beat-penn-state-wrestling-teammate-luke-lilledahl/87124357007/
And …

Wrestling School: An Open Letter For Penn State Wrestling To Battle In Beaver Stadium
Beaver Stadium is best known as the home of Penn State football, but this year, the stadium announced it will be welcoming some new guests into its legendary atmosphere. For the first time in program history, both the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams will take the ice on one of the biggest stages in college sports. The event marks a major step forward in transforming Beaver Stadium into a multi-sport venue.   As Beaver Stadium begins to welcome other sports, one team that deserves a chance to compete on the iconic stage is Penn State wrestling.  
Growing up, I watched Penn State wrestling with my dad, who was a wrestler himself. Even then, I never cared too much about the sport. It wasn’t until I attended my first Penn State wrestling dual meet in high school that I truly fell in love.
The meet was against Rutgers and was held in the Bryce Jordan Center. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but I was floored by the atmosphere. By that point, I had already been to a few Penn State White Out games, and this may be controversial, but the energy at the dual felt just as electric. Knowing a bit about wrestling from my dad certainly helped, but even without that, the energy in the arena was magnetic.
Every single wrestler was met with a surge of applause the moment they stepped onto the mat. But once the whistle blew, the entire place fell silent. Then came that single moment when the Penn State wrestler … more at … https://onwardstate.com/2025/11/21/open-letter-why-penn-state-wrestling-deserves-its-moment-in-beaver-stadium/

December 5, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

NCAA DI Rankings Updated (12/2/2025)

Rankings for the week have been updated! Despite a couple of massive dual meets (SDSU/Minnesota, and Iowa State/Iowa) there wasn’t a whole lot of action and movement for the week. We already had Iowa State above Iowa in the dual rankings, so nothing changed there. For the tournament rankings, Ohio State jumps Iowa and the Hawkeyes maintain a slight lead over the Cyclones. 
We have started to remove some of the wrestlers who have yet to compete … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/ncaa-di-rankings-updated-1222025-r100672/

December 5, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

NCAA D1 Wrestling Week 5 Roundup: Cy-Heaven

The world’s finest collection of noteworthy happenings from the 5th week of the 2025-26 NCAA D1 wrestling season.
Hello from a post-Thanksgiving Sunday! Where our bellies are full of leftovers, and our screens are replete wth a smorgasbord of NCAA D1 wrestling!

Week 4 Rankings | Week 5 Box Scores

Roundups: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

The schedule may have been skimpy, but there were morsels yet to slake our appetite for noteworthy happenings from the fifth week of the 2025-26 NCAA D1 college wrestling season!

There were only six dual meets this week, and one tournament on the smallish side, so let’s tackle them all in chronological order. But first, we’ll eschew the space-time continuum to celebrate the coveted: 

Dual of the Century of the Week

Jackrabbits Garrote Gophers, First South Dakota State Win Over Minnesota in 51 Years!

Don’t worry, we’ll get to the Cy-Hawk Dual shortly. That dual, however, featured a first in 21 years win, whereas the streak that was broken in Minneapolis was over twice as long as that!

And how do I know that it’s been 51 years since SDSU beat Minnesota? Because Jason Bryant said so, and if anyone knows, it’s him. … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/14847238-ncaa-d1-wrestling-week-5-roundup-cy-heaven

December 5, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment