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Kent State University Adds Women’s Wrestling as 20th Varsity Sport, Planned to Compete in 2027

KENT, Ohio — Kent State University announced today that women’s wrestling will become the athletics department’s 20th varsity sport, marking a historic addition to the Golden Flashes athletics lineup and a milestone for collegiate athletics in Ohio. Kent State becomes the first NCAA Division I institution in the state and fifth in the nation to sponsor women’s wrestling.
The program will begin competition in fall 2027. Hiring for the program’s first head coach is expected to take place by summer 2026, following ongoing planning and facility renovations that will include updated locker rooms and coaches’ offices.
This is an exciting day for Kent State University and for the continued advancement of women’s sports, said Kent State Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Randale L. Richmond. Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, and establishing this program allows Kent State to support that growth while creating new opportunities for female student-athletes in Ohio and beyond. We are proud to lead the way as the first Division I program in the state to sponsor the sport. We are thrilled to add women’s wrestling, which continues our leadership in intercollegiate athletics in Ohio and the nation, said Kent State President Todd Diacon. Women’s wrestling has seen a surge of participation nationally. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, the 2024–25 academic year included 8,100 girls’ high school wrestling programs nationwide and 74,064 girls participating in the sport.
Ohio has been a leader in the sport’s growth regionally. The state held its first sanctioned Girls’ High School Wrestling State Championship in 2023, and participation continues to rise. During the 2024–25 academic year, Ohio featured 507 high schools sponsoring girls’ wrestling and 2,535 girls competing statewide. Those numbers are projected to continue increasing as sanctioned collegiate pathways expand. The establishment of Kent State’s women’s wrestling program is supported through state appropriations. As part of House Bill 96, the university received funds that will help support program development, staffing, and facility preparation. 
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Women’s Wrestling Timeline for Sport Sponsorship:
June 2020 — Women’s wrestling added to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program, giving the sport formal recognition and a pathway toward full championship status.
October 2023 — The sport surpassed the threshold of 40 schools sponsoring varsity programs … more at … https://kentstatesports.com/news/2025/12/18/womens-wrestling-kent-state-university-adds-womens-wrestling-as-20th-varsity-sport-planned-to-compete-in-2027

December 22, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , | Leave a comment

When can Penn State wrestling make history, break an NCAA win streak?

The ever-dominant Penn State wrestling machine is on the verge of making Division I history this weekend in Tennessee.
Of course, Cael Sanderson, it’s low-key, publicity-aversive head coach, would rather not even talk about it. That’s the style and tenor of the team that has dominated one opponent after another for the past six years.
One that expects to set a new major college win streak Saturday at the Journeyman Collegiate Duals in Nashville, Tenn. Penn State can tie the decades-old record by beating North Dakota State, then break it immediately after by beating Stanford. Penn State’s 77th straight dual meet victory will pass Oklahoma State, which set its mark in 1951.
Sanderson’s Lions haven’t lost since falling 19-17 at Iowa in 2020, before COVID. They haven’t lost at home in nearly … more at … https://www.ydr.com/story/sports/college/penn-state/2025/12/17/when-can-penn-state-wrestling-cael-sanderson-break-ncaa-win-streak/87716445007/

December 22, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Girls wrestling is on the rise across Michigan high schools

Cameron Maldonado didn’t know what to expect when a friend invited her to a girls wrestling tournament in 2023.
She sat in the student section in awe, watching her friend Adeline Tuccini – then a junior at Allen Park – compete. Maldonado knew then: She wanted to join the team. “It’s a space I’ve never seen women in,” Maldanado, 17, of Romulus, said. “There’s not a lot of places that girls can be … more at … https://www.freep.com/story/sports/high-school/2025/12/17/michigan-high-school-girls-wrestling-surge-mhsaa/87481240007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z116528p119450c119450d00—-v116528d–47–b–47–&gca-ft=180&gca-ds=sophi

December 22, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Koy Buesgens Moving Up Rankings In Sophomore Year With NC State Wrestling

Koy Buesgens is off to a 10-1 start and moving up the 149-pound rankings during his second year as a starter at NC State.
As somebody who enjoys coding while majoring in computer science, NC State sophomore Koy Buesgens has a knack for solving problems by turning ideas into step-by-step instructions that a computer can understand and execute.
That ideology correlates perfectly with a wrestling mat, where learning from your mistakes and continually thinking of ways to make constant improvement is key.
After a rookie campaign that saw him earn a podium finish at the 2025 ACC Championships and advance to the NCAA Championships, Buesgens has taken the next step and transitioned this year into a top-10 wrestler at 149 pounds.  “Being in the lineup after facing so many top guys was not only a huge jump from high school, but it was also a huge jump from my redshirt season,” Buesgens said. “At NC State, you know you are walking in, and you’ve got top-level guys that are just ready to scrap with you.
“It was a big switch, and I feel good now. I feel acclimated. Last year was a great opportunity to continue to acclimate to it and really get in there and find where I was among those top guys in the country.” Buesgens was known as being a tough wrestler to score on last year, and over the summer the NC State coaches challenged him to work on his offense and find more attacks from neutral. “I worked a lot on my offense and a big part of creating offense was the ability to pressure and keep pressure on my opponent,” Buesgens said. “I’ve been feeling really good about it recently. I was able to open up on some guys, create a lot of offense on the feet.”
He has opened the season with a 10-1 start. The first weekend of the season, he brought home the title at the Southeast Open after a top-10 win in the final. He then continued with three ranked wins at the National Duals Invitational. “He’s made some huge gains mentally and physically, and we always knew that he could wrestle, and he has the technique behind it and the mindset to be great,” NC State coach Pat Popolizio said. “It’s tough. Anytime you’re a freshman in our lineup, expectations are … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/14982250-koy-buesgens-moving-up-rankings-in-sophomore-year-with-nc-state-wrestling

December 22, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , | Leave a comment

World-champion wrestler sues NCAA over eligibility to compete for Iowa State

Student says NCAA ‘five-year clock’ violates antitrust laws
A world-champion Cuban wrestler, Reineri Andreu Ortega, is suing the National Collegiate Athletic Association over rules that he says have unfairly barred him from wrestling for Iowa State University.

The lawsuit was filed this week by lawyers for Ortega, a student and prospective college wrestler at ISU, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. The lawsuit challenges the NCAA’s so-called “Five-Year Eligibility Clock” and the manner in which the NCAA decides when that clock begins running and thus when a student’s eligibility to compete expires.
Attorneys for Ortega argue that the NCAA’s application of the rule violates antitrust laws and unjustifiably restrains the ability of Ortega and other college athletes to “earn meaningful compensation that is now available to (other) NCAA Division I athletes.”
The lawsuit has its origins in a 2021 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that paved the way for college athletes to receive compensation for use of their names, images, and likenesses. Since then, the market for name, image and likeness compensation opportunities available to NCAA Division I athletes has “exploded into a multi-million dollar industry,” the lawsuit claims.
However, the lawsuit adds, that form of compensation is largely available only to NCAA Division I athletes. Athletes who compete outside of what the lawsuit calls “the NCAA monopoly” have no meaningful opportunity to collect revenue-sharing income or profit from their name, image or likeness.
Under NCAA bylaws, an athlete has five years of eligibility to play four seasons of “intercollegiate competition” in his or her chosen sport.  … more at … https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2025/12/16/world-champion-wrestler-sues-ncaa-over-eligibility-to-compete-for-iowa-state/

December 22, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Men’s College Notebook: Penn State Seeks History at Collegiate Duals

The top three ranked teams in this week’s NWCA DI Men’s Coaches Poll will all be in the same gym competing in duals this weekend, as Nashville plays host to the annual Collegiate Duals.
#1 Penn State, #2 Ohio State and #3 Iowa State will all be in action. #10 Illinois makes it four of the nation’s top-10 teams. While #17 Cornell, #19 Lehigh and #23 Stanford make it seven top-25 teams among the nine participating schools.
The event takes place on Saturday and Sunday, and all matches can be streamed on FloWrestling.

Here is the complete schedule of duals:

Collegiate Duals Schedule on Saturday, December 20 
  • 3 p.m. (ET) – #23 Stanford vs North Dakota State
  • 5 p.m. (ET) – #1 Penn State vs North Dakota State
  • 7 p.m. (ET) – #1 Penn State vs #23 Stanford
Collegiate Duals Schedule on Sunday, December 21 

December 22, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment