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Top-ranked Penn State wins NCAA record 78th in a row; No. 2 Ohio State stays unbeaten

Penn State will face Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday.
Manheim, Pennsylvania – A full slate of duals involving ranked teams highlighted the opening week of January as the NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll was released Tuesday.  
Top-ranked Penn State moved to 7-0 with a 48-0 win over then-No. 16 Rutgers, while second-ranked Ohio State remained unbeaten at 12-0 after a 45-0 shutout of then-No. 23 Indiana. Iowa State went 2-0 on the week, defeating Arizona State 29-14 before picking up a 36-3 win over North Dakota State.  
Fourth-ranked Iowa earned a 23-12 win over then-No. 18 Wisconsin, and fifth-ranked Oklahoma State blanked then-No. 15 Oklahoma, 37-0. Nebraska added a 36-3 win over Purdue, while No. 7 Virginia Tech edged then-No. 14 Pittsburgh, 18-15, on the road.  
Northern Iowa captured the NWCA National Duals title with a 20-14 win over South Dakota State in the finals at the UNI-Dome. The Panthers went 5-0 on the weekend with additional victories over CSU Bakersfield, Ohio, Bloomsburg and Drexel, while the Jackrabbits finished 4-1 with wins against Harvard, Northern Illinois, Campbell and Central Michigan before the finals loss. SDSU slid two spots to No. 10, while UNI jumped to No. 14.  
NC State picked up a 19-17 win over Virginia, while Minnesota defeated then-No. 10 Illinois, 27-9. Michigan earned a 43-3 win over Michigan State, and Wisconsin split its week with a 28-12 win over Maryland before falling at Iowa.  
Cornell split its duals with a win over Bucknell and a loss to Lehigh, while the Mountain Hawks followed that result with a 32-7 win over American. West Virginia went 2-0 with wins over Arizona State and California Baptist, and Stanford earned a 35-10 victory over Duke. 
A full slate of conference and non-conference duals involving ranked teams is scheduled for the coming week, highlighted by several head-to-head matchups. Top-ranked Penn State travels to Iowa on Friday to face the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes before closing the weekend at Northwestern. Sixth-ranked Nebraska heads to Minneapolis to meet No. 11 Minnesota, while seventh-ranked Virginia Tech hosts Appalachian State. No. 14 Pittsburgh will be at home Friday… more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2026/1/13/national-wrestling-coaches-association-top-ranked-penn-state-wins-ncaa-record-78th-in-a-row-no-2-ohio-state-stays-unbeaten.aspx

January 15, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , | Leave a comment

Wrestling finding its footing in Northeast Mississippi

The Hill Country is always going to be known for its basketball, but wrestling is finding its place in the area as well. Wrestling continues to grow in Mississippi as more schools begin to field teams. Northeast Mississippi is no exception. “It’s light years ahead of where it was,” said Brian Fox, the co-founder and former president of the Mississippi Wrestling Foundation. “I knew Mississippians would like wrestling because they already wrestle in the backyard or in the living room. We were at two schools in 2020 in the middle of COVID, and now I think we’re at 40 or 41. … It’s kind of like a start-up, but it’s crossed the threshold there where I think the momentum is too strong, and it’s naturally going to grow from here.” The Mississippi High School Activities Association handbook’s list of schools in the Northern Division for wrestling includes Tupelo, Oxford, Saltillo, North Pontotoc and South Pontotoc. Starkville and MSMS are also now fielding teams. It’s a good start for a growing sport, and it ensures that local wrestlers don’t have to travel too far to compete. “That’s changed the game so much because the first year, there were 10 schools in the whole state,” Fox said. “… (Before) you had to go a ways, you had to travel. It really was a lot more work. You can almost have a normal season, a normal amount of travel. We have regions now; we never had regions before.”
The appeal of wrestling as a high school sport is that it’s easy to participate in as well as maintain. Both boys and girls can compete, and a wide variety of weight classes means that athletes are always participating in a fair fight. “Wrestling is great for all kids – not everybody can run a 4.4 40, not every kid is 6-foot-7 and can slam dunk a basketball,” Tupelo wrestling coach Grady Hurley said. “Wrestling, it’s made for all sizes and body shapes and body types. If you’re 106 pounds, you’re going to wrestle a 106-pounder, 113 wrestling a 113. You’re out there in the middle of that 40-by-40 mat by yourself.” Additionally, wrestling doesn’t come with a ton of equipment and upkeep.
“I’m thinking a lot of these smaller schools are going to start adding (wrestling) soon once they realize that the only cost is having the wrestling mat, and it’ll last for 10 to 20 years,” Fox said. “After that, it’s super affordable. You don’t have to have 15 kids, you can have one, and it’s for boys and girls, so I think it’s just going to keep growing.”
One of the next steps for wrestling is to have an official state championship meet. The MHSAA handbook reads, “When 50 percent or more of the member schools enter competition, a plan will be devised to determine a state championship.”
There’s still a statewide meet, however. Three area teams placed in the top five last year: Tupelo (third), Oxford (fourth) and North Pontotoc (fifth). … more at … https://cdispatch.com/sports/wrestling-finding-its-footing-in-northeast-mississippi/

January 15, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

Henderson Named UNC Wrestling Assistant Coach

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina wrestling head coach Rob Koll has announced the addition of former Tar Heel wrestler Evan Henderson to his coaching staff.
Henderson, most recently an assistant coach at Lehigh, returns to Chapel Hill following his athletic career with the Tar Heels from 2011-16.
During his time as a student-athlete, Henderson compiled 125 victories and two All-America finishes in 2013 and 2014 at 141-pounds. The Pennsylvania native was a two-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion, at 141-pounds in 2013 and 149-pounds in 2016.
On the international scene, Henderson was a two-time National Team member, 2022 World Team Trials finalist, 2020 US Olympic Team Trial qualifier, and a six-time US Open placer.
Henderson was an assistant coach for one season at Campbell, and the last three seasons at Lehigh. During his time at Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks posted six All-Americas and … more at … https://goheels.com/news/2026/1/14/henderson-named-wrestling-assistant-coach

January 15, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Penn State wrestling extends wins record, Oklahoma State dominates rivalry in weekend action

The opening weekend of conference duals in the Big Ten and the ACC brought dramatic matches and more history. Oklahoma State also added to its own with a Bedlam blowout.
Here’s what we learned from those key results this weekend: 
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No. 1 Penn State does it again with rout of No. 16 Rutgers
With a dominant 46-0 win over No. 16 Rutgers, No. 1 Penn State earned its 78th straight dual meet win, surpassing Division II’s St. Cloud State’s 77 wins for the most in NCAA history. The Nittany Lions earned three falls in the shutout.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING: How Penn State won its first 77 consecutive duals No. 1 Shayne Van Ness notched the first pin of the night at 149 pounds when he topped Devon Magro in the second period. Fellow No. 1-ranked wrestlers Mitchell Mesenbrink and Levi Haines also earned falls at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, while top 197-pound wrestler Josh Barr earned a tech fall against No. 18 Remy Cotton. The most competitive match of the night came at heavyweight, where No. 14 Cole Mirasola finished off the shutout in decision fashion over No. 21 Hunter Catka, 4-2. After passing Oklahoma State’s 76-win mark set from 1937 to 1951 before Christmas against Stanford, the Nittany Lions proved they are not slowing down soon. Next up, Penn State heads to No. 4 Iowa for a major Friday night dual. Iowa, Minnesota capture victories in Big Ten openers
Both Iowa and No. 11 Minnesota opened Big Ten competition with wins, with the Hawkeyes defeating No. 18 Wisconsin, 23-12, and the Gophers besting No. 10 Illinois, 27-9.
The most notable result from Iowa’s win was a loss for the Hawkeyes when No. 4 Drake Ayala dropped a decision to No. 14 Zan Fugitt at 133 pounds, 6-5. Last season’s runner-up now sits at 4-4 so far this season.
Iowa did earn a sudden-victory win from No. 5 Ben Kueter at heavyweight against No. 9 Braxton Amos, but Wisconsin got one back from No. 17 Joseph Zargo, who defeated No. 7 Ryder Block at 149 pounds. The Hawkeyes finished the dual with wins from No. 3 Mikey Caliendo, No. 3 Patrick Kennedy and No. 1 Angelo Ferrari.
ALL-AMERICANS: Meet the 80 athletes who finished on the podium last season
Minnesota, meanwhile, performed strong in its bout with Illinois over the weekend as well, with a tech fall win from No. 6 Jore Volk at 125 pounds. Unranked 133-pound Gopher Brandon Morvari also held No. 1 Lucas Byrd to only a decision win, a promising sign for the backup sophomore against the national champ. The Gophers then won five of the next six contests, highlighted by a sudden-victory win at 174 pounds from No. 22 Ethan Riddle over No. 19 Colin Kelly. Minnesota also earned a major decision win from No. 10 Koy Hopke at heavyweight over Ryan Boersma, 9-1. 
NC State and Virginia Tech prevail in close ACC regular season duals
Conference duals in the ACC began Friday, and the league’s top two teams were tested. No. 9 NC State faced a tough match against Virginia while No. 7 Virginia Tech took on No. 14 Pittsburgh.
At Reynolds Coliseum, Virginia took an early 10-0 lead with three wins, including an upset for Gable Porter over NC State’s No. 8 All-American Ryan Jack at 141 pounds. NC State slowly came back, using wins from No. 8 Koy Buesgens at 149, No. 12 Will Denny at 165 and No. 5 Matty Singleton at 174 pounds. A decision win by Steven Burrell Jr. at 184 pounds over No. 21 Patrick Brophy put the Cavaliers up four going into the final match of the night.
Senior All-American No. 2 Issac Trumble needed at least a tech fall to win the Wolfpack the dual, but he did better by pinning No. 32 Brenan Morgan to close out a 19-17 win. The NC State faithful erupted, sending Reynolds Coliseum into a frenzy. 
In Pittsburgh, the Hokies scored their 18 points in the first five matches of the evening, highlighted by a tech fall win from No. 3 All-American Eddie Ventresca over No. 30 Tyler Chappell to start the night at 125 pounds. The Panthers won the next five contests but only by decisions, finishing the night with a 1-0 win for No. 16 Dayton Pitzer over Virginia Tech’s No. 11 Jimmy Mullen at heavyweight. Virginia Tech prevailed, 18-15.
No. 5 Oklahoma State dominates No. 15 Oklahoma in Bedlam showdown
No. 5 Oklahoma State turned heads Sunday with a dominant showing in the Bedlam dual, shutting out No. 15 Oklahoma, 37-0. The win was highlighted by the debut of freshman Jax Forrest, who pinned Oklahoma’s Carter Schmidt at 133 pounds in the first period. … more at … https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling-men/article/2026-01-12/penn-state-wrestling-extends-wins-record-oklahoma-state-dominates-rivalry-weekend

January 15, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment