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College Wrestling Rankings: Penn State Remains No. 1 In New Top-25

Penn State remains No. 1 in the latest FloWrestling Top-25 team tournament rankings, updated Tuesday morning with key movement across the top 25.

Feb 24, 2026 by Joe Harrington
With conference tournaments looming and NCAA seeding implications tightening, the latest FloWrestling Top-25 team tournament rankings carry increasing weight. Updated on Feb. 24, the team race remains headlined by a dominant Penn State squad, but the margin battles behind the Nittany Lions continue to intensify.

Penn State Wrestling holds firm at No. 1 with 160 points, maintaining a sizable cushion over No. 2 Ohio State (89) and No. 3 Oklahoma State (88.5). Iowa State and Nebraska round out the top five, each staying in position as teams jockey for critical tournament points in March.
Further down the rankings, movement continues to shape the landscape. Stanford climbs to No. 12, while Arizona State makes a notable jump to No. 14. Purdue and SIUE are tied at No. 19, and South Dakota State and UNI share the No. 21 spot as the team race tightens across the board.
Questions or comments for the rankers? We welcome and encourage your feedback. Hit up Jon Kozak (email: Jonathan.Kozak@flosports.tv; Twitter: @KozakJon) and JD Rader
Here are the team rankings. 

College Wrestling Rankings This Week

  1. Penn State, 160, Previous Ranking: #1
  2. Ohio State, 89, Previous Ranking: #2
  3. OK State, 88.5, Previous Ranking: #3
  4. Iowa State, 80.5, Previous Ranking: #4
  5. Nebraska, 79, Previous Ranking: #5
  6. Iowa, 58, Previous Ranking: #6
  7. Cornell, 54, Previous Ranking: #7
  8. NC State, 50.5, Previous Ranking: #8
  9. Virginia Tech, 37, Previous Ranking: #9
  10. Illinois, 33.5, Previous Ranking: #10 … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/15520943-college-wrestling-rankings-penn-state-remains-no-1-in-new-top-25

February 26, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

NCAA D1 Wrestling Week 17 Roundup: That’s A Wrap

The world’s finest collection of noteworthy happenings from the 17th week of the 2025-26 NCAA D1 wrestling season.
Every year, I say the season is going to go by faster than you think it will, and does anyone ever believe me? Yeah, probably, I guess. I’ve never actually sought out confirmation when making rhetorical statements like that. 
But guess what? The season did end, and it did go by fast! So I hope you cherished every week of the regular season (I know I did), and I also hope you enjoy the final Roundup of noteworthy weekly happenings during the 2025-26 NCAA D1 wrestling season!  
Week 16 Rankings | Week 17 Box Scores
Roundups: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16
There is technically still one more dual this week, assuming you’re reading this Monday before noon, as that is when VMI is scheduled to wrestle Presbyterian. If it’s after that, then the season is officially dunzo. It is finito, terminated, shuffled off this seasonal coil.  Either way, it’s time for the recapping to begin.

The Dual of the Century of the Week

Good Revenge, Cowboy – Oklahoma State Downs Iowa 32-11

You all knew this was going to be DotCotW. The hype was simply too strong to deny.
FloWrestling had boots on the ground with our very own Christian Pyles and Connor Petros in attendance, slinging content. Christian managed to sneak a peak of the insane crowd gathering outside historic Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Gallagher-Iba was sold out, with 12,629 rabid Cowboy fans in attendance. And they were all in a big mood by the time things started cooking in the arena. Everyone should experience a big Oklahoma State dual in their lives, and make sure you arrive in time for their iconic run out to Marilyn Mason’s Beautiful People. 
This was a rematch of a semifinal bout of the National Duals Invitational presented by Paycom, and it’s interesting to see how different the lineups for both teams were on Sunday compared to the mid-November dual. 
Here’s the NDI box score:
Iowa 18, Oklahoma State 16
125: #10 Dean Peterson (Iowa) over #2 Troy Spratley (OK State) Dec 5-4 .. morre at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/15475275-ncaa-d1-wrestling-week-17-roundup-thats-a-wrap

February 26, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

NCAA Wrestling Award Standings

NCAA women’s wrestling award standings update for the 2026 season
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has released the standings for the 2026 NCAA Women’s Wrestling Awards. These will be awarded in March during the very first Women’s Wrestling Championship.
The three awards will honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons.
For falls and tech falls to be counted for the awards they must come against opponents from other NCAA women’s varsity programs. Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time. 
This is the second week of standings of the Most Dominant Wrestler award, which is a 16-match minimum to qualify for the standings.
The Most Dominant Woman Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of team points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. 
Points per match are awarded as follows:

  • Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points (-6 points for a loss)
  • Tech falls = 5 points (-5 points for a loss)
  • Major decision = 4 points (-4 points for a loss)
  • Decision = 3 points (-3 points for a loss)

🤼‍♀️ NEW HERE? Here’s everything you need to know about NC women’s wrestling
The leaderboard for Most Dominant Wrestler remains the same. First is Savanna Witt of Eastern with an average of 4.73. Next is Fort Hays State’s 180-pounder Isabella Renfro with a 4.68 average. Talisha Lewis rounds out the top three with an average of 4.56.
Ella Gahl of Manchester remains in the lead with 22 falls in 41:01. … more at … https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling-women/article/2026-02-18/ncaa-womens-wrestling-award-standings-update-2026-season
And …

NCAA men’s wrestling award standings update for the 2026 season
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has released updated standings for the 2026 NCAA Men’s Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the respective Division I, II and III Wrestling Championships. 
The inaugural NCAA Men’s Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons. 
For falls and tech falls to be counted for the awards they must come against opponents in the same division (i.e. Division III vs. Division III). Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time. 
This is the second week of standings for the Most Dominant Wrestler award, which is a 16-match minimum to qualify for the standings.
The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of team points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. 

Points per match are awarded as follows:

  • Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points (-6 points for a loss)
  • Tech falls = 5 points (-5 points for a loss)
  • Major decision = 4 points (-4 points for a loss)
  • Decision = 3 points (-3 points for a loss)

RANKINGS: Latest DI NWCA Coaches Poll
Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink continues to lead Division I with a 5.28 average and in second is Jesse Mendez of Ohio State with a 4.89 average.
Still in the lead for Division II is heavyweight Isaiah Vance with a 4.85 average. Taking second this week is Tiffin’s 165-pounder Nolan Gessler.
Division III top leaders stay the same. 157-pounder Trent Mahoney … more at … https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling-men/article/2026-02-18/ncaa-mens-wrestling-award-standings-update-2026-season

February 26, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

West Virginia SSAC approves Girls Wrestling for 2026 season

WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) — The WVSSAC will introduce a new preliminary sanctioned sport for the 2026-2027 athletic season.
The West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission Board of Directors voted on Tuesday night to approve girls wrestling as a preliminary sanctioned sport beginning next school year.
The decision officially establishes a WVSSAC girls wrestling state championship, supported by a regional qualifying format that will be conducted separately from the boys’ state wrestling tournament.
According to the WVSSAC, participation in girls’ wrestling has grown significantly. In 2023, 142 student-athletes participated in the sport, and this year, more than 300 student-athletes participated, representing 86 different schools.
WVSSAC Executive Director Wayne Ryan stated, “The WVSSAC is excited to add girls wrestling to our championship offerings. We’re proud of the growth and progress that this sport has made in recent years, and this move gives these athletes a clear pathway to compete for a state championship while allowing schools to continue strengthening and expanding their programs.”
Executive Director Ryan says the preliminary designation allows the sport to keep expanding without placing additional infrastructure demands of being a full team sanctioned sport.
Ryan says those demands require a minimum number of complete programs statewide, as well as adherence to national federation regulations that govern roster limits, … more at … https://www.wtrf.com/news/wvssac-approves-girls-wrestling-for-2026-season/

February 26, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

University of Buffalo Mourns Passing of Legendary Wrestling Coach Ed Michael

BUFFALO, NY – Ed Michael, the winningest coach in University at Buffalo wrestling history, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 83. Michael spent 21 seasons as the Bulls head coach and after leaving his mark on the wrestling program, went on to serve the UB Division of Athletics for 18 years as an administrator and the Director of Recreation and Intramurals.  
As head coach from 1970-91, Michael guided the Bulls to a program-record 215 dual wins, highlighted by winning the 1978 Division III National Championship. He led UB to the New York State Collegiate Wrestling Championship seven times, as well as reaching top 20 NCAA rankings an impressive 13 occasions.
Michael coached 39 All-Americans, 27 New York Collegiate Individual Champions and 96 Tournament Champions. Eight of his wrestlers have been inducted into the Dr. and Mrs. Edmond J. Gecewicz UB Athletics Hall of Fame.   
A member of seven halls of fame, Michael, was an associate professor at UB and taught physical education classes for 21 years. He authored several sports journal publications and co-authored a wrestling book.  
In 1995, Michael and the 1978 national championship team were inducted into the UB Athletics Hall of Fame.  He was inducted again in 1997 as an individual. 
In 2011, UB honored him by naming their newly renovated wrestling facility the Ed Michael Wrestling Complex.
In 2016, he was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. … more at … https://ubbulls.com/news/2026/2/1/general-ub-mourns-passing-of-legendary-wrestling-coach-ed-michael

February 26, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Pair of Montreat College freshmen qualify for nationals

KANSAS CITY, Mo.— The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) officially announced the qualifiers for the 2026 NAIA Men’s Wrestling Championships on Tuesday evening, and according to the release, a pair of Montreat College freshmen will represent the Cavaliers in Park City, Kan., next week. Kane Bryson seized an at-large bid in the 125-lb weight class, while Boedi Kirkland did the same at 149.  
For Bryson and Kirkland, these selections marked the first of their collegiate careers. Meanwhile, it also marked the second time in program history in which the Cavs sent a pair of wrestlers to the national championships.  
A native of Canton, N.C., Bryson registered a 19-12 record in his debut season. The freshman placed fourth at the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Men’s Wrestling Championships last week, and he currently stands as the NAIA’s 23rd-rated wrestler at 125.  
Kirkland’s freshman campaign featured 31 victories, the most in a single season in program history. Overall, the nation’s No. 17-ranked wrestler at 149 owns a 31-10 record. Kirkland is coming off a sixth-place finish at the AAC Championships, where his only losses occurred due to injury. … more at .. https://montreatcavaliers.com/news/2026/2/24/mens-wrestling-pair-of-montreat-college-freshmen-qualify-for-nationals.aspx

February 26, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment