Takedown Report

These are the 6 teams that qualified their full lineups for the 2026 DI men’s wrestling tournament

Six teams will bring all ten athletes to NCAAs, with four of those teams punching their tickets via conference finishes and two teams — Nebraska and Iowa State — needing a wild card for the tenth athlete.
Here are the profiles of each of these deep, talented squads: 
Penn State Nittany Lions 
The Penn State Nittany Lions are the team to beat heading into the 2026 NCAA tournament. Last year, Penn State set the NCAA scoring record and put all ten athletes on the podium. 

Braeden Davis’ seventh-place bracket win over Billy DeKraker 8-1 at this year’s Big Ten tournament ensured that all ten Nittany Lions will return to nationals with the hopes of chasing and surpassing their achievements from last year. With a program record of seven Big Ten champions, there’s an argument to make that this is the best team in program history.

PENN STATE HISTORY: Complete history of the program and its records

Five Penn State wrestlers — Luke Lilledahl, Shayne Van Ness, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Levi Haines and Rocco Welsh — will enter NCAAs undefeated as likely top seeds. Mesenbrink and Haines will chase their second titles, while Welsh will aim to return to the finals and Lilledahl and Van Ness will look to improve on previous All-American finishes and earn the opportunity to compete on Saturday night. 

Complete Penn State roster: 

125 pounds: Luke Lilledahl (1st at Big Tens)
133 pounds: Marcus Blaze (2nd at Big Tens)
141 pounds: Braeden Davis (7th at Big Tens)
149 pounds: Shayne Van Ness (1st at Big Tens)
157 pounds: PJ Duke (1st at Big Tens)
165 pounds: Mitchell Mesenbrink (1st at Big Tens)
174 pounds: Levi Haines (1st at Big Tens)
184 pounds: Rocco Welsh (1st at Big Tens)
197 pounds: Josh Barr (1st at Big Tens)
285 pounds: Cole Mirasola (5th at Big Tens) 

Ohio State Buckeyes

After picking up Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Big Ten Athlete of the Year and Big Ten Coach of the Year honors, Ohio State has exactly the kind of momentum the Buckeyes need heading into NCAAs. Taking down Penn State is a tall task, but the Bucks make a strong case to be the nation’s second-best team and could put up some serious team points in Cleveland. Ohio State’s strength at Big Tens came from its depth and grittiness, particularly on the backside of the bracket. Nic Bouzakis, Carson Kharchla, Luke Geog and Nick Feldman all rallied from losses to finish third, and similar kinds of performances from these four could help all of them fight for podium spots at nationals. Bouzakis and Geog have yet to earn All-American honors in their careers, but put themselves in prime position to do so with their conference results. Returning Ohio State All-American Ethan Stiles also stepped up at Big Tens and finished second — Ohio State fans likely expect a similar finish from him at nationals. … more at … https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling-men/article/2026-03-10/these-are-6-teams-qualified-their-full-lineups-2026-di-mens-wrestling-tournament

March 14, 2026 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | ncaa, sports