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
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/
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/
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
DI Live Streaming Guide (12/3 – 12/7/2025)
We’re already into the first week of December and a couple of days away from a major event the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Even with Vegas, there’s a lot of events taking place all around the country. A total of 28 duals will be contested – along with other events. Since it can be difficult to figure out where and when to watch all of these events, InterMat has put together a list of all of the live-streamed events occurring this week. Below are the dates/times and how to watch each match (with links).
All Times Eastern
Wednesday, December 3:
Duke at Gardner-Webb 7:00 PM ESPN+
Bellarmine at Ohio State 7:00 PM B1G+
Thursday, December 4:
Little Rock vs. Minnesota at Mequon, WI 6:00 PM FloWrestling
Friday, December 5:
Air Force, Appalachian State, Arizona State, Cal Poly, California Baptist, Columbia, Cornell, CSU Bakersfield, Edinboro, Franklin & Marshall, Harvard, Iowa State, Michigan, Navy, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Presbyterian, Princeton, Purdue, Rider, Sacred Heart, South Dakota State, Stanford, Utah Valley, Virginia Tech, VMI, West Virginia, Wyoming at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational 12:00 PM FloWrestling
Buffalo at Bloomsburg 6:00 PM FloWrestling
Michigan State at Gardner-Webb 6:00 PM ESPN+ … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/47_streaming-guide/di-live-streaming-guide-123-1272025-r100675/
Porter Named ACC Wrestler Of The Week
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Junior Gable Porter has been named the ACC Wrestler of the Week it was announced by the league office with the release of its weekly honors.
Porter posted a first-period pin of Bloomsburg’s Tristan Corbin, recording the fall in 2:14, to improve to 5-0 in dual action this season and 9-1 on the year. The pin was the first of the season for Porter and third of his career. It was his sixth bonus-point victory of the season as he also has five major decisions.
The pin was the first of three by Virginia wrestlers … more at … https://virginiasports.com/news/2025/12/02/porter-named-acc-wrestler-of-the-week/
Barket’s Pin Seals 24-22 Win at Gardner-Webb
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — The Duke wrestling team won five out of its final seven bouts Wednesday on the road at Gardner-Webb to collect a 24-22 victory at Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs.
The Blue Devils received victories from Dylan Ross, Mikey Boulanger, Aurelius Dunbar, Aidan Wallace and Connor Barket to propel Duke to the win. Duke improved to 5-3 on the season, while the Bulldogs dropped to 3-3.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Gardner-Webb opened the match by jumping out to a 14-0 lead by winning at 125, 133 and 141 pounds.
- The Blue Devils were able to get on the board at 149 pounds as redshirt freshman Dylan Ross collected a 4-0 decision against Drew Pepin.Ross, who is from Edgewater, New Jersey, battled through a scoreless first two periods, before collecting a reversal to put the first points on the board and holding on for the 4-0 decision.Ross is now 2-2 on the season in dual match action and 5-2 overall.
- At 157 pounds, Duke’s Mikey Boulanger faced Joseph Giordano.Boulanger totaled a takedown in the first period and led 3-1.Giordano battled back in the second by notching an escape and takedown to lead, 4-3, heading into the final period.Boulanger, a native of Milford, Massachusetts, notched a reversal to open the period to regain the lead and held on for a 6-5 decision.
- The Blue Devils trailed 14-6 heading into the 165-pound match featuring Aurelius Dunbar of Duke and Tucker Cell of Gardner-Webb.Dunbar, who hails from Greencastle, Pennsylvania, took control early with a takedown and nearfall to lead 7-1, before collecting a pin and put an important six points on the board for Duke.
- Needing more Duke points to cut into the Bulldog lead, … more at … https://goduke.com/news/2025/12/3/wrestling-barkets-pin-seals-24-22-win-at-gardner-webb
WIN’s Dec. 2 updated TPI, Dual-Team Rankings and Individual Rankings
NEWTON, Iowa — WIN’s Dec. 2 updated Tournament Power Index (TPI), Top-20 Dual Teams and Individual Rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic, were tabulated on the heels of Iowa State’s historic 20-14 triumph over Iowa in the Cy-Hawk dual meet last Sunday. Just a few days prior, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits pulled off a big win of their own, downing Minnesota, 18-14, in Minneapolis.
The Cyclones moved into the No. 3 slot as a dual team, flip-flopping with the Hawkeyes, while Minnesota dropped to No. 11 as SDSU ascended to No. 14.
In this week’s TPI, the top five teams remained the same, but the Ohio State Buckeyes moved from No. 4 to No. 3, nipping Iowa by 1.5 team points. Penn State remained No. 1, while Iowa State, Ohio State, Iowa and Oklahoma State rounded out the Top 5, respectively.
WIN’s TPI projects where programs could finish at the 2026 NCAA Division I Championships, which will be held March 19-21 in Cleveland.
The following is a breakdown of those individual TPI points per ranking: 20 for 1st, 16 for 2nd, 13.5 for 3rd, 12.5 for 4th, 10 for 5th, 9 for 6th, 6.5 for 7th and 5.5 for 8th. Wrestlers ranked 9-12 earn two points each, followed by one and a half points for wrestlers ranked 13-16 and one point for those ranked 17-20. Penn State features five top-ranked wrestlers with Nittany Lions Shayne Van Ness (149), PJ Duke (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174) and Josh Barr (197) … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/12/02/wins-dec-2-updated-tpi-dual-team-rankings-and-individual-rankings/
#10 N.C. State Wrestling Beats App State 21-14 in Boone
BOONE, N.C. – 10th-ranked NC State wrestling took care of business in its road dual at Appalachian State on Sunday by a 21-14 score to get back into the win column.
The Wolfpack returned to Boone to continue the program’s home-and-home duals. In total, NC State claimed six of 10 bouts, with three of those wins being by major decision to provide bonus points to the final team score of 21-14. This marks the 13th consecutive win over the Mountaineers, all of which have been since Pat Popolizio has been at the helm of the program.
With Andrew Macchiavello bumped up to 197 lbs and Xavier Wilson at 285, both wrestled in their first duals of the season, which is also the first at the collegiate level for freshman Wilson.
Vincent Robinson, Ryan Jack, and Jackson Arrington each commanded their opponents for major decision wins to help lock in the win for the Pack despite dropping the three final bouts.
After previously meeting at the season-opening Southeast Open, ,,, more at … https://gopack.com/news/2025/11/30/-10-wrestling-beats-app-state-21-14-in-boone
Iowa State wrestling finally puts it all together vs. Hawkeyes
AMES — It felt like a scene from a movie.
As Rocky Elam turned to the crowd in the final match of the night during the 89th meeting of the Cy-Hawk dual, the Iowa State faithful showered their wrestler with chants of: “Rah-kee! Rah-kee! Rah-kee!” … more at … https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/college/iowa-state/wrestling/2025/11/30/iowa-state-wrestling-dual-win-over-iowa-kevin-dresser-rocky-elam/87463231007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=false&gca-epti=z114641p119450c119450u002341d00—-v114641&gca-ft=44&gca-ds=sophi
And …
STREAK SNAPPED! No. 6 ISU Downs No. 3 Iowa, 20-14
AMES, Iowa – It was 21 years in the making, but the Cyclones have taken down the Hawkeyes on the mat. Iowa State won six matches, as the No. 6 Cyclones beat No. 3 Iowa 20-14, snapping a streak of 20-straight Hawkeye victories. The victory came in front of 12,292 fans, the 10th largest in Hilton Coliseum history. Iowa State now leads the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series 11-2 on the year. The Cyclones have a chance to clinch the competition next week when the Cyclone women’s basketball team hosts Iowa on Dec. 10.
ISU held a 16-9 advantage in takedowns in the dual.
Top-ranked Yonger Bastida opened the dual at heavyweight with an 11-4 decision over No. 6 Ben Kueter. Bastida used a takedown in each period for the victory, while Kueter avoided the major decision with an escape with :01 remaining in the match. At 125 pounds, No. 7 Dean Peterson of Iowa used a takedown with :33 remaining to beat No. 9 Stevo Poulin 4-2.
The Cyclones got back on track at 133 pounds, as No. 6 Evan Frost upset No. 3 Drake Ayala 11-5. After a scoreless first period, Ayala used a second period takedown to take a 3-2 lead into the third period. It was all Frost at that point. Frost secured three takedowns in the final period, including two in the final :34 for the victory.
At 141 pounds, No. 6 Anthony Echemendia put on a show in a 15-2 victory over No. 7 Nasir Bailey. Echemendia used a late first period takedown for the 3-0 lead and added a second takedown in the second period to lead 7-1 into the third. After escaping to start the period, Echemendia added a pair of takedowns in the final period for the major decision. At 149 pounds, No. 10 Ryder Block knocked off No. 2 Paniro Johnson 2-1 in tiebreaker one. Block escaped in the first :30, while Johnson chose neutral in the second :30, but was unable to secure the takedown for the win.
Following intermission, No. 3 Vinny Zerban got his first taste of the Cy-Hawk dual in a big way at 157 pounds. Zerban used two third period takedowns, along with a rideout in the final :16 to secure a point for riding time, as he won by 11-3 major decision … more at … https://cyclones.com/news/2025/11/30/wrestling-streak-snapped-isu-downs-no-3-iowa-20-14
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
Martin Fleming, Editor
Takedown Report
Takedown Report 