InterMat’s Top Wrestling Stories for 2025
We’ve only got a few hours left in 2025 and are ready to look forward to a big 2026. Before changing the calendar (or letting it update on your phone), let’s take a quick look back at some of the biggest wrestling-related stories of the year for InterMat. Please let us know if you have some that we might have missed!
10. Ohio State wins National Duals Invitational
The college wrestling needs more juice. We need events that excite and energize the fanbases, creating arguments and debate, and hypotheticals. Those things are healthy. It needs to be more than just focusing on those three days in March.
The National Duals Invitational came along and filled that void very nicely. Coming into the event, one of the main storylines was whether or not Oklahoma State’s freshman-laden lineup could win it all. Maybe Nebraska could build off their second-place finish at nationals in 2025. Or trusty Iowa.
What happened was Ohio State’s lightweights blitzed the field and the Buckeyes disposed of Wyoming, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa. Nic Bouzakis debuted at 125 lbs, Ben Davino beat a returning national finalist, and Jesse Mendez prevailed in an NCAA finals rematch.
And for the 400 lb elephant in the room (or not in the room), Penn State. The Nittany Lions declined an invitation to participate. Their absence spurred plenty of debate between fans on social media and on the message board- maybe they should go in the future vs. why do they need to go, would it be better with them or without them, do they have an obligation to go? Those were all questions thrown around by fans in the days leading up to the event and in the aftermath. Whichever side you fall on in the debates, just the conversation and interest is good for our sport.
9. Recruiting/NIL/Transfer Portal
This is a bit of a catch-all for a couple of different topics. Basically, the new-era of collegiate sports wrapped up into one point. Like the “Penn State at National Duals Invitational” topic, you may not agree with one side in the debate; however, there are plenty of people interested in the overall conversation.
As someone who looks at the metrics of articles and social media, recruiting battles, recruiting flips, NIL rumors, and transfer decisions move the needle.
Some of the important stories of the year related to these categories are:
- Bo Bassett’s recruiting graphic/commitment to Iowa/decommitment and signing with Virginia Tech.
- The Hokies, along with Oklahoma State, Penn State, Iowa, and Cornell amassing huge recruiting classes.
- Three 2025 NCAA DI champions transferred in the prior offseason.
- The game of musical chairs at 184 lbs with the Rocco Welsh/Zack Ryder transfers.
- The potential for Jax Forrest to join the Oklahoma State team instead of finishing his final HS season.
- Some notable transfers are not faring as well in their new homes.
- The portal helped make Iowa State into a top-three team after missing the top 20 in Philly.
8. Iowa State finally wins the CyHawk Dual
For the first time since 2004, Iowa State has beaten their in-state rivals, Iowa, in dual meet competition. Iowa head coach Tom Brands had been in his current position since 2006-07 … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/intermats-top-wrestling-stories-for-2025-r100729/
#6 Lander Dominates King 38-6 to Open 2026
GREENWOOD – In a rematch of last season’s Conference Carolinas Championship match, the sixth-ranked Lander Wrestling team opened the 2026 calendar year in dominant fashion with a 38-6 win over King on Friday night inside Horne Arena.
The Bearcats won eight of ten bouts, with seven coming by bonus-point margin, as Lander controlled the dual from the opening whistle.
Kaden Kuenzi got the Blue and Gold rolling immediately at 125, needing just 45 seconds to record a first-period pin and give Lander (11-0, 4-0 CC) a 6-0 lead. #6 James Joplin and #1 Elijah Lusk followed with back-to-back major decisions at 133 and 141 to stretch the advantage to 14-0.
King (5-4, 4-2 CC) answered at 149 with a narrow decision to get on the board, but Lander quickly seized control once again. Reid Noble responded with a 19-3 technical fall in 4:06 at 157 before #2 David Hunsberger added an 18-1 tech fall in 4:28 at 165 to make it 24-4 through six matches. At 174, Sean Crews battled tightly with fourth-ranked Clint Morrisette, falling just short in a 4-2 decision.
Lander clinched the dual at 184 as #8 Dylan Kohn breezed to a 15-0 second-period technical fall, pushing the Bearcats past the 30-point mark. #14 Marvelous Rutledge added another hard-fought win at 197, securing a 4-1 sudden-victory decision over the 15th-ranked wrestler in the weight class, before #13 Isaac Sheeren closed the night in emphatic fashion with a first-period pin (2:06) at heavyweight.
Lander now turns its attention to the NWCA National Duals, … more at … https://landerbearcats.com/news/2026/1/2/wrestling-6-lander-dominates-king-38-6-to-open-2026.aspx
And …
Coker Cruises to a 40-7 Win Over Allen
Mason Moody, Frank Bianco, Benjamin Newton, and Hunter Miller all put 6 points on the board for the Cobras
Hartsville, S.C.: The Cobras started the new year with a win over conference rivals Allen University. The Coker won with a commanding score of 40-7. … more at … https://www.cokercobras.com/sports/wrest/2025-26/releases/20260102npgy95
And …
Maroon wrestling opens 2026 with 51-0 win over Penn College
The Facts:
Score: Roanoke 51, Penn College 0
Location: Front Royal, Va. – Skyline High School
The Short story: The Roanoke College wrestling team quickly defeated Penn College 51-0 Thursday in a non-conference dual hosted at Skyline High School in Front Royal, Va.
The Maroons had two pins and six technical falls.
Roanoke is No. 5 this week in theopenmat.com dual rankings and are No. 6 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll.
How it happened:
*The Maroons opened with three-straight technical falls to go ahead 15-0. … more at … https://roanokemaroons.com/news/2026/1/1/wrestling-maroon-wrestling-opens-2026-with-51-0-win-over-penn-college.aspx
The Comparison Trap in Youth Wrestling
Wrestling is different from most youth sports. There’s no teammate to share the moment with, no lineup to blend into, no one else on the mat when the whistle blows. Every win and every loss belongs to the athlete alone.
Because of that, wrestling parents often feel results more deeply. When another child is winning matches and their own child isn’t, it’s easy to start comparing — and even easier to assume that struggling means it’s time to try a different sport.
But in wrestling, early results are one of the least reliable indicators of long-term success.
Wrestling Exposes Development Gaps Early
In team sports, size, speed, or early maturity can be masked by teammates. In wrestling, they can’t. A stronger or more physically mature child often has a huge advantage at young ages. That doesn’t mean they’re more talented — it means they’re further along in development.
Many wrestlers who struggle early simply haven’t hit their physical or emotional growth phase yet. Strength, coordination, confidence, and mat awareness all come at different times. Comparing two wrestlers at age 9 or 11 ignores the fact that they may be years apart developmentally.
Early Wins in Wrestling Can Be Misleading
It’s common to see youth wrestlers dominate early — often because they’re bigger, stronger, or more aggressive. But wrestling evolves quickly. As athletes grow, competition tightens, technique matters more, and effort alone isn’t enough.
Many early “stars” plateau when physical advantages disappear. Meanwhile, wrestlers who struggled early often surge once their bodies and minds catch up — if they’re still in the sport.
Wrestling rewards persistence more than early success.
Why Parents Misread Losing in Wrestling
Because wrestling is one-on-one, losing can feel like a personal failure instead of part of development. Parents see their child’s hand not being raised and assume:
- They’re not good at wrestling
- They’re falling behind others
- Another sport might suit them better
But losing in wrestling often means a child is learning hard lessons: how to handle pressure, how to problem-solve mid-match, how to keep competing when things don’t go their way. Those lessons don’t show up on a bracket — but they shape better wrestlers long-term.
Switching Sports Because of Losses Sends the Wrong Message
Changing sports solely because a child isn’t winning in wrestling teaches an unintended lesson: that struggle means failure, and that success should come quickly.
Wrestling is supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to challenge kids mentally and physically. … more at … https://iawrestle.com/2025/12/29/the-comparison-trap-in-youth-wrestling/
Women’s and Girls’ Wrestling Is Ready for Its Modern Era
rom 204 high school wrestlers in 1989 to record-breaking numbers today, the sport’s long-overlooked revolution is now impossible to ignore—just in time for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
If you were to ask 100 random Americans what the nation’s fastest-growing high school sport is, few would come up with the correct answer: girls’ wrestling.
The release of the documentary All American, which chronicles the challenges on and off the mat of three wrestlers, Naomi, Jo and Arham, arrives at a pivotal moment in the trailblazing journey of girls’ and women’s wrestling in the United States.
Today, a record 47 state high school associations will crown girls’ wrestling champions, with more states adding full-team competitions every year.
At the collegiate level, participation has surged. Earlier this year, the NCAA officially named women’s wrestling as its 91st championship sport. The number of college programs offering women’s wrestling has ballooned—as evidenced by the fact that the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics will soon hold its fourth national championship for women’s wrestling.
At the youth level, USA Wrestling’s iconic Fargo tournament drew more than 2,200 girls this year—a number that would have been unimaginable a generation ago. Team USA’s women are now global powerhouses, routinely medaling in world and Olympic competitions.
To the observer or new fan, girls’ and women’s wrestling seem like a sudden marvel, but the road to our current apex is filled with a long history of resistance, sacrifice and struggle. For years, even after the passage of Title IX in 1972, wrestling remained male-dominated, with opportunities for girls on the mat scarce and resistance to our inclusion supercharged.
For so many girls and women on the mat today, our story dates back to 1989, when five American women—Afsoon Roshanzamir, Asia DeWeese, Marie Ziegler, Janet Trussell and Leia Kawaii—traveled to Switzerland for the Women’s World Freestyle Championships, the first ever Women’s World Championship in which a U.S. team entered. Despite winning three medals during that tournament, they had no financial or organizational support, no national recognition, or parades; yet they persisted, representing a country whose wrestling gatekeepers had little interest or belief in our participation. Despite the hostility, their courage to compete at that time sparked the enduring flame of women’s wrestling in the United States that still reverberates.
Back then, a tiny fraction of girls wrestled in high school. In 1989, the National Federation of State High School Associations—the main body that governs high school athletics—reported that only 204 girls were wrestling at 25 schools nationwide, with virtually all of them on boys’ teams. Yet word spread about the women who had competed in Switzerland and what their example meant.
The following year, in 1990, the first official U.S. Senior Women’s World Team Trials event was held in Vallejo, Calif., with the winners qualifying for the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. The dominant theme of that weekend was not competition but gratitude and community after years of isolation. Girls who had long been alone in wrestling swapped their stories and techniques, molding a foundation for the sports that continued long after that tournament. That sense of community has remained at the forefront … more at … https://msmagazine.com/2025/12/26/womens-girls-wrestling/
Caleb Smith unlocked potential he didn’t know he had
Editor’s Note: This article appeared in WIN’s Volume 32 Issue 4, the Late December Issue.
By John Klessinger
After losing two straight matches as the No. 5 seed at 125 lbs. in the 2023 NCAA Division I Championships, Caleb Smith decided he needed a change. He already graduated from Appalachian State with a degree in marketing. With the COVID year, Smith had two remaining years of eligibility.
Smith recognized at App State he needed to grow. Before his sophomore season, he and two-time All-American Jonathan Millner trained every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6 a.m. “I had to be uncomfortable,” said Smith. “I hated waking up early. The time was one way to do that,” he added.
With two more years of eligibility and a disappointing result at the NCAAs, Smith prayed a lot and decided Nebraska was the place he needed to go. He loved Mark Manning and his staff. Smith spoke to Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champion Jordan Burroughs before going to Lincoln about wrestling for the Huskers.
Burroughs told Smith there is a standard at Nebraska. “There is an expectation that you are to work towards being the best version of yourself every day. Not only wrestling, but in everything,” Smith said. Almost immediately, Smith experienced something he didn’t feel at Appalachian State. Being in the Big Ten and a high-ranking program, everything felt bigger than him. He’d go to a store, and people knew who he was. “Nebraska was the most fun I ever had. I loved the training, the competition and the fans. It is special,” said Smith.
The transition, though, didn’t come with immediate success. Wrestling in the Big Ten was not the same as the Southern Conference. Smith lost a bunch of matches early. He struggled with his confidence. He took a lopsided loss to Minnesota All-American Patrick McKee. It changed his career. After that match, a teammate said to him, “If you are doing this for God, why does it matter if you win or lose?” remembered Smith. That realization, along with Manning’s mindset, helped Smith slowly come to believe in himself. “Manning told me to look in the mirror every day and say five times, ‘I am the best,’” said Smith. “I didn’t necessarily believe it, but every time I looked in the mirror, I said it,” he added.
Before the final match of the 2024 Minnesota dual, heavyweight Harley Andrews looked at Smith and said, “I got you.” He was talking about Smith’s loss to McKee. Anderson went out and sealed the dual with an 11-7 victory over Bennett Tabor. “I learned those guys have my back. If I’d fight for them, … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/12/26/caleb-smith-unlocked-potential-he-didnt-know-he-had/
NCAA D1 Wrestling Week 9 Roundup: Best Of 2025
We called an audible! This week’s Roundup consists of a look back at the biggest NCAA college wrestling stories FloWrestling covered in 2025!
Greetings and saultations wise and learned wrestling fans! Because of the extreme dearth of D1 college wrestling events during week 9 of the 2025-26 season, we’re going to call an audible, and instead of discussing the noteworthy happenings of the last seven days, we’re going to look back at the entire 2025 calendar year and highlight the biggest and best stories, events, and social posts that FloWrestling covered. How very!
Week 8 Rankings | Week 8 Box Scores
Roundups: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8
So what will that entail, exactly, you ask? I will tell you. I have reviewed all our metrics, tallies, and key performance indicators and will list those entries that produced the highest numbers.
Some of the data is from social media, which I will include. Other data will be from internal sources with which I will be more coy. Now, without further ado, the envelopes, please.
FloWrestling’s Best of 2025
Let’s start with the good stuff (because it’s been statistically proven that a mere fraction of the people reading this sentence will reach the end of the blog).
The Top Twitter Posts of 2025
We’re starting with Twitter (ok, fine, X), posts because I can embed Tweets in this blog but not Instagram posts, even though our IG posts get far more engagement. Just one of the fun quirks of blogging in the wrestling media capital of the world! … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/15057007-ncaa-d1-wrestling-week-9-roundup-best-of-2025
2025-26 Top 40 National High School Wrestling Rankings – Dec. 24, 2025
Notre Dame Green Pond moves into the Top 20; Green Farms Academy (Con.) jumps 10 spots to No. 26; Grassfield (Va.) and Nazareth (Pa.) join the Top 40
Happy Holidays!
With the Beast of the East completed over the weekend, we head into the holidays with several major national high school wrestling events complete, offering us a road map for where the 2025-26 season may go. Of course, there is still a ton of great action ahead of us, including some special holiday events. With that said, here is our latest Top 40 Team rankings, as you continue your holiday celebrations and prepare for a bright New Year! Enjoy
1-Faith Christian Academy, PA
Previous No. 1
Idle
2-Buchanan, CA
Previous No. 3
Won their own Zinkin Classic Tournament over Clovis and Clovis North.
3-Blair Academy, NJ
Previous No. 4
Won the team title at the Beast of the East over Lake Highland Prep by three points.
4-Lake Highland Prep, FL
Previous No. 2
Second at the Beast of the East.
5-Delbarton, NJ
Previous No. 5
Was 4-0 at the Fab 50 Duals with wins over Massillon Perry, 41-23, and Greens Farms Academy, 51-6. They did not wrestle Wyoming Seminary, which left the event without a champion as both were 4-0. The two squads have a dual meet scheduled at Seminary on February 6th, so it seems they passed on this meeting in favor of the upcoming one.
6-Malvern Prep, PA
Previous No. 7
Finished third at the Beast of the East.
7-St. John Bosco, CA
Previous No. 6
Captured the crown at the Reno Tournament of Champions, finishing ahead of Poway, Gilroy, and Allen.
8-Bishop McCort, PA
Previous No. 8
Landed in fourth of the Beast of the East team standing. … more at … https://www.si.com/high-school/wrestling/2025-26-boys-high-school-wrestling-national-rankings-dec-19-2025-01kcwn9fq30e
Maximus Konopka: On the road to greener pastures
Editor’s Note: This article appeared in WIN’s Volume 32 Issue 4, which printed Dec. 19, 2025.
By Tristan Warner
There are 490 miles that separate Greens Farms Academy in Westport, Conn. from Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
That journey was made by Jack Conroy’s squad … well, the seven student-athletes who caught an invite, that is … to the 2025 Ironman Wrestling Tournament.
What if you were told that 2025 Ironman champion Maximus Konopka, the first ever representing a school from the state of Connecticut and now the nation’s No. 1 ranked wrestler at 215 lbs., logged over 400 miles per week, in his own right, just to get to school? You read that correctly.
The Simsbury, Conn. native made the offseason move to Greens Farms Academy just before the start of his junior school year in search of the best training opportunity in the Constitution State. He does not have to go it alone, though. In fact, the future Virginia Tech Hokie’s longtime personal coach, TJ Silva, made the move as well. The two commute approximately 160 miles round trip daily to GFA for school, practice and then home.
Getting to go to tournaments like Ironman made the move worth it, Konopka says. “Simsbury High School is five minutes from my house, and Greens Farms Academy in Westport is an hour-and-a-half drive every morning,” Konopka explained. “It is a big change, but it has been worth every second. This was the decision I had to make to keep developing academically and athletically and be ready to start as a freshman and hopefully win four NCAA titles.”
Silva, who has coached Konopka since he was in the elementary leagues, saw something special in him from day one. He has continued to serve as his mentor, both on and off the mat, to this day, even cornering him in the Ironman finals where Konopka outlasted Faith Christian (Pa.) senior Cael Weidemoyer, 9-5. “When we had the opportunity to make the jump, … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/12/29/maximus-konopka-on-the-road-to-greener-pastures/
Rutgers takes team title at 61st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships behind champions Cartagena-Walsh, Catka
Dec 30, 2025, 7:26 PM EST
by Brian Reinhardt
Rutgers wins the 2025 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.
EVANSTON, Ill. – Kicking off the holiday tournament season, the 61st annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships proved to be an exciting event as it returned to Northwestern’s campus after being held in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, for the past several seasons.
More true freshmen made headlines, this time for Virginia Tech, as Aaron Seidel (133) and Collin Gaj (149) both won titles. Also in their class, Elijah Cortez took the title at 141 pounds. He is a grayshirt who will suit up for Cornell next year.
The Big 10 was dominant in the upper weights. Ohio State and Rutgers both brought home a pair of titles. Scarlett Knight Shane Cartagena-Walsh was awarded a medical forfeit in the final at 184 pounds, while teammate Hunter Catka used a dominant third period to score a major decision at heavyweight. For the Buckeyes, it was backups e’Than Birden (165) and Seth Shumate (197) winning top honors. Pitt’s Dylan Evans earned a championship at 157 pounds. The Panthers also had runners-up at both 125 pounds and 141 pounds. The final two champions were Blake West of Northern Illinois at 125 pounds and Myles Takats of Bucknell at 174 pounds.
Rutgers bagged its first Midlands team title in program history by a half point over Pittsburgh, 93-92.5, … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/december/30/rutgers-takes-team-title-at-61st-ken-kraft-midlands-championships-behind-champions-cartagena-walsh-catka
No. 17 Wrestling Claims Team Title at Midlands Championships
EVANSTON, Ill. – Despite not sending a full roster, No. 17 Rutgers wrestling claimed its first Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Team Title in school history on Tuesday in Evanston, Illinois.
Behind individual titles from No. 15 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and No. 25 Hunter Catka (HWT), along with runner-up results from No. 18 Remy Cotton (197) and No. 32 Andrew Barbosa (165), the Scarlet Knights finished with 93 team points, ahead of No. 14 Pittsburgh (92.5) and Bucknell (83).
With it being an unofficial date on its competition calendar, RU was only able to send six student-athletes to compete attached at the championships. With two attached entrants at both 165 and 197 pounds, only four of those scores counted towards the team title. “Winning a team title at this historic tournament is a pretty cool achievement,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “I’m happy for these guys that they were able to come here, compete and get it done. It’s pretty exciting to have nine out of our 10 guys place. We wrestled a lot of matches and have a lot of work to do, but we’ll build off this team title heading into our Big Ten dual schedule.”
It marks the first Midlands team title in school history after the program finished second last season and in 2017. Along with a fourth-place result from Ryan Ford (165) and an eighth-place finish from PJ Casale (197), all six entrants placed for Rutgers. … more at … https://scarletknights.com/news/2025/12/30/no-17-wrestling-claims-team-title-at-midlands-championships
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 