NCAA Approves Women’s Wrestling Championship Structure for 2026 Debut
The NCAA Division I Sports Oversight Committee approved the framework for the inaugural women’s wrestling championship at their June 18th meeting, setting 180 qualifiers across six regional sites for the March 2026 tournament.
The University of Iowa and Iowa City Area Sports Commission will co-host the historic championship at Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa.
The committee selected 180 qualifiers over the NCAA Women’s Wrestling Committee’s recommendation of 210 qualifiers across seven regions. The decision aligns with NCAA principles for championship access based on total sport participation.
Teams may enter up to 10 competitors — one per weight class — in regional tournaments, matching the men’s wrestling format. Regionals will be single-day events held two weekends before finals. The championship runs Thursday through Saturday on the first full weekend in March. … more at … https://theguillotine.com/2025/06/ncaa-approves-womens-wrestling-championship-structure-for-2026-debut/
Nine berths on 2025 U.S. Senior Men’s Freestyle World Team set during exciting Final X action in Newark
Duke shocks Diakomihalis, Senior medalists Lee, Snyder, Valencia among men’s freestyle Final X champions
NEWARK, N.J. – Nine berths on the 2025 U.S. Senior World Team were determined in men’s freestyle at an exciting Final X at the Prudential Center on Saturday.
Final X served as the Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit, the 15th BTSNY Annual Benefit to date. The event helped BTSNY raise more than $950,000 for its youth wrestling programs which empower 3,000-plus young people in New York City.
The biggest story came at 70 kg, where high school sensation PJ Duke defeated 2022 World silver medalist Yianni Diakomihalis, two matches to one, to make his first Senior World Team.
Not only was his victory considered an unexpected upset, but it was done in dramatic fashion in the third and deciding match. Trailing 2-0, Duke took Diakomihalis down to his back and was able to lock him up and secure the pin at 4:07.
Diakomihalis was dominant in the first match, scoring four takedowns and a turn to secure a 10-0 technical fall. However, Duke fought back in the second match for a huge 17-10 win. Diakomihalis led 9-2 … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/june/14/nine-berths-on-2025-u-s-senior-men-s-freestyle-world-team-set-during-exciting-final-x-action-in-newark
Oklahoma has left wrestling to die in new era of college sports
Bad news for OU wrestling fans
The Oklahoma Sooners have made their priorities clear, and wrestling is not one of them.
With the House v. NCAA settlement officially being approved and allowing revenue sharing in college sports, OU athletic director Joe Castiglione recently announced six sports that will get a share of the $20.5 million this year — football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, and women’s gymnastics. Wrestling, one of the most popular sports in the state of Oklahoma, did not make the cut.
Wrestling gets left behind as OU picks its six revenue-share winners
All six sports are deserving of the money. Let that be clear. Football and men’s basketball are the monsters that have to be fed at every school. Baseball is also one of the most popular sports in America. Women’s basketball, softball and women’s gymnastics are consistent national contenders that have earned the support at OU.
But in a new era of college athletics where only the strong will survive, OU is experiencing the strain of having so many different mouths to feed. And some sports might not survive, including wrestling.
Wrestling has been on life support at OU for some time, but that’s what happens when things aren’t nourished. The sport itself is not to blame, though. Wrestling has brought OU seven national championships, tied for the third-most with football and women’s gymnastics. It’s a sport that could succeed using mostly local talent, which can’t be said for the other sports the Sooners are trying to win at. … more at … https://stormininnorman.com/oklahoma-sooners-left-college-wrestling-to-die-in-new-era-of-college-sports-revenue-sharing
Gable on kids trying international styles, other sports
Editor’s Note: WIN Publisher Bryan Van Kley sat down with wrestling legend Dan Gable for an exclusive interview about current topics in the sport. This article appeared in WIN’s Volume 31 Issue 9, which was printed on June 5, 2025. For more practical advice from Gable for wrestlers, coaches and parents, buy a WIN Digital or Combo Subscription here. Archived Q&As with Gable are in every issue in the Archives Section.
WIN: Why do you think it’s important that wrestlers continue from folkstyle into the Olympic styles?
GABLE: There’s really no difference between them (the styles); they’re all wrestling. Wrestling’s wrestling. If you put an opponent on their back and pin them, you win. If you’re good on your feet and good on the bottom, that carries over for both freestyle and scholastic wrestling.
Terry Steiner (head U.S. women’s freestyle coach who wrestled for Gable in college) doesn’t agree with me on this. And I don’t know where Bill Zadick (U.S.’s head men’s freestyle coach who also wrestled for Gable) is on it, but that doesn’t matter. They can have their own beliefs. I believe if you know how to “escape in reverse”, then you’re going to be better because you’re going to get taken down less by knowing how to scramble. You do things to escape in situations like when somebody shoots on you. You stop them, and you escape from them, so they don’t get you. In fact, even better, as they shoot, you score and go around them or snap them down or whip them over. You’re learning defensive moves that work too.
So, I really believe scholastic wrestling is a very important part of our Olympic success. And you’re going to say, well, these kids have been doing this all their life, and they’re really better on defense. Well, yeah, so the first thing I learned in wrestling is just to get off your back, because that’s (getting pinned) a match-ending move. The second thing I would teach in freestyle and Greco-Roman is how to keep from getting ankle-laced and gut wrenched, because those are match-ending moves.
WIN: What are your thoughts on sports specialization vs. being a multi-sport athlete?
GABLE: It depends on whether you can handle one sport, so you don’t get burnt out, and it depends on your size. For me in high school, one of the reasons I didn’t do anything but wrestle was because I was 95 pounds, then 103 and 112. And then when I had started having success a lot, and I learned, it helped me from a motivational point of view. For most people, I think you need to be involved in more activities.
However, if you’re going to be a three-sport person, and let’s say you love wrestling, football and baseball but you’re going to move forward with wrestling after high school, I would add freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. Those come in at a different time, mostly in the summer when you’re out of school. … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/06/26/gable-on-kids-trying-international-styles-other-sports/
12 Senior National Team berths determined at True-Third Place Matches prior to Final X
The final 12 members of the 2025-26 Senior National Team berths in men’s and women’s freestyle were determined in True Third-Place matches, held prior to Final X at the Prudential Center.
There were five men’s freestyle matches and four women’s freestyle matches contested, with three women’s freestyle berths determined by forfeit. These matches determined the No. 3 spot on the national team, which provides financial support in terms of a stipend, plus training and competition opportunities.
Men’s Freestyle summaries
At 57 kg, former Nebraska star Liam Cronin secured a 10-3 victory over Stanford’s Nico Provo, 10-3. Cronin led 1-0 at the break on a step out, then hit a four-point takedown in the second period to take a lead that he never relinquished.
At 65 kg, high school star Marcus Blaze defeated Brock Hardy, a star at Nebraska, 8-2 for the victory. Blaze led 4-0 at the break on three step outs and a shot clock point, then scored two second-period takedowns.
Ian Parker hit a big four-point move and followed with another takedown for a 6-0 lead at the break over Bryce Andonian at 70 kg. In the second period, Andonian rallied for two takedowns and gave up a step out, giving the bout to Parker, 7-4. Parker was a star at Iowa State, with Andonian at Virginia Tech.
Jarrett Jacques earned the National Team berth at 74 kg with a tight 6-3 win over Joey Blaze. With Blaze up 2-1 leading into the closing moments, Jacquez was able score four points in the final 16 seconds, and added one point on a failed challenge.
At 86 kg, in a rematch of the 2025 NCAA finals, five-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci from Penn State defeated 2024 NCAA champion and 2025 runner-up Parker Keckeisen, 4-3. Starocci scored his four points in the first period on a takedown, a step out and a shot clock point. Keckeisen scored three second-period step outs but could not close the gap.
Women’s Freestyle summaries
At 59 kg, Aurora University star Alexis Janiak scored a 4-4 criteria decision over Xochitl Mota-Pettis. Both wrestlers scored two takedowns, but Janiak’s takedown with 58 seconds left was the final score, giving her the criteria. In a dominant effort, Alara Boyd scored three takedowns … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/june/14/12-senior-national-team-berths-determined-at-true-third-place-matches-prior-to-final-x
DI Board of Directors formally adopts changes to roster limits
The Division I Board of Directors on Monday adopted additional changes to NCAA rules to implement the court-approved House settlement. The changes — which codify roster limits, including legislated exceptions for current student-athletes whose roster spots would have been impacted by those limits — are effective July 1.
“With the court’s approval of the House settlement, college sports are entering a new era of increased benefits for college athletes,” said Tim Sands, chair of the board and president at Virginia Tech. “Today’s vote to codify the roster provisions of the settlement formally removes limits on scholarships for schools that opt in, dramatically increasing the potential available scholarships for student-athletes across all sports in Division I.”
Moving forward, NCAA rules for Division I programs will no longer include sport-specific scholarship limits. Instead, schools in the defendant conferences and others that opt in to the settlement rules and associated benefits to student-athletes will have roster limits, and schools will have the option to offer scholarships to any and all of those student-athletes. This change will dramatically increase the number of scholarships potentially available to Division I student-athletes, including more than doubling the possible number of scholarships that can be offered to women. NCAA schools have a deadline of June 30 to indicate whether they intend to opt into the settlement for the 2025-26 academic year.
The rules changes include legislated exceptions for current student-athletes with remaining eligibility whose roster spots would have been impacted by immediate implementation of the roster limits. Those designated student-athletes will be identified by their current or former schools, and regardless of the school for which they participate, they will not count toward that school’s roster limits for the duration of their eligibility.
The division’s core guarantees — which include scholarship protections — are not impacted by the rules changes. If a student-athlete receiving athletics aid loses a roster spot for roster management, … more at … https://www.ncaa.org/news/2025/6/23/media-center-di-board-of-directors-formally-adopts-changes-to-roster-limits.aspx
Wrestling with the American Dream
lham Jalak and Mustafa Pashtoon met for the first time on a flight from Kabul in February 2016. Jalak was 6 years old, Pashtoon just 8. Their fathers had known each other in the Afghan Army, and their families came to the United States through the Special Immigrant Visa program, which has helped resettle Afghan citizens who worked with the United States during the war. In America, their dads hoped to find better jobs and education for their children.
It was a big plane, an Emirates double-decker, and the two boys sat next to each other. They didn’t know what to expect once they landed, aside from what they had seen in the movies, and neither spoke English. “Not even one word,” Pashtoon later told the Texas Observer. “I didn’t even know how to write my name.” After the 16-hour flight to Houston, they flew to San Antonio, their new home, where they settled in a northwest neighborhood known for its diverse immigrant communities. A couple years later, their families relocated to San Antonio’s West Side.
The pair started playing sports. “I played soccer, cross-country, track, golf, tennis, soccer, and then I did football and basketball,” Jalak proudly recounted. “We played together.” They sometimes speak about their experiences unemotionally, as if every teenager were forced to flee a war-torn country. Occasionally, they break into Pashto with each other, then switch back to English.
When I first met them at an away junior varsity tournament at Legacy of Educational Excellence (LEE) High School, they were wrestling. In the gym bleachers, Jalak and Pashtoon, now 15 and 17, were waiting for their next matches along with Saifullah Gul, another Afghan immigrant. Altogether, they were among five Afghan wrestlers on Sidney Lanier High School’s team at that point in the season, about a quarter of the entire team.
Traditional Afghan wrestling—known as Pehlwani—is a popular pastime for boys in the south-central Asian nation, so many Afghan refugees find a natural home on high school wrestling teams in America. This phenomenon is prevalent in California and Virginia, the states with the largest populations of Afghan immigrants. … more at … https://www.texasobserver.org/afghan-refugees-san-antonio-high-school-wrestling/
New wrestling books out for fans, history buffs
There are several books that have recently come out that many fans will find intriguing, and for a variety of reasons. What I like most is that all have strong historical impact.
Pat Kelly, a WIN contributor for several years, has produced a terrific book entitled “K-State’s Wrestling Legacy,” with the subtitle “Stories, Stats and Personalities That Shaped the Sport in Kansas and Beyond.” Pat brings an extensive pedigree to his work, having been a two-time Iowa high school state champion, a two-time Division II All-American at Nebraska-Omaha, and built a long high school coaching career in Kansas.
WIN contributor Pat Kelly
The book is loaded with fascinating stories from an important area of wrestling’s past that has been largely forgotten. “For over 50 years, Kansas State University offered a wrestling program that became the state’s flagship at the collegiate level,” reads the back cover. “However, K-State wrestling has now been dormant for half a century. ‘K-State’s Wrestling Legacy’ gives readers a comprehensive look at the program’s history and connects it to the sport’s growth in the Sunflower State and its national influence.” Many important figures from the past parade through the pages, in particular Ed Gallagher, Myron Roderick and Fred Fozzard, all who became legends at Oklahoma State. Gallagher was born in Perth, Kansas, and graduated from high school there before moving on to Oklahoma State and leading the Aggies to 11 NCAA team championships in the 1920s-1930s era.
Roderick is a native of Wellington, Kansas, who won three NCAA titles as a wrestler at OSU and coached the team to seven NCAA team titles in the 1950s and ‘60s.
I saw Fred Fozzard wrestle during his glory years at Oklahoma State and had great respect for his aggressive style on the mat. He was NCAA champion at 177 pounds in 1967 and placed second and third, as well. In 1969, he and fellow Oregonian Rick Sanders became America’s first world champions ever. Fozzard was K-State’s last head wrestling coach, … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/06/24/several-must-read-books-for-wrestling-fans-history-buffs/
N.C. State Wrestling Alumnus Makes 2025 U.S. Senior Freestyle World Team
NEWARK, N.J. – NC State wrestling class of 2024 alumnus Trent Hidlay has earned a spot on the 2025 U.S. Senior Freestyle World Team at 92 kg and is set to represent the United States at the Senior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, September 13-21.
The two-time NCAA Finalist for the Wolfpack has torn through the freestyle circuit this season. Hidlay made his way to Newark after winning the U.S. Open in Las Vegas in April, automatically punching his ticket to compete at Final X. The series was best two-of-three at the Prudential Center but it only took the Lewistown, Pa. native the first two bouts to knock out current Penn State wrestler Josh Barr.
Hidlay becomes just the second alumnus of the NC State wrestling program to make the U.S. Senior Freestyle World Team. Two-time heavyweight national champion for the Pack Nick Gwiazdowski was the first … more at … https://gopack.com/news/2025/6/16/wrestling-alumnus-makes-2025-us-senior-freestyle-world-team
N.C. State Wrestling Adds Malik McDonald as Assistant Coach
RALEIGH – NC State wrestling head coach Pat Popolizio has added former Wolfpack wrestler Malik McDonald to his staff as an assistant coach.
The Hope Mills, N.C. native wrestled for Popolizio from 2014-2019, qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the 2017 and 2019 seasons at 197 lbs. During the 2018 season he competed at the U23 World Team Trials, garnering All-American honors with a fourth place finish at 97kg. In 2019 he won the ACC title for his weight class, helping the squad earn the 2019 ACC team trophy. After graduating from NC State with a degree in Social Work, McDonald has continued to pursue his passion for wrestling. McDonald first worked as a volunteer coach for Clarion for the 2019-20 season, followed by taking the head assistant role at Long Island for the 2020-21 season. The Pack alumnus rejoins his alma mater after spending four seasons as an assistant coach at Kent State from 2021-25 where he also gained his Master of Arts in Sport and Fitness Administration/Management.
While wrestling for Popolizio he finished his career with 83 wins and two 20-win seasons. … more at … https://gopack.com/news/2025/6/24/wrestling-adds-malik-mcdonald-as-assistant-coach
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 