Top-ranked Penn State wins NCAA record 78th in a row; No. 2 Ohio State stays unbeaten
Penn State will face Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday.
Manheim, Pennsylvania – A full slate of duals involving ranked teams highlighted the opening week of January as the NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll was released Tuesday.
Top-ranked Penn State moved to 7-0 with a 48-0 win over then-No. 16 Rutgers, while second-ranked Ohio State remained unbeaten at 12-0 after a 45-0 shutout of then-No. 23 Indiana. Iowa State went 2-0 on the week, defeating Arizona State 29-14 before picking up a 36-3 win over North Dakota State.
Fourth-ranked Iowa earned a 23-12 win over then-No. 18 Wisconsin, and fifth-ranked Oklahoma State blanked then-No. 15 Oklahoma, 37-0. Nebraska added a 36-3 win over Purdue, while No. 7 Virginia Tech edged then-No. 14 Pittsburgh, 18-15, on the road.
Northern Iowa captured the NWCA National Duals title with a 20-14 win over South Dakota State in the finals at the UNI-Dome. The Panthers went 5-0 on the weekend with additional victories over CSU Bakersfield, Ohio, Bloomsburg and Drexel, while the Jackrabbits finished 4-1 with wins against Harvard, Northern Illinois, Campbell and Central Michigan before the finals loss. SDSU slid two spots to No. 10, while UNI jumped to No. 14.
NC State picked up a 19-17 win over Virginia, while Minnesota defeated then-No. 10 Illinois, 27-9. Michigan earned a 43-3 win over Michigan State, and Wisconsin split its week with a 28-12 win over Maryland before falling at Iowa.
Cornell split its duals with a win over Bucknell and a loss to Lehigh, while the Mountain Hawks followed that result with a 32-7 win over American. West Virginia went 2-0 with wins over Arizona State and California Baptist, and Stanford earned a 35-10 victory over Duke.
A full slate of conference and non-conference duals involving ranked teams is scheduled for the coming week, highlighted by several head-to-head matchups. Top-ranked Penn State travels to Iowa on Friday to face the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes before closing the weekend at Northwestern. Sixth-ranked Nebraska heads to Minneapolis to meet No. 11 Minnesota, while seventh-ranked Virginia Tech hosts Appalachian State. No. 14 Pittsburgh will be at home Friday… more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2026/1/13/national-wrestling-coaches-association-top-ranked-penn-state-wins-ncaa-record-78th-in-a-row-no-2-ohio-state-stays-unbeaten.aspx
Wrestling finding its footing in Northeast Mississippi
The Hill Country is always going to be known for its basketball, but wrestling is finding its place in the area as well. Wrestling continues to grow in Mississippi as more schools begin to field teams. Northeast Mississippi is no exception. “It’s light years ahead of where it was,” said Brian Fox, the co-founder and former president of the Mississippi Wrestling Foundation. “I knew Mississippians would like wrestling because they already wrestle in the backyard or in the living room. We were at two schools in 2020 in the middle of COVID, and now I think we’re at 40 or 41. … It’s kind of like a start-up, but it’s crossed the threshold there where I think the momentum is too strong, and it’s naturally going to grow from here.” The Mississippi High School Activities Association handbook’s list of schools in the Northern Division for wrestling includes Tupelo, Oxford, Saltillo, North Pontotoc and South Pontotoc. Starkville and MSMS are also now fielding teams. It’s a good start for a growing sport, and it ensures that local wrestlers don’t have to travel too far to compete. “That’s changed the game so much because the first year, there were 10 schools in the whole state,” Fox said. “… (Before) you had to go a ways, you had to travel. It really was a lot more work. You can almost have a normal season, a normal amount of travel. We have regions now; we never had regions before.”
The appeal of wrestling as a high school sport is that it’s easy to participate in as well as maintain. Both boys and girls can compete, and a wide variety of weight classes means that athletes are always participating in a fair fight. “Wrestling is great for all kids – not everybody can run a 4.4 40, not every kid is 6-foot-7 and can slam dunk a basketball,” Tupelo wrestling coach Grady Hurley said. “Wrestling, it’s made for all sizes and body shapes and body types. If you’re 106 pounds, you’re going to wrestle a 106-pounder, 113 wrestling a 113. You’re out there in the middle of that 40-by-40 mat by yourself.” Additionally, wrestling doesn’t come with a ton of equipment and upkeep.
“I’m thinking a lot of these smaller schools are going to start adding (wrestling) soon once they realize that the only cost is having the wrestling mat, and it’ll last for 10 to 20 years,” Fox said. “After that, it’s super affordable. You don’t have to have 15 kids, you can have one, and it’s for boys and girls, so I think it’s just going to keep growing.”
One of the next steps for wrestling is to have an official state championship meet. The MHSAA handbook reads, “When 50 percent or more of the member schools enter competition, a plan will be devised to determine a state championship.”
There’s still a statewide meet, however. Three area teams placed in the top five last year: Tupelo (third), Oxford (fourth) and North Pontotoc (fifth). … more at … https://cdispatch.com/sports/wrestling-finding-its-footing-in-northeast-mississippi/
Henderson Named UNC Wrestling Assistant Coach
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina wrestling head coach Rob Koll has announced the addition of former Tar Heel wrestler Evan Henderson to his coaching staff.
Henderson, most recently an assistant coach at Lehigh, returns to Chapel Hill following his athletic career with the Tar Heels from 2011-16.
During his time as a student-athlete, Henderson compiled 125 victories and two All-America finishes in 2013 and 2014 at 141-pounds. The Pennsylvania native was a two-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion, at 141-pounds in 2013 and 149-pounds in 2016.
On the international scene, Henderson was a two-time National Team member, 2022 World Team Trials finalist, 2020 US Olympic Team Trial qualifier, and a six-time US Open placer.
Henderson was an assistant coach for one season at Campbell, and the last three seasons at Lehigh. During his time at Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks posted six All-Americas and … more at … https://goheels.com/news/2026/1/14/henderson-named-wrestling-assistant-coach
Penn State wrestling extends wins record, Oklahoma State dominates rivalry in weekend action
The opening weekend of conference duals in the Big Ten and the ACC brought dramatic matches and more history. Oklahoma State also added to its own with a Bedlam blowout.
Here’s what we learned from those key results this weekend:
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No. 1 Penn State does it again with rout of No. 16 Rutgers
With a dominant 46-0 win over No. 16 Rutgers, No. 1 Penn State earned its 78th straight dual meet win, surpassing Division II’s St. Cloud State’s 77 wins for the most in NCAA history. The Nittany Lions earned three falls in the shutout.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING: How Penn State won its first 77 consecutive duals No. 1 Shayne Van Ness notched the first pin of the night at 149 pounds when he topped Devon Magro in the second period. Fellow No. 1-ranked wrestlers Mitchell Mesenbrink and Levi Haines also earned falls at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, while top 197-pound wrestler Josh Barr earned a tech fall against No. 18 Remy Cotton. The most competitive match of the night came at heavyweight, where No. 14 Cole Mirasola finished off the shutout in decision fashion over No. 21 Hunter Catka, 4-2. After passing Oklahoma State’s 76-win mark set from 1937 to 1951 before Christmas against Stanford, the Nittany Lions proved they are not slowing down soon. Next up, Penn State heads to No. 4 Iowa for a major Friday night dual. Iowa, Minnesota capture victories in Big Ten openers
Both Iowa and No. 11 Minnesota opened Big Ten competition with wins, with the Hawkeyes defeating No. 18 Wisconsin, 23-12, and the Gophers besting No. 10 Illinois, 27-9.
The most notable result from Iowa’s win was a loss for the Hawkeyes when No. 4 Drake Ayala dropped a decision to No. 14 Zan Fugitt at 133 pounds, 6-5. Last season’s runner-up now sits at 4-4 so far this season.
Iowa did earn a sudden-victory win from No. 5 Ben Kueter at heavyweight against No. 9 Braxton Amos, but Wisconsin got one back from No. 17 Joseph Zargo, who defeated No. 7 Ryder Block at 149 pounds. The Hawkeyes finished the dual with wins from No. 3 Mikey Caliendo, No. 3 Patrick Kennedy and No. 1 Angelo Ferrari.
ALL-AMERICANS: Meet the 80 athletes who finished on the podium last season
Minnesota, meanwhile, performed strong in its bout with Illinois over the weekend as well, with a tech fall win from No. 6 Jore Volk at 125 pounds. Unranked 133-pound Gopher Brandon Morvari also held No. 1 Lucas Byrd to only a decision win, a promising sign for the backup sophomore against the national champ. The Gophers then won five of the next six contests, highlighted by a sudden-victory win at 174 pounds from No. 22 Ethan Riddle over No. 19 Colin Kelly. Minnesota also earned a major decision win from No. 10 Koy Hopke at heavyweight over Ryan Boersma, 9-1.
NC State and Virginia Tech prevail in close ACC regular season duals
Conference duals in the ACC began Friday, and the league’s top two teams were tested. No. 9 NC State faced a tough match against Virginia while No. 7 Virginia Tech took on No. 14 Pittsburgh.
At Reynolds Coliseum, Virginia took an early 10-0 lead with three wins, including an upset for Gable Porter over NC State’s No. 8 All-American Ryan Jack at 141 pounds. NC State slowly came back, using wins from No. 8 Koy Buesgens at 149, No. 12 Will Denny at 165 and No. 5 Matty Singleton at 174 pounds. A decision win by Steven Burrell Jr. at 184 pounds over No. 21 Patrick Brophy put the Cavaliers up four going into the final match of the night.
Senior All-American No. 2 Issac Trumble needed at least a tech fall to win the Wolfpack the dual, but he did better by pinning No. 32 Brenan Morgan to close out a 19-17 win. The NC State faithful erupted, sending Reynolds Coliseum into a frenzy.
In Pittsburgh, the Hokies scored their 18 points in the first five matches of the evening, highlighted by a tech fall win from No. 3 All-American Eddie Ventresca over No. 30 Tyler Chappell to start the night at 125 pounds. The Panthers won the next five contests but only by decisions, finishing the night with a 1-0 win for No. 16 Dayton Pitzer over Virginia Tech’s No. 11 Jimmy Mullen at heavyweight. Virginia Tech prevailed, 18-15.
No. 5 Oklahoma State dominates No. 15 Oklahoma in Bedlam showdown
No. 5 Oklahoma State turned heads Sunday with a dominant showing in the Bedlam dual, shutting out No. 15 Oklahoma, 37-0. The win was highlighted by the debut of freshman Jax Forrest, who pinned Oklahoma’s Carter Schmidt at 133 pounds in the first period. … more at … https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling-men/article/2026-01-12/penn-state-wrestling-extends-wins-record-oklahoma-state-dominates-rivalry-weekend
10 Tight NCAA Team Races That Went Down To The Wire
10 Tight NCAA Team Races That Went Down To The Wire
Most NCAA championships are decided before the individual finals, with rare team races that come down to the wire. The following 10 were decided by two points or less.
10. 1999 Division I NCAA championships
First place: Iowa – 100.5
Second place: Minnesota – 98.5
Spread: 2 points
The grand finale of the 1999 NCAA championships came down to two of the most famous heavyweights in college wrestling history: Stephen Neal of Cal-State Bakersfield and Brock Lesnar of Minnesota.
Neal won the highly anticipated match, 3-2, over Lesnar, giving Iowa a two-point victory over Minnesota. Neal earned a freestyle World title later that year before snagging three Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots. Lesnar became a successful professional wrestler before a short stint in the UFC. Minnesota head coach J Robinson would have to wait two more seasons until he won his elusive NCAA team title. Typically, the second-place team analyzes the ways it could have won. Minnesota had several mishaps, but coaches and athletes from the team will likely mention two.
1. Iowa’s Wes Hand was chosen to attend the NCAA championships over Minnesota’s Chad Erikson, even though both placed eighth at the Big 10 championships. The top seven finishers from the Big 10s earned a berth to the NCAA tournament, with two wildcards selected by coaches. Hand scored 2.5 points at the NCAA championships, and Iowa won by 2 points.
2. Penn State’s Clint Musser won a 2-1 tiebreaker over Minnesota’s Chad Kraft in the 157-pound semifinals. A coin flip decided which wrestler was given the choice of top or bottom in the 30-second tiebreaker. The coin appeared to flip in Kraft’s favor, but at the last second, it took an awkward bounce, and Musser was given his choice. He took down and got away. Musser placed second, and Kraft placed fifth.
Doug Schwab (141) and T.J. Williams (149) won titles for the Hawkeyes. Minnesota’s Brandon Eggum dropped his match to Cael Sanderson at 184 pounds, while Tim Hartung defeated Iowa’s Lee Fullhart, giving the Golden Gophers a chance at heavyweight.
Neal won his match over Lesnar, giving Iowa a two-point win.
9. 1999 Division III NCAA championships
First place: Wartburg – 117.5
Second place: Augsburg – 116
Spread: 1.5 points
Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for Augsburg in 1999. The Auggies won the previous three NCAA championships and were on the cusp of winning four in a row, had it not been for a complete meltdown.
Augsburg led 112-109.5 entering the finals. The Auggies sent five to the finals compared to two for the Knights, with two head-to-head match-ups. Augsburg won both head-to-head matches by major decision earlier in the season. For Wartburg, those results didn’t matter.
Zac Weiglein beat Darin Bertram (125), and Ben Shane beat Josh Cagle (149), 7-5, to give Wartburg a 117.5-116 lead after Augsburg’s John Marchette … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/15171818-10-tight-ncaa-team-races-that-went-down-to-the-wire
Men’s and Women’s Wrestling Dominate First KCAC Conference Dual Meets of the Season
York, Neb. – Both Friends wrestling programs took a trip up to York, Neb. for a KCAC conference double header Friday night. The women led off and controlled the dual the whole way through. Cruising to a 51-6 victory over the Panthers, winning their first conference match up and bringing their dual meet record to 2-0.
In the 110 lb weight class, Anissa Robinson started the Falcons off strong, getting a 31 second technical fall over Grace Conner. The Falcons would be down 6-5 after two matches. This got the ball rolling for the Falcons as they would win via fall or tech fall in their next seven matches. The premier wrestlers on Friends would handle their business in quick fashion.
No. 18 ranked Kaylynn Martin would follow up Robinson with a tech fall of her own in the time of 1:11. No. 18 ranked Alexis Means in the 145 lb weight class, would continue … more at … https://friendsathletics.com/news/2026/1/10/mens-wrestling-mens-and-womens-wrestling-dominate-first-kcac-conference-dual-meets-of-the-season.aspx
DI Live Streaming Guide (1/15 – 1/18/2026)
It’s the second full week of 2026! From here on out, the majority of the action will be in dual meet competition. Almost all of the DI action this week will come via duals. A total of 55 duals will be contested. 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).
Thursday, January 15:
VMI at Appalachian State 6:00 PM FloWrestling
Missouri at Arizona State 8:30 PM ESPN+
Friday, January 16:
Brown vs. Presbyterian at Davidson 10:00 AM FloWrestling
Bucknell vs. North Dakota State at Davidson 10:00 AM FloWrestling
Brown vs. Lock Haven at Davidson 12:00 PM FloWrestling
Bucknell at Davidson 12:00 PM FloWrestling
North Dakota State at Davidson 2:30 PM FloWrestling
Lock Haven vs. Presbyterian at Davidson 2:30 PM FloWrestling
Brown vs. Bucknell at Davidson 4:30 PM FloWrestling
Lock Haven vs. North Dakota State at Davidson 4:30 PM FloWrestling … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/47_streaming-guide/di-live-streaming-guide-115-1182026-r100756/
Klessinger: Learn from buffalo: run straight into difficulty
By John Klessinger
I saw something recently that really piqued my interest. It was about buffaloes and how they respond to storms. If a storm is coming, the buffalo will run right into the storm. This was unusual, so I investigated it a little more and found an article that talked about how buffalo and cows cohabitate in the Midwest due to the geography of mountains and plains. Or at least at close by in proximity.
When a storm is coming, a cow will try to flee the storm. Run away from it. Ultimately, the cow will hit the entire storm from beginning to end. The cow’s attempt to outrun the storm actually prolongs the intensity.
A buffalo, on the other hand, turns and runs into the storm. They meet it head-on. I don’t know if it is instinct or biology or both, but the buffalo knows if they run into the storm, the time of intensity lessens. The brunt will be quicker and consequently over sooner.
Most often, people are cows. We avoid things that will cause pain. We may procrastinate and push away something that will bring discomfort. It could be a paper that needs to be written for a class. We say we will do it later. We distract ourselves with unproductive time on social media, television and daydreaming. In other words, we avoid the storm.
What happens? The storm catches up to us. And, like the cow, we feel its full force. If we faced it head-on like the buffalo, if we did the hard work now instead of later, we would have saved ourselves a lot of discomfort and stress.
You know as well as I do that it doesn’t go away when we avoid something. Whatever it is, studying for a test, extra drilling, the tough conversation, it still lingers in our minds. We still have the anticipation or worry. The bodily sensations of dread and apprehension increase a little because of our avoidance. The intensity of the storm actually becomes greater. We are prolonging the inevitable. We know that but still choose to run away. At least temporarily.
I write a lot about similar things. I love wrestling. Wrestling is a metaphor like the buffalo. To me, wrestling has become like the buffalo. The sport teaches us to stay the course, embrace challenges and not be afraid of the storm. But, it takes work. If we genuinely ever want to get out of this sport what we want, we have to be the buffalo. We have to run into the storms. Face whatever brings us fear. Wrestle the best opponents. Do the challenging workouts. Push yourself each day, even when it feels impossible. Surprisingly, what we learn is that although challenging at times, it is better than running away from it. It is a shorter period of intensity. It may be a loss. Or a few days of discomfort studying when you are tired. The conversation with your boss may have been difficult. But in the end, you did it. You faced the challenge head-on and, … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2026/01/07/klessinger-learn-from-buffalo-run-straight-into-difficulty/
Averett University Cougars raid Hornets on Senior Day
DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University men’s wrestling picked up their third consecutive conference win against Shenandoah University 43-6 on Thursday to celebrate Senior Day.
The Cougars (10-7, 2-0 ODAC) defeated the Hornets (2-4, 0-2 ODAC) in nine of ten weight classes earning two pins, five technical falls and two decisions.
The match opened at 125 pounds with junior Patrick Burdsall increasing his season record to 7-0, pinning Elliot Rivera at 1:36.
At 133, junior A.J. Orlando III secured a 17-0 technical fall, giving Averett a 11-0 lead over Shenandoah. Fifth-year senior Mauricio Reyes also picked up a technical fall over Sean Rinebolt at 141 pounds. Senior Landon Neal and junior Carter Shupert won by decision at 149 and 157 pounds respectively. At 165 pounds, senior Xavier Swanson won by technical fall to leave the Hornets scoreless. At 184 pounds, senior Nolan Gerwitz pinned Jack Birth with a little over three minutes left in the match.
The final two wins of the day were technical falls, won by senior Jacob Jimenez at 197 pounds and Carter Erickson at 285 pounds. The Cougars take a road trip to Hampton, Virginia to compete … more at … https://averettcougars.com/news/2026/1/8/mens-wrestling-cougars-raid-hornets-on-senior-day.aspx
Crusaders Defeat Cobras for Second Straight Conference Win
BELMONT, N.C. — The Belmont Abbey wrestling team put together a strong performance by winning nine of ten bouts as the Crusaders earned a 41-6 victory over Coker Thursday evening at the Wheeler Center.
The Crusaders won three matches by fall starting with Elijah Carrington at 133 pounds followed by wins from Skyler Caban (149) and Will Nix (157). Additionally, Kyler Pickard (184) and Caleb Moore (197) earned consecutive wins by tech fall. Belmont Abbey won the first nine bouts before Coker earned its lone win in the final bout.
With Thursday’s results, Belmont Abbey improves to 5-4 overall … more at … https://abbeyathletics.com/news/2026/1/8/wrestling-crusaders-defeat-cobras-for-second-straight-conference-win.aspx
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 