Newberry Wolves Take Down Ferrum 31-22 on the Road
FERRUM, VA – The Newberry College Wolves men’s wrestling team earned a strong road victory on Wednesday night, defeating Ferrum College 31-22 in a competitive dual at Ferrum College. The Wolves secured the win behind six individual victories, including three falls and two technical falls, to pull away late and seal the team result.
Newberry jumped out to an early advantage at 125 pounds as Ricky Springs set the tone with a quick fall over Riley Conway at the 1:33 mark. The momentum continued at 133, where Caiden Pelc picked up a forfeit to give the Wolves an early cushion. At 141, Cole McCullough delivered a dominant performance, shutting out Braden Crawford with a 15-0 technical fall in just three minutes.
The Wolves kept rolling at 149 with Keagan Judd earning a decisive 9-2 decision over Cameron Curva, extending Newberry’s lead. Ferrum answered back at 157, as Andres Cortes defeated Dennis Virelli by major decision, 15-3.
Newberry responded emphatically at 165, where Bo Perkins recorded a commanding 17-0 technical fall over Robert Owens Jr., further strengthening the Wolves’ advantage. Ferrum picked up consecutive falls … more at … https://newberrywolves.com/news/2026/1/6/mens-wrestling-wolves-take-down-ferrum-31-22-on-the-road.aspx
No. 3 Iowa State Wins Big 12 Opener at Arizona State
TEMPE, Arizona – No. 3 Iowa State won its Big 12 dual opener at Arizona State, 29-14, Tuesday night inside Desert Financial Arena. The Cyclones won seven of ten bouts, including five by bonus-point margin, as they improved to 8-1 in league openers under head coach Kevin Dresser.
Iowa State won the takedown battle, 25-12. After an Arizona State fall at 133 pounds to open the dual, No. 4 Anthony Echemendia got two of the bonus points back for the Cyclones with a tech fall at 141 pounds. After allowing the first takedown of the match, Echemendia rattled off seven straight takedowns of his own to win, 24-8, in 6:15.
No. 6 Jacob Frost made it back-to-back tech falls for ISU with a dominant 16-1 victory over Daniel Miranda at 149 pounds. The sixth-ranked Cyclone used two takedowns and three turns to end the match early in the second period.
After Arizona State won matches at 157 and 165 pounds, No. 14 MJ Gaitan made his return to the lineup and earned a timely tech fall for the Cyclones at 174 pounds. He recorded six takedowns to defeat Leo Tukhlynovych, 20-5, in his first action since the Cliff Keen Invitational in early December.
At 184 pounds, No. 13 Isaac Dean allowed a first period takedown to Azizbek Fayzullaev but recorded two of his own in the second period to earn an 8-5 decision. The win pushed the team score to 18-14 in favor of the Cyclones with three matches remaining.
CJ Carter earned a quality win with a 4-3 decision over three-time NCAA Qualifier Colton Hawks. It was a low scoring affair with the Cyclone getting the match’s only takedown with a clever reattack in the third period. No. 1 Yonger Bastida maintained his unblemished record with a top-20 victory over No. 19 David … more at … https://cyclones.com/news/2026/1/6/wrestling-no-3-iowa-state-wins-big-12-opener-at-arizona-state
Conference schedules loom as new year kicks off with Top 25 relatively unchanged
Manheim, Pennsylvania – The first NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll of the new year was released Tuesday following a limited holiday slate that featured only a handful of duals involving ranked teams.
Second-ranked Ohio State remained unbeaten with a 41-3 win over then-No. 23 Oregon State. Third-ranked Iowa State picked up a ranked victory, edging then-No. 24 Stanford 20-18 in California. No. 6 Nebraska earned a 30-6 win over then-No. 16 Northern Iowa, while eighth-ranked South Dakota State improved to 4-0 with a 24-14 victory against Arizona State in Sioux Falls.
Those four duals accounted for the only competition involving Top 25 teams during the previous rankings period, as the majority of the poll was idle ahead of the start of the January conference schedule.
Several ranked teams return to the mat this week as the schedule ramps up following the holiday break. Third-ranked Iowa State heads west to face Arizona State on Tuesday before traveling to North Dakota State on Sunday.
Friday features a pair of ranked matchups, with No. 7 Virginia Tech visiting 14th-ranked Pittsburgh and 18th-ranked Wisconsin traveling to face fourth-ranked Iowa.
Saturday’s slate includes No. 22 Cornell at 22nd-ranked Lehigh, along with 11th-ranked Minnesota visiting 10th-ranked Illinois and 16th-ranked Rutgers heading to State College to face top-ranked Penn State.
Sunday closes the week with No. 23 Indiana visiting second-ranked Ohio State and 15th-ranked Oklahoma traveling to face fifth-ranked Oklahoma State.
No. 8 South Dakota State and No. 17 Northern Iowa headline the NWCA National Duals Division I bracket. They’ll be joined by joined by Bloomsburg, Campbell, Central Michigan, CSU Bakersfield, … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2026/1/6/national-wrestling-coaches-association-conference-schedules-loom-as-new-year-kicks-off-with-top-25-relatively-unchanged.aspx
Belmont-Abbey’s Moore Earns Second Conference Wrestler of the Week Honor
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Belmont Abbey wrestler Caleb Moore was named the Conference Carolinas Wrestler of the Week by the league office Tuesday.
In the 197-pound weight class, Moore defeated Mount Olive’s Nathan Hampton in 2:16 via fall as the Crusaders won their fourth Conference Carolinas dual match of the season. Additionally, he also went 3-0 at the Jack Hancock Duals in Golden, Colo. back on December 20.
He defeated Minnesota State’s Grant Cook by technical fall and while adding another victory over Colorado School of Mines’ Cain Tigges via an 8-1 decision. He earned a third win via forfeit in the dual match against Central Missouri. It is the second time this season that Moore earned … more at … https://abbeyathletics.com/news/2026/1/6/wrestling-moore-earns-second-conference-wrestler-of-the-week-honor.aspx
NCAA DI Rankings Updated (1/6/2026)
Welcome to the first set of rankings for 2026! Since the Midlands was contested on Monday/Tuesday of last week, this edition contains the Midlands results and everything from over the weekend. With the lack of star power at some of these holiday tournaments, there was little movement in the top ten at most weights. There was lots of shuffling in the back half of most weights.
125 lbs
Not much movement in the top tier. Kysen Terukina fell to Mack Mauger in the Soldier Salute finals – he drops a few spots. After making the finals and having a pretty solid resume, it was time for Zeke Witt to get a bump.
133 lbs
We finally got to see a lot of Dom Serrano, and he looked good, winning both the dual and the Scuffle title. He was in danger of being dropped for inactivity. Evan Mougalian gets a sizable boost after a good Scuffle performance, losing only by a point to Serrano. Mougalian has had an excellent season with a handful of quality wins and losses only to Serrano and Matty Lopes (not considered for the rankings, but a very tough competitor this season).
141 lbs
That 5-6 range (not 6-7) has been difficult to fill this year. The top four have separated themselves from the rest of the weight. With a Scuffle title and a win over Composto (and others over Crook, Pucino) Cornella flies up to the #6 position. The tier after Cornella/Composto continues to be nasty as Nagao returned but medically forfeited after a match and Bailey/Romney suffered losses.
I felt it was the right time to move Wyatt Henson up. He lost twice on the opening weekend to Eli Griffin and Lorenzo Frezza. Both have been pretty consistent; those losses look fine in hindsight. More mat time and evaluation can give us a better picture for rankings.
149 lbs
The second tier at this weight is in flux, a bit, as Cross Wasilewski, Jacob Frost, and Eligh Rivera all suffered losses during this rankings period. With all of the craziness around him, Caleb Tyus moves up to #8. He had a win in week one over Ethan Stiles.
157 lbs
No changes to the top 14. We have removed … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/ncaa-di-rankings-updated-162026-r100739/
Lake Mills three-time state qualifier Burling signs to wrestle at Division 1 Gardner-Webb University
LAKE MILLS — Owen Burling absolutely loves wrestling, the sport he started in first grade that is now at the forefront of his life.
Burling, a polished 190-pound standout from Lake Mills High School, signed to wrestle recently at Gardner-Webb University, an NCAA Division 1 school in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. “This is super exciting,” Burling said. “I trust the Gardner-Webb coaches. I know assistant coach Keaton Kluever, (who has Wisconsin ties and has been a coach for the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation since 2020). One of my former teammates and practice partners, Isaiah Guerrero, is a freshman at Gardner-Webb too.”
Burling is the L-Cats’ first Division 1 wrestler since 1989, when Dan Flood went to the University of Wisconsin (where he was an All-American in 1992 after a seventh place NCAA finish). Tim Braund has been Burling’s high school coach the past four seasons, but their relationship far predates that. “Owen is an incredible young man,” Braund said. “He’s incredibly smart and incredibly is already a three-time first team Academic Wrestling All-State winner, soon to be four-time.
“Owen started wrestling in first grade, the same year my son Aric started wrestling as a kindergartener. It’s been an incredible journey over the last 12 years. Owen is a first-generation wrestler in his family. “His dad Nick knew nothing about wrestling when Owen first started but could see the desire that his son had for the sport and did everything he could to help fuel that desire, which led to me and Nick … more at … https://www.wdtimes.com/sports/local_sports/lake-mills-three-time-state-qualifier-burling-signs-to-wrestle-at-division-1-gardner-webb/article_704a23be-3a88-445e-8da5-8bc5d694418a.html
App. State Opens SoCon Schedule With Dominant Road Win
CLINTON, S.C. — App State Wrestling opened its SoCon schedule Thursday with a 46-4 road victory at Presbyterian, winning nine of 10 matches in the Templeton Center.
With the fourth-best league record in the nation since the start of the 2014-15 season, the Mountaineers (4-4, 1-0) totaled three pins, three tech falls, one major decision, one decision and one forfeit against the Blue Hose (0-6, 0-3) to improve to 74-7 in SoCon duals during that stretch.
Cooper Foster (in the 125-pound opener) and Hunter Adams (197 pounds) needed less than a minute to record pins, while Kai O’Dell (157 pounds) posted one in the second period. Adams and O’Dell were making their first dual appearances of the season, and it was O’Dell’s first career appearance in a SoCon dual.
Jarvis Little (133 pounds), 27th-ranked Kaden Keiser (149 pounds) and Stephan Monchery (heavyweight) prevailed by tech fall, and true freshman Colt Campbell won a 12-0 major decision at 174 against junior Joshua Roe. Campbell ended the first period with a 6-0 lead thanks to a late takedown and three more near fall points.
The closest match was Aldo Hernandez’s 5-0 shutout of Ryan Luna, who entered the night with a 13-7 record at 141 pounds. Hernandez recorded a takedown with 39 seconds left in the first period, finished the period on top, earned a second-period escape and added a bonus point for riding time.
Anthony Conetta won by forfeit at 165 pounds, and Presbyterian’s Reed Douglass won a major decision against Joe Zovistoski, a redshirt senior who bumped up from 174 pounds to 184 in his first career dual appearance.
The 2025-26 season is presented by Hungry Howie’s and Penn Station. … more at … https://appstatesports.com/news/2026/1/8/wrestling-opens-socon-schedule-with-dominant-road-win.aspx
South Dakota State heads into NWCA National Duals atop first Division I Men’s Wrestling Mid-Major Poll of the season
Manheim, Pennsylvania – South Dakota State will start 2026 atop the first NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Mid-Major Coaches Poll, released Wednesday, as the coach Damion Hahn’s squad was the top choice among voters following the opening two months of dual competition.
The Jackrabbits (4-0) received all six first-place votes and enters the poll with a 4-0 record. Northern Iowa followed at No. 2, with Cornell, Lehigh and Penn rounding out the top five. Wyoming, Drexel and Little Rock sit just outside the top five, while Lock Haven and Utah Valley complete the top 10.
No. 1 South Dakota State, No. 2 Northern Iowa, No. 7 Drexel, and No. 15 Central Michigan will all be in action this weekend in Cedar Falls, Iowa at the NWCA/USMC Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships. Presented by A Better Way Athletics, Capitol Construction, and Defense Soap.
Methodology: The NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Mid-Major Coaches Poll is voted on by one coach from Division I wrestling conferences with mid-major representation. Each first-place vote is worth 20 points, 19 points for a second-place vote, 18 for a third-place vote, and so on through to one point for a 20th-place vote. The poll … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2026/1/7/national-wrestling-coaches-association-south-dakota-state-heads-into-nwca-national-duals-atop-first-division-i-mens-wrestling-mid-major-poll-of-the-season.aspx
NC State Wrestling Gains One Starter, Loses Another
Just as NC State welcomed transfer Patrick Brophy to the lineup, the Wolfpack lost NCAA qualifier Jackson Arrington for the season.
ACC action gets underway this weekend as the NC State Wolfpack will host Virginia in Friday night action. After competing in many different events the first semester — tournaments, multiple duals in a day — the NC State schedule will now focus on the routine of taking the mat each Friday night against a conference foe for the next six weeks. “What we learned from last year is we just want to keep improving every week,” NC State coach Pat Popolizio said. “If we can do that as individuals, obviously it’s going to help our team. We want to keep building to when we go to the national tournament, because I really do believe we have multiple guys that can compete to win a national title.”
Recently, the Pack has received both good news and bad news about a couple of spots in the lineup. Brophy Makes Wolfpack Debut
First the good news: NC State recently added an NCAA qualifier at the upperweights.
After having to finish up academic responsibilities at The Citadel during the first semester, Patrick Brophy has now joined the Pack and has been inserted into the lineup at 197 pounds for the rest of this year. The week that he was cleared by the NC State compliance office, Brophy hit the mat for three dual wins the weekend before Christmas. With a mid-summer coaching change at The Citadel, the transfer window reopened and Brophy placed his name in it. What led him to come to Raleigh and join the Wolfpack? “Just the opportunity to train with the highest caliber of people,” Brophy said. “Here it was too good to pass up. I have not only some of the best people in the nation, but literally the best guy at my weight class in the world (Trent Hidlay), the current World champ.
“I asked myself how much can I learn? How far can I go with it when you’re around that caliber of training partners and great coaches that NC State has to offer? Just in my short time around this team, I’ve been learning a ton from the coaches and from my training partners.”
Brophy only got serious about wrestling in high school. Before that he was focused on a myriad of other sports, mainly baseball. “I tried (wrestling) when I was really young, because my dad was a wrestler (a two-time All-American at Loras College), so I think he always wanted me to wrestle,” Brophy said. “I don’t think I really liked it when I was younger, but for whatever reason, I just ended up loving it when I was in high school.”
Brophy reconnected with wrestling once again as a sophomore and he saw the potential to compete into college and started his journey at The Citadel. He was a starter each of his two seasons there, and earned an NCAA bid in 2025, winning a match. The jump he has taken since his first days in a college practice room has been very noticeable. “I think it’s been night and day,” Brophy said. “I’m sure most people would say this, but I would destroy my freshman self. Coming out of high school, … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/15117905-nc-state-wrestling-gains-one-starter-loses-another
Oklahoma All-Star Teams to Compete in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic
The Oklahoma Wrestling Coaches Association announced on New Year’s Day that a Senior men’s and women’s All-Star team will compete in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic. … more details at … https://owrestle.com/oklahoma-all-star-teams-to-compete-in-the-pittsburgh-wrestling-classic/
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 