Mercyhurst Adds Women’s Wrestling to Division I Profile
TDR Editor’s Note; WRESTLING CONTINUES TO GROW! In the 2025-2026 season we saw over a dozen new and restarted Men’s College & University teams and 40 new Women’s teams. So far it has been announced we will have 9 new or restarted Men’s College & University teams and over 25 Women’s teams will be started. We hope that these numbers will increase especially on the Division level. The growth in college teams on a national level will inspire an increase of participation of the sport in all younger age group levels.
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ERIE, Pa. — Mercyhurst University is excited to announce the addition of women’s wrestling as a Lakers varsity sport, beginning in the 2026–27 academic year. “Wrestling has deep roots and tremendous popularity in our region, and the growth of women’s wrestling nationally has been incredible to watch,” said Director of Athletics, Joe Spano. “With Mercyhurst’s move to Division I and the NCAA elevating women’s wrestling to full championship status, this is the right opportunity at the right time. Adding women’s wrestling creates another meaningful pathway for young women to compete at the NCAA Division I level.”
The Lakers will compete as a Division I program, making women’s wrestling Mercyhurst’s 31st varsity sport.
Mercyhurst becomes the eighth Division I institution to add women’s wrestling, joining Iowa, Lehigh, Lindenwood, Presbyterian, Sacred Heart, Delaware State, and Kent State.
Mercyhurst will be just the second Division I women’s wrestling program in Pennsylvania, joining Lehigh, which announced the addition of the sport in May 2025. “This is an exciting and historic step for Mercyhurst University,” said Laura Zirkle, Mercyhurst Vice President for Student Life. “Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in the nation and adding it as a Division I program aligns with our mission to expand opportunities for women while competing at the highest level. Mercyhurst has a long tradition of athletic excellence, and women’s wrestling will be a powerful addition to that legacy.”
The establishment of the women’s wrestling program aligns with the sport’s rising prominence nationally. In January 2025, the NCAA officially added women’s wrestling as its 91st championship sport, elevating it from Emerging Sport status to full championship status and paving the way for its first national championship in 2026. A national search for the program’s inaugural head coach has begun. Interested applicants … More at … https://hurstathletics.com/news/2026/1/28/mercyhurst-adds-womens-wrestling-to-division-i-profile.aspx?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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/
Kent State University Adds Women’s Wrestling as 20th Varsity Sport, Planned to Compete in 2027
KENT, Ohio — Kent State University announced today that women’s wrestling will become the athletics department’s 20th varsity sport, marking a historic addition to the Golden Flashes athletics lineup and a milestone for collegiate athletics in Ohio. Kent State becomes the first NCAA Division I institution in the state and fifth in the nation to sponsor women’s wrestling.
The program will begin competition in fall 2027. Hiring for the program’s first head coach is expected to take place by summer 2026, following ongoing planning and facility renovations that will include updated locker rooms and coaches’ offices.
This is an exciting day for Kent State University and for the continued advancement of women’s sports, said Kent State Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Randale L. Richmond. Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, and establishing this program allows Kent State to support that growth while creating new opportunities for female student-athletes in Ohio and beyond. We are proud to lead the way as the first Division I program in the state to sponsor the sport. We are thrilled to add women’s wrestling, which continues our leadership in intercollegiate athletics in Ohio and the nation, said Kent State President Todd Diacon. Women’s wrestling has seen a surge of participation nationally. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, the 2024–25 academic year included 8,100 girls’ high school wrestling programs nationwide and 74,064 girls participating in the sport.
Ohio has been a leader in the sport’s growth regionally. The state held its first sanctioned Girls’ High School Wrestling State Championship in 2023, and participation continues to rise. During the 2024–25 academic year, Ohio featured 507 high schools sponsoring girls’ wrestling and 2,535 girls competing statewide. Those numbers are projected to continue increasing as sanctioned collegiate pathways expand. The establishment of Kent State’s women’s wrestling program is supported through state appropriations. As part of House Bill 96, the university received funds that will help support program development, staffing, and facility preparation.
For more information, you can visit our FAQ page here.
Women’s Wrestling Timeline for Sport Sponsorship:
June 2020 — Women’s wrestling added to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program, giving the sport formal recognition and a pathway toward full championship status.
October 2023 — The sport surpassed the threshold of 40 schools sponsoring varsity programs … more at … https://kentstatesports.com/news/2025/12/18/womens-wrestling-kent-state-university-adds-womens-wrestling-as-20th-varsity-sport-planned-to-compete-in-2027
Men’s College Notebook: Influx Of Talent Expected Second Semester, Six Duals To Watch This Weekend
With the first semester across college campuses coming to an end, there will be an influx of talent as we head into the second half of the NCAA wrestling season.
There is a wide variety of reasons many top wrestlers had to sit out of the competition scene up to this point, but some very recognizable names will soon be returning to the mat.
Here is a short list of some of the top wrestlers who could make their season debuts any time now. The season will have to play out to see if anybody from this list decides to take the entire year off to save a year of eligibility.
133 pounds
Lehigh’s Ryan Crookham was ranked #1 in the rankings last year at this time after coming off a third-place NCAA finish in 2024. He suffered an injury after last year’s 5-0 start and has not wrestled since December 2024. Head coach Pat Santoro expects his return to come in January.
141 pounds
Crookham’s teammate at Lehigh, Luke Stanich, is a bit ahead of him in returning. Stanich finished fifth as a freshman at 125 pounds at the 2024 NCAA Championships. He deferred eligibility last year to work up to 141 pounds, and over the summer, he won gold at the U20 World Championships despite suffering an injury in his first bout. That injury has kept him out of the lineup thus far.
Dylan Ragusin has not seen action since the 2024 Cliff Keen Invite. He was a 2024 All-American at 133 pounds for Michigan.
Cornell’s Vince Cornella has been off the college mats since the 2024 EIWA Championships (back when Cornell was still in that conference). He did not see action last year but worked his way back this past weekend to a title at the Patriot Open, including a 10-4 win over #15 Tom Crook of Virginia Tech … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/december/11/men-s-college-notebook-influx-of-talent-expected-second-semester-six-duals-to-watch-this-weekend
Girls’ wrestling now the fastest-growing sport in the Country, and it starts young
When Ben Fallon was growing up in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, all he ever wanted to do was play football. Fallon was in fourth grade, and in Western Pennsylvania, pretty much every boy wants to play football. However, his parents had some strong feelings about that sport. “My parents wouldn’t let me play football, and I was just looking for a sport that I could be really physical in and get some of that energy out that I think all fourth-grade boys have,” Fallon said.
Wrestling was a sport in which he competed during middle school, high school and college. It was a passion for the sport he never really lost because, as he says, it shaped his character and his adult life. “Wrestling for me was a place where there’s no one else to blame but yourself when you are out there,” Fallon said. “You get out what you put in, and you own 100% of your success and your failure. And I liked that.”
“What really made me commit so much time and effort and energy was just wanting to not only win but show myself that I could be one of the best,” he said. When he and his wife, Corrine, got married and started having children, Fallon always believed he might find himself coaching a son. Except the son never came. Fallon, 36, smiles broadly. “I thought when my third daughter was born that wrestling was totally off the table for me,” he said. “I was kind of resigned to the fact that we were going to be a soccer family my whole life.”
And he was fine with that. However, that all changed last winter when his wife ran into the local club wrestling coach at Franklin Regional. He casually mentioned they were having “weigh-ins” if their girls wanted to join up. “When Corrine told me, I didn’t even really give my kids an option,” he said. “I just said, ‘Hey, I have good news. We’re going to try wrestling this winter.’ So it wasn’t like something that I had been planning on doing with them because I didn’t even know we had a girls’ program.”
All three girls, 8, 5 and 3, came to the first weigh-in, wrestled and fell in love with it on their own, Fallon swears. Last weekend, they competed as part of the Franklin Regional Junior Wrestling Program in their first tournament.
The girls are not alone. While the sport of wrestling has long been a male-dominated field, it has experienced significant growth among girls in middle and high school over the past decade. College-level female wrestling has also seen a big boom, Fallon said. “In fact, girls’ wrestling is now recognized as the fastest-growing high school sport in the United States, outpacing both football and basketball,” he said. “Here in Pennsylvania, nearly 250 high schools offer competitive wrestling for girls.”
Colin Dunlap, a Pittsburgh-based talk-radio host who spent … more at … https://www.timesrepublican.com/opinion/columnists/2025/12/girls-wrestling-now-the-fastest-growing-sport-in-the-country-and-it-starts-young/
Slippery Rock University announces return of men’s wrestling
Honoring a storied past and celebrating a tradition that never faded, Slippery Rock University has announced men’s wrestling will return as a varsity sport in 2027-28.
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University today announced the return of men’s varsity wrestling with the goal to begin NCAA Division II competition during the 2027-28 academic year.
Slippery Rock’s wrestling program built its reputation from 1958 to 2006 as a program that emphasized a strong balance between athletics, academics and personal development. The program went 362-294-7 over that stretch with many of those wins coming at the NCAA Division I level.
Eight different men oversaw the team as head coach with the most impactful being Fred Powell, who coached the program from 1967-91 with a winning percentage of 66 percent. He coached some of the best collegiate wrestlers in NCAA history, including world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Stan Dziedzic ’72. Powell earned the “Lifetime Service to Wrestling” award and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2005.
Slippery Rock expects to launch a national search for a head coach during the 2026 spring semester to allow an academic year for recruiting before the program begins competing in the 2027-28 academic year. “Athletics, in many ways, serves as the front door to our university, and the return of wrestling at The Rock is so exciting,” said SRU President Karen Riley. “We have a long history of excellence in the sport and look forward to adding it back to our compliment of exceedingly successful athletic programs. We are so grateful to members of the SRU community for their advocacy and continued support.”
The Rock will compete at the NCAA Division II level as NCAA rules have changed since the last time SRU fielded a wrestling team and a return to the Division I level is no longer possible. There are currently 70 NCAA Division II wrestling programs competing across the nation in 2025-26. … more at … https://rockathletics.com/news/2025/11/10/general-sru-announces-return-of-mens-wrestling.aspx?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
History Was Made at the 2025 Super 32
As someone who enjoys the historical aspect of our sport, it was a must to be in Greensboro, North Carolina over the weekend for the latest edition of the Super 32. For a tournament that dates back to the 1990’s and has featured countless NCAA All-Americans, national champions, and even Olympic medalists, the Super 32 never had a wrestler win four championships at the high school level. Now there are two. Bo Bassett and Taina Fernandez both dominated their way through Super 32 brackets over the weekend and won their fourth championship belt. In her five bouts, Fernandez only was pushed past the two-minute mark on one occasion. She only allowed a single point while scoring 40 of her own.
Bassett made the finals after six straight tech falls. In the championship match, he defeated Penn commit, Charlie DeSena, via a 13-4 major decision. Two of Bassett’s titles have come over wrestlers that either already earned, or would go on to win, Super 32 titles themselves.
The tournament organizers were prepared in the event that Bassett and Fernandez would win their fourth titles and hand personalized statues made of the two competitors. While each was wrestling in the finals, the tournament stopped so that fans could direct the fullest extent of their attention to these young stars and their attempt at chasing history.
The girls portion of this tournament has only been in existence since 2017, so there isn’t as much history associated with that competition. But for Bassett to be the four-time, in today’s wrestling landscape is quite remarkable. The quality of wrestling and the readiness of young wrestlers is at a much higher level today compared to the early 2000’s.
This should be a high school season full of such milestones for Bassett. He is also on pace to win his fourth title at the Ironman and Powerade. … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/high-school/history-was-made-at-the-2025-super-32-r100583/
Head Coach Nick Mitchell Departs From Grand View University
The Winningest Coach in NAIA Wrestling History
Grand View University Announces the Departure of Nick Mitchell Following His Historic Tenure as Head Wrestling Coach
The winningest coach in NAIA wrestling history led the Vikings to 13 national titles, 157 All-Americans, and the longest dual win streak in collegiate history.
DES MOINES, IOWA – Grand View University announced today the departure of Head Wrestling Coach Nick Mitchell, after a historic tenure that has set the standard for excellence in collegiate wrestling. After 17 seasons leading the Vikings, Mitchell will step away from coaching to pursue an opportunity outside of collegiate athletics. “It is hard to put into words what Coach Mitchell has done for our wrestling program and for Grand View University Athletics,” said Troy Plummer, Athletic Director. “He steps away as the most successful men’s wrestling coach in NAIA history and will leave behind a legacy of remarkable achievement. Nick has been an incredible leader, mentor, and ambassador for Grand View University. His vision and relentless commitment to a championship lifestyle elevated not only our men’s wrestling program but also the entire culture of Grand View Athletics. While we are sad to see him go, we are deeply grateful for the foundation of excellence and integrity he built here. Nick will always be a valued member of the Viking family, and we wish him nothing but the best in his next chapter.”
Mitchell’s impact on Grand View Wrestling and the sport as a whole is unmatched. During his 17 years as head coach, he compiled a staggering 205-12 dual record and guided the Vikings to 13 NAIA National Championships in the last 14 years, along with 12 NWCA National Dual Titles, 7 Central Region National Qualifier Championships, and 9 Heart of America Conference titles. Under his leadership, Grand View produced 157 All-Americans and 45 NAIA Individual National Champions, both NAIA records. His teams also hold the NAIA National Championship Team Scoring Record with 234.5 points in 2017 and achieved the longest collegiate dual win streak in history with 162 consecutive victories from 2011 to 2022.
Mitchell’s personal accolades include being named the 2020 USA Wrestling Coach of the Year, six-time NWCA National Coach of the Year, and nine-time NAIA National Coach of the Year.
Mitchell shared, “As I reflect on the last 17 years at Grand View, … more at … https://gvvikings.com/news/2025/10/9/general-head-coach-nick-mitchell-departs-from-grand-view.aspx
Canadian Collegiate U Sports Changes Transfer Rules
by Jake Bridges 2
September 18th, 2025Canada, College, International, News, Transfers, U Sports
U SPORTS, the governing body for university and college sports in Canada, has updated its transfer rules. First or second-year athletes in the Canadian university system can now transfer schools without penalty. Previously, athletes who transferred in the Canadian system were forced to sit out one calendar year of competition; however, this rule did not apply to all sports. Swimming, cross-country, and track and field had exemptions.
The update also paves the way for easier transfer from NCAA or NAIA schools to a Canadian University, as the 365-day sit-out period previously applied to such transfers.
The new ruleset will come into effect in the 2026-2027 season.
When speaking on the decision, U Sports CEO Pierre Arsenault said, “The landscape of post-secondary sport is evolving, and our role is to ensure our policies reflect the needs of those we serve.”
The change in policy is well timed. In the United States, the House Settlement established new limits on roster sizes across NCAA sports. Most programs are being forced to decrease their size and cut athletes, meaning that as we enter the post-House era, there will be more athletes in the U.S. than roster spots. U SPORTS’ new policy allows them to be a viable alternative for those athletes.
While U SPORTS lagged behind the NCAA in transfer policy, historically, their rulebook has been less restrictive than the NCAA’s.
U SPORTS, for example, does not impose a five-year window … more at … https://swimswam.com/canadian-collegiate-u-sports-changes-transfer-rules/
On the Mat in 2026: IMG Academy to Launch Wrestling Program
IMG Academy Launches 11th Sport Program led by North Carolina Assistant Coach Enock Francios, Adding to its Unprecedented Growth of 4 New Sports Since 2022.
BRADENTON, Fla. (Sept. 17, 2025) – IMG Academy, the world’s leading sports education brand, announced the launch of its newest sports program. This bold expansion marks the fourth sport launched in four years, a testament to IMG Academy’s continued growth and commitment to its mission of empowering student-athletes to win their future both on and off the mat. Driven by its vision to be the global leader in performance and personal development, IMG Academy is expanding access to its world-class resources, providing more student-athletes with the opportunity to pursue their athletic, academic, and personal goals at the highest level.
Following the successful launch of softball and the addition of boys volleyball, the new wrestling program continues IMG Academy’s pursuit to be unrivaled in opportunity and access. As one of the fastest-growing sports in the nation, with a 129% increase in participation in 2021–22, wrestling presents a timely opportunity to deepen IMG Academy’s impact here and beyond. Wrestling is set to begin in 2026 with a series of spring and summer camps, leading up to the official launch of the boarding school program in August.
“At IMG Academy, our commitment to empowering student-athletes to win their future fuels our continuous evolution and has allowed us to grow our campus offering at a revolutionary pace over the last several years,” said Mike Milliron, Chief Operating Officer at IMG Academy Campus. “The launch of wrestling as our 11th overall sport marks an unrivaled milestone for our team, students, and families, and we cannot wait to see what we can accomplish under our wrestling leadership.”
To lead its newly launched wrestling program, IMG Academy has appointed Enock Francois as its Wrestling Director. Francois brings a distinguished track record of athletic and academic excellence, along with extensive coaching experience at top collegiate programs. He comes to IMG Academy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he served as an assistant wrestling coach under Rob Koll, an NCAA National Champion, four-time All-American, and three-time ACC Champion. … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/14542328-on-the-mat-in-2026-img-academy-to-launch-wrestling-program
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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
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