#1 Lopers Win Another Regional Title, Qualify Seven for NCAA’s
Kearney, Neb. – The top-ranked Nebraska Kearney wrestling team won its seventh regional title in eight years and qualified seven individuals for the NCAA Championships Saturday in Golden, Colo.
The 13-team “Super Region VI Championships” were hosted by Colorado School of Mines. The top three finishers in each of 10 weight classes advance to the NCAA’s March 13-14 in Sioux Falls. Brackets will be released in the coming weeks.
UNK had three winners, three runners up and one third place finisher. Those not making the cut to nationals each scored team points with two finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. No. 15 Adams State (124) was the team runner up with No. 17 Chadron State (100) in third.
Winning their weight class was top-ranked Crew Howard (285 lbs.), sixth-ranked Trenton Munoz (165 lbs.) and sixth-ranked Otgonbayar Batsuuri (174 lbs.). Finishing second were fourth-ranked Jackson Kinsella (197 lbs.), fourth-ranked Kaden Hart (184 lbs.) and 12th-ranked Zach Ourada (133 lbs.). Finally, rallying for third place was second-ranked Joseph Airola (141 lbs.).
Howard (Clarinda, Ia.) ran his win streak to 18 as he recorded three falls and a 6-1 decision over 14th-ranked Tyler Doyle of Colorado Mesa. Munoz (Santa Clarita, Calif.) had a first period fall in the quarters and used second period reversal to edge eighth-ranked Ivan Smith Jr. of New Mexico Highlands in his first-place bout, 4-2. Next, Batsuuri (Mongolia) didn’t allow an offensive point among four wins with Hart (St. Peters, Mo.) falling to third-ranked Keegen Gehlhausen of CSC for the second time this year. Finally, the Eagles 14th-ranked Mason Villwok avenged a regular season setback to Kinsella (Creston, Ia) with Ourada (Omaha Skutt) falling to Jakob Romoer of Adams who pulled off several upsets in winning 133.
In the consoles, Airola (Ward, Colo.) lost to Colorado Mesa’s Apollo Cruz for the second time this winter in round one. He had a long road to reach nationals but won in sudden victory before besting Cruz … more at … https://lopers.com/news/2026/2/28/wrestling-1-lopers-win-another-regional-title-qualify-seven-for-ncaa-s.aspx
Trojans Place Sixth at Regionals, Nicolosi Leads Strong Showing
GREENWOOD, SC– The University of Mount Olive men’s wrestling program competed at the NCAA Division II Super Regional II Championships on Saturday, battling the region’s top programs in pursuit of national qualification.
The Trojans finished sixth overall in the team standings with 65.5 total points, earning key victories throughout the day against some of the Southeast Region’s top competition. Mount Olive was able to bring ten of its top athletes to such stiff competition and show why they absolutely belong at that level and even further beyond.
At 157, Brent Nicolosi turned in one of the top performances of the tournament. He opened in strong form against Fogus, winning 14-5 MD. He then tacked on two massive wins against Keegan Roberson and Joe Bertrand to head to the championship match. He then proceeded to win over Reid Noble with a 8-5 decision to claim first place at the Regional level.
Jack Mackiernan made a strong run at 184, starting off with a bye before losing to Jeff Tubbs in the second round. He then began work by earning a 3-2 decision over John Parker-Wilson (Newberry) and a fall against Nahzir Turner (Shorter) in 4:20. He added Quintez Shipman (UNC Pembroke), including a 7-4 sudden victory win, before winning in a tight 2-0 decision bout to Tubbs later in the third place match.
At 285, Slade Watkins secured three wins, including a 15-2 major decision over Chandler Allen (Allen) and a quick 13-second fall against Kobe Pablo (Emmanuel). He also earned a 4-3 decision over Hunter Miller (Coker).
Raife Smart (197) recorded a major decision over Kaden Gadson (Allen) and pinned Jackson Buck (UNC Pembroke) in 3:22. Brock Christian (133) posted a pair of wins, including a major decision over Max Meredith (Shorter). Hunter Newell (149) added two decision victories, while Benjamin Hernandez (141) and Cole Hivnor (174) each earned wins in their respective brackets. Mount Olive concludes regional competition … more at … https://umotrojans.com/news/2026/2/28/wrestling-trojans-place-sixth-at-regionals-nicolosi-leads-strong-showing.aspx
No program, no problem: Oakridge wrestler forges his own path to OFSAA
A London high school athlete will compete in provincial wrestling championships in a singlet that doesn’t bear his school’s logo.
No program, no problem: Oakridge wrestler forges his own path to OFSAA
A London high school athlete will compete in provincial wrestling championships in a singlet that doesn’t bear his school’s logo.
By Ryan Goodison Published Feb 24, 2026
A high school athlete from London will compete in the upcoming provincial wrestling championships, but will do so in a singlet that doesn’t bear his school’s logo.
Oakridge secondary school Grade 11 student Parker Zimmerman is heading to his second straight Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) event March 3-4 in Peterborough. The 83-kilogram weight-class wrestler made it there without a coach of his own at Oakridge.
For two years, Parker Zimmerman and teammates Cooper Gray, Michael Zimmerman, Jayden Kim and Henry Kim have been building something out of almost nothing. Four of them made the regional wrestling championship last week.
And from there, Parker Zimmerman earned a berth at the provincial finals. “It’s something we’ve sort of built on our own,” he said.
He was in Grade 9 when he wanted to try wrestling after coming from a Brazilian jiu-jitsu background. But Oakridge didn’t have a program due to low interest, he said.
With no teachers experienced in wrestling, he reached out to Sir Frederick Banting secondary school coach Mark Puddicombe, who let him train with his team. The other Oakridge wrestlers began to join him soon after.
“The coaches are super welcoming,” Parker Zimmerman said. “It’s been great to be able to train and wrestle with them.”
The Oakridge athletes make the trip to Banting three to five times a week after school. The commute isn’t always easy. … more at … https://lfpress.com/sports/local-sports/no-program-no-problem-oakridge-wrestler-forges-his-own-path-to-ofsaa
2026 WCL | U SPORTS Invitational Championships heads to Lakehead University this weekend
OTTAWA / THUNDER BAY, ON – The 2026 WCL U SPORTS Invitational Championships are set for this weekend (Feb. 27-28) at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The event will feature approximately 200 of the best collegiate wrestlers from across the country, representing 17 universities in 20 weight classes (10 for women and 10 for men).
“We are thrilled to bring the WCL USPORTS Invitational Championships to Thunder Bay and to partner with the outstanding team at Lakehead University,” said Tamara Medwidsky, CEO of Wrestling Canada Lutte. “Lakehead has a strong tradition of hosting exceptional events, and we know they will create a first-class experience for the student-athletes, coaches and fans. This championship will showcase the very best collegiate wrestlers from across the country as they compete at the highest university level and look to take the next step in their wrestling careers. We are excited to see the energy and passion that Thunder Bay will bring to this national event.”
“We’re proud to bring the U SPORTS Invitational Championships back to Thunder Bay for the first time since 2012,” said Leah Ferguson, Chair, host committee. “With incredible support from the City and Tourism Thunder Bay, we’re ready to welcome the country’s top university wrestlers to our community. It’s a huge moment for our local wrestling scene, and we’re excited to showcase both elite competition and the spirit of Thunder Bay.”
The competition will feature a very talented field on both the women’s and men’s side, with numerous competitors having represented Canada on the international stage. For the women, 2024 World U23 silver medalist Serena Di Benedetto will be in action at 53kg. The McMaster product took top spot at the OUA Championships and will look to claim another national title. Competing at 56kg will be Calgary’s Gabi Cross. Cross won the Canada West Championship and is a two-time U23 Pan-Am Championships medalist (silver – 2025, bronze – 2024).
As for the men, names to watch will include Brock’s Javier … more at … https://wrestling.ca/2026-wcl-u-sports-invitational-championships-heads-to-lakehead-university-this-weekend/
The Year of Jax: Forrest’s Sunday Tech Fall the Latest Triumph in What Has Been a Crazy 12-Month Run
“I get moments where I’m like, ‘This is pretty crazy.’”
Published on February 23, 2026 By Marshall Scott
STILLWATER — Last March, Jax Forrest won his second Pennsylvania state title.
That’s a big feat for most high school wrestlers, but that might not be within the five coolest things Forrest has done on a wrestling mat over the past 12 months.
After starting this wrestling season in high school, Forrest enrolled at Oklahoma State at the start of this semester. It was unknown whether Forrest was in Stillwater to redshirt or if he’d be the Cowboys’ guy at 133 pounds.
That decision was finally made public on Sunday night when Forrest took to the mat to wrestle in OSU’s dual against Iowa, exceeding his available dates to redshirt. And then less than 10 minutes later, it was evident that was the correct choice as Forrest teched two-time national finalist Drake Ayala, sending Gallagher-Iba Arena into a frenzy.
These past 12 months have also seen Forrest become the youngest American Senior World Team member of all time, a Senior Pan-American gold medalist, a Senior U.S. Open champ, a U23 World Champ and just the seventh four-time Powerade champion in the event’s history.
The Chinese New Year was last week, marking the Year of the Fire Horse, but you could argue it’s the Year of Jax. “I get moments where I’m like, ‘This is pretty crazy,’” Forrest said. “But I think just trying to stay present. Obviously tonight (after the Iowa dual), I’ll be with my family, and I’ll be like, ‘That was awesome. If I wrestle like that, there’s no one who can stop me.’ But then it’s just getting back to work tomorrow, … more at … https://pistolsfiringblog.com/the-year-of-jax-forrests-sunday-tech-fall-the-latest-triumph-in-what-has-been-a-crazy-12-month-run/
Pair of Duke Wrestlers Etch Names in Guinness Book of World Records
By: Matthew Goninen, Duke Athletics Communications Student Assistant
DURHAM, N.C. – Last week, Dash Hort, a redshirt freshman on the Duke Wrestling team, prevailed as the winner of the Blue Devils’ world-record-setting basketball knockout game.
For Hort and his teammates, including runner-up Owen McGrory, participating in the world’s largest knockout game was not planned. They discussed attending for the first time at lunch earlier that day. “We weren’t doing that,” Hort said he decided when he first heard about it at trainer’s table. “We had an ECON 204 exam Thursday, so we had to study for that.” Ultimately, after some convincing from friends, the group of wrestlers decided to attend the event.
Early in the game, the line moved slowly. Hort and his friends contemplated leaving — “We knew what the odds of winning were. It was a sunk cost.” As the line, shrunk, however, Hort and has friends decided to wait it out and see if they could make a run at wining the competition. “At one point, we were three out of 100,” he said. “Then it goes down to 60 people left; that’s a five percent chance to win.”
“After about two hours, everyone remaining was able to fit on the court and we realized that winning was actually possible,” McGrory added. To prevent any close calls, Hort and his group stuck together. “It was pretty smooth sailing, especially towards the end,” Hort added. “At that point, everyone started getting hot. Everyone was hitting their shots.”
Ultimately, it came down to Hort and McGrory, with Hort knocking out his teammate to win. “I got Owen [McGrory] out at the end,” Hort said. “He shot and missed. I don’t know what was going through his head; he turned back like he was going to pass it to somebody. When I shot it, it felt good off the hand.”
Hort made the winning shot to win the competition. He would receive a $1,000 prize for his victory, which he says he will split with his friends. The event lasted from 6:30 p.m., to just after 10:00 p.m.
Hort, who has not played organized basketball since his time playing in youth recreational leagues, went on to say that making the Guinness Book of World Records was not something he anticipated. “It’s such a random thing that has no particular value, … more at … https://goduke.com/news/2026/2/25/wrestling-pair-of-duke-wrestlers-etch-names-in-guinness-book-of-world-records
National Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductees
Sun Devil Wrestling Head Coach Lee Roy Smith to be inducted into National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Coach Smith will be one of four distinguished members to be inducted into the class of 2026
STILLWATER, Okla. – The National Wrestling Hall of Fame announced on Thursday afternoon that former Sun Devil Wrestling Head Coach Lee Roy Smith will be inducted as a distinguished member of its 2026 Hall of Fame class. The Class of 2026 will be honored and officially inducted during the 49th Honors Weekend on June 5 and 6, 2026, in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Ben Askren, Tervel Dlagnev, and Shannon Williams-Yancey, as distinguished members, will join Smith. Also joining the hall will be Meritorious Official honoree Zach Errett; Order of Merit recipient James L. Porter, MA, LAT, ATC; Medal of Courage recipient Patrick Morrissey; and Outstanding American honoree Retired United States Army Major General Michael J. Nardotti, Jr.
“The National Wrestling Hall of Fame is honored to announce the Class of 2026, an illustrious group whose enduring contributions exemplify the foundational principles of our sport. Every Hall of Fame class is special, but this one is even more so as it includes Lee Roy Smith, who will be retiring next year after more than 20 years of superb leadership as executive director of the Hall of Fame,” said John Harris III, National Wrestling Hall of Fame Board of Governors Chairman.
Smith becomes the third member of his family to be inducted as a Distinguished Member, joining brothers John Smith and Pat Smith, who were inducted in 1997 and 2006, respectively. The Smiths are the second family to have three Distinguished Members, joining the Peery family: father Rex Peery, inducted in the Charter Class of 1976, and brothers Ed Peery and Hugh Peery, both inducted in 1980. There are seven other sets of brothers who have been inducted as Distinguished Members: Ed Banach (1993) and Lou Banach (1994); Tom Brands (2001) and Terry Brands (2006); Stanley Henson (1978) and Josiah Henson (2006); Cliff Keen (1976) and … more at … https://thesundevils.com/news/2025/10/30/former-sun-devil-wrestling-head-coach-lee-roy-smith-to-be-inducted-into-national-wrestling-hall-of-fame
WIN’s Feb. 24 rankings update includes final Top 20 dual teams; OK State strengthens hold on No. 2 spot in TPI
Photo: Oklahoma State’s Zack Ryder (pictured at the 2025 NWCA All-Star Classic), returned to the Cowboy lineup last weekend and earned a 2-1 SV decision over Iowa’s Gabe Arnold at 184 lbs. Photo by Sam Janicki.
NEWTON, Iowa — The 2025-26 regular season is in the rearview, as WIN’s Feb. 24 rankings update reflects the updated Tournament Power Index (TPI) and individual rankings heading into the conference tournaments while also providing the final set of Top 20 dual-meet teams.
In this week’s TPI, Oklahoma State (93) pulled away from the field slightly as the clear No. 2, while the logjam of programs ranked No. 2 through No. 5 remains. Ohio State (86.5), Nebraska (85.5) and Iowa State (84), all separated by just a total of 2.5 points, will all be vying for a team trophy in Cleveland. Penn State remains No. 1 with 152 total TPI points.
WIN’s TPI projects where programs could finish at the 2026 NCAA Division I Championships, which will be held March 19-21 in Cleveland. The following is a breakdown of those individual TPI points per ranking: 20 for 1st, 16 for 2nd, 13.5 for 3rd, 12.5 for 4th, 10 for 5th, 9 for 6th, 6.5 for 7th and 5.5 for 8th. Wrestlers ranked 9-12 earn two points each, followed by one and a half points for wrestlers ranked 13-16 and one point for those ranked 17-20.
Penn State features five top-ranked wrestlers with Nittany Lions Luke Lilledahl (125), Shayne Van Ness (149), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174) and Josh Barr (197) headlining their respective weight classes. Also ranked No. 1 are three defending national champions in Lucas Byrd of Illinois (133), Jesse Mendez of Ohio State (141) and Antrell Taylor of Nebraska (157). … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2026/02/24/wins-feb-24-rankings-update-includes-final-top-20-dual-teams-ok-state-solidifies-no-2-spot-in-tpi/
Top-ranked Nittany Lions go wire-to-wire, finish regular season as lone unbeaten
Manheim, Pennsylvania – Penn State closes the regular season as the unanimous No. 1 team in the country, finishing 15-0 to headline the final NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll of the regular season, released Tuesday.
The Nittany Lions capped their dual slate with a 50-0 win over Princeton and will head into next season riding a Division I-record 86 straight dual meet victories. Third-ranked Oklahoma State closed at 15-1 after a 32-11 win over then-No. 7 Iowa in front of 12,629 fans and a worldwide audience on ESPN’s flagship channel. It’s the fourth-largest crowd in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
It’s the 12th dual meet crowd over 10,000 fans at a Division I men’s dual event this year, surpassing the previous high of 10 set last season. Penn State, Iowa, Iowa State and Oklahoma State hosted all 12 of those events, with Iowa hosting half of them. Oklahoma State held three duals with over 10,000, Penn State two and Iowa State one.
Iowa State secured the No. 4 spot with a 20-14 victory over then-No. 14 Missouri to finish 12-2, while fifth-ranked Nebraska wrapped its dual schedule at 13-6 following a 32-6 win over Utah Valley.
Virginia Tech finished sixth at 11-3 after a 26-17 win over Duke. Eighth-ranked NC State edged Cornell 19-18 to close at 15-4.
Rutgers finished 14-5 and 11th after a 45-3 win over Hofstra. Michigan moved to 12th at 9-6 with a 34-6 victory over Central Michigan. Pittsburgh climbed to 13th after a 37-0 shutout of Virginia.
North Carolina dropped to 15th after a 28-6 loss to 18th-ranked Stanford. West Virginia secured the No. 16 position with a 21-15 win over Lock Haven.
Northern Iowa edged Wisconsin 16-15 in a ranked matchup to finish 17th. Stanford’s win over North Carolina pushed the Cardinal to 18th. Wisconsin fell to 19th.
Indiana closes the regular season ranked 20th after a 20-16 win over Purdue. South Dakota State dropped to 21st following a 20-13 loss to North Dakota State. Wyoming, Oklahoma and Oregon State … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2026/2/24/national-wrestling-coaches-association-top-ranked-nittany-lions-go-wire-to-wire-finish-regular-season-as-lone-unbeaten.aspx
Intermat’s NCAA DI Rankings Updated (2/24/2026)
That’s it! The 2025-26 regular season is finished. As always, the season seems to fly by when you’re not cutting weight and getting beat up every day. Even though last weekend was the last week of competition for most schools there were still plenty of results that had an impact on rankings. Below, we’ll mention some of the more notable moves for the week.
125 lbs
We had a flip of the 6 and 7 spots as Troy Spratley avenged his early-season loss to Dean Peterson. Also flipping spots at 20 and 21 as Ezekiel Witt was victorious over Brady Roark in the Battle of the Dakotas. ACC wrestlers Kysen Terukina and Keyveon Roller both suffered losses and were dropped a bit. Terukina’s was to Provo; however, the totality of his body of work, probably warranted a drop. Roller lost to an unranked opponent he had beaten earlier in the season.
133 lbs
With no one losing above Jax Forrest and him technically beating an opponent that was already below him almost led us to keep him at his #6 position. Comparing resumes with Kyler Larkin, his best wins (Seidel, Ayala), trumped Larkins (Knox, Figueroa). You could probably say the same about Evan Frost, but we’ll hold off for now. The three will be in the Big 12 Championships together, so they’ll sort it out soon.
141 lbs
There had to be some work done at this weight around the 10-14 range. Stanford freshman Jack Consiglio pinned UNC freshman Luke Simcox. The Consiglio/Simcox/Jack trio have all beaten each other; so we’ll go with Jack pinning Consiglio, who just pinned Simcox – rewarding the wrestlers with the better margin of victory.
149 lbs
Previously #2 ranked Jaxon Joy was shocked by Koy Buesgens in the final week of the season. Because of this Caleb Tyus moves into the #2 spot and Joy only drops a spot based on his body of work and the lack of another great option to overtake him. Buesgens stays put, he has recently losses to the two wrestlers currently above him. Jacob Frost drops out of the top ten … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/ncaa-di-rankings-updated-2242026-r100834/
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 