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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

January 15, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , | Leave a comment

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/

January 15, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

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

January 15, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

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

January 14, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

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/

January 12, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

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

January 11, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

NWCA Releases Men’s Brackets Ahead of the 2026 USMC National Duals

NCAA Division I Men’s Bracket
MANHEIM, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) has shared the NCAA D1 Men’s bracket for the upcoming NWCA/USMC Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships. Presented by A Better Way Athletics, Capitol Construction, and Defense Soap, this year’s event will once again take place at the University of Northern Iowa’s UNI-Dome on January 9-10, 2026.
The opening pools for the NCAA D1 Men’s bracket are as follows:

POOL APOOL B
CampbellBloomsburg
Central MichiganCSU Bakersfield
HarvardDrexel
Northern IllinoisOhio
South Dakota StateNorthern Iowa

Wrestling fans can catch the action-packed event featuring these outstanding teams … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2026/1/4/national-wrestling-coaches-association-nwca-releases-ncaa-division-i-mens-bracket-ahead-of-the-2026-usm-national-duals.aspx
And …

NCAA Division II Men’s Bracket Released for 2026 NWCA/USMC National Duals
MANHEIM, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) has shared the NCAA D2 Men’s bracket for the upcoming NWCA/USMC Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships. Presented by A Better Way Athletics, Capitol Construction, and Defense Soap, this year’s event will once again take place at the University of Northern Iowa’s UNI-Dome on January 9-10, 2026.
The top eight seeds in the NCAA D2 Men’s bracket are as follows:

  1. Central Oklahoma
  2. Nebraska Kearney
  3. UW-Parkside
  4. Lander
  5. St. Cloud State
  6. Grand Valley State
  7. Tiffin
  8. Augustana

Wrestling fans can catch the action-packed event … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2026/1/4/national-wrestling-coaches-association-ncaa-division-ii-mens-bracket-released-for-2026-nwca-usmc-national-duals.aspx
And …

NWCA Announces NCAA Division III Men’s Bracket for 2026 USMC National Duals
MANHEIM, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) has shared the NCAA D3 Men’s bracket for the upcoming NWCA/USMC Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships. Presented by A Better Way Athletics, Capitol Construction, and Defense Soap, this year’s event will once again take place at the University of Northern Iowa’s UNI-Dome on January 9-10, 2026.
The top eight seeds in the NCAA D3 Men’s bracket are as follows:

  1. Wartburg
  2. Augsburg
  3. UW-La Crosse
  4. TCNJ
  5. Loras
  6. Roanoke
  7. North Central
  8. Johnson & Wales

Wrestling fans can catch the action-packed event … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2026/1/3/national-wrestling-coaches-association-nwca-announces-ncaa-division-iii-mens-bracket-for-2026-usmc-national-duals.aspx
And …

NAIA Men’s Bracket Set for 2026 NWCA/USMC National Duals
MANHEIM, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) has shared the NAIA Men’s bracket for the upcoming NWCA/USMC Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships. Presented by A Better Way Athletics, Capitol Construction, and Defense Soap, this year’s event will once again take place at the University of Northern Iowa’s UNI-Dome on January 9-10, 2026.
The top eight seeds in the NAIA Men’s bracket are as follows:

  1. Grand View
  2. Indiana Tech
  3. Life
  4. Southeastern
  5. Campbellsville
  6. Oklahoma City
  7. Southern Oregon
  8. Embry Riddle

Wrestling fans can catch … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2026/1/2/NAIA-Mens-Bracket-Set-2026-NWCA-USMC-National-Duals.aspx

January 9, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | | Leave a comment

Huskers Down Panthers, 30-6

Behind technical fall victories from No. 12 Chance Lamer and No. 5 Antrell Taylor, the No. 6 Nebraska wrestling team moved to 7-3 on the season with a commanding 30-6 dual victory over No. 16 Northern Iowa on Saturday night at the Devaney Center. 
The Huskers (7-3, 0-0 Big Ten) recorded 20 total takedowns against the Panthers (3-4, 2-0 Big 12) and won eight of 10 bouts in the victory.  
Starting the night at 125, Alan Koehler fell to No. 27 Trever Anderson in a tight decision, allowing the Panthers a 3-0 start.   
Nebraska answered at 133 as No. 8 Jacob Van Dee earned a 5-0 decision over No. 26 Julian Farber, evening the team score. Van Dee remains undefeated on the season with the win.  At 141, No. 3 Brock Hardy gave Nebraska its first lead of the night, defeating No. 11 Cory Land, 5-1.
The Big Red extended its team score with back-to-back technical falls at 149 and 157 pounds. In his first dual victory as a Husker, Lamer recorded 19 points in a 19-4 win over Ethan Basile. Taylor followed with a dominant performance, tallying seven takedowns in a 22-6 win over RJ Weston to push Nebraska’s lead to 16-3 at intermission. 
Northern Iowa responded quickly at 165, where No. 11 Ryder Downey secured a sudden-victory takedown to defeat No. 7 LJ Araujo, 3-0. 
The Huskers regained momentum at 174 pounds as No. 6 Christopher Minto earned a major decision over No. 10 Jared Simma, 10-1. No. 9 Silas Allred followed with a 5-1 decision over Nick Fox at 184 and at 197 pounds, No. 12 Camden McDanel collected a 7-3 decision over John Gunderson.  In his first dual appearance of the season, Harley Andrews closed out the night at heavyweight with a major decision over Adam Ahrendsen, 16-7. Andrews … more at … https://huskers.com/news/2026/01/4/huskers-down-panthers-30-6

January 8, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

Penn State collects Southern Scuffle title with five individual champions

Jan 4, 2026, 7:32 PM EST
by Brian Reinhardt
Individual champions from the 2026 Southern Scuffle.
CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee – Penn State only sent two of its starters, Aaron Nagao at 141 pounds and Josh Barr at 197 pounds, but just like at the last four NCAA Championships, the Nittany Lions came away with the team title at the 2026 Southern Scuffle.
Penn State captured five of the 10 individual championships and cleared second-place Penn by 20 points, 143.5-123.5. Picking up titles for the Nittany Lions were Barr, Connor Pierce (149), Joe Sealey (157), Will Henckel (174) and Asher Cunningham (184).
Little Rock had four wrestlers advance into the finals and finished in third place, with Matty Bianchi taking the 165-pound crown. Virginia Tech was the only other school outside of Penn State with multiple individual titles—bookends Eddie Ventresca at 125 pounds and Jimmy Mullen at heavyweight.
Also standing atop the podium of one of the toughest in-season tournaments were Dom Serrano of Northern Colorado at 133 pounds and Vince Cornella of Cornell at 141 pounds. Serrano was named the Outstanding Wrestler award recipient.
Complete results and archived matches from the Southern Scuffle are available at FloWrestling.com.

2026 Southern Scuffle 
At Chattanooga, Tennessee, Jan. 3-4 

Finals Summary 
125: #3 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) dec. #20 Zeke Witt (North Dakota State), 4-1 (SV1) 

A two-time All-American, Ventresca cruised to the title, not conceding a single takedown in any of his six matches. In the semifinals, he scored an 8-3 win over former Virginia Tech teammate #26 Cooper Flynn (now at Chattanooga). In the final, he notched the lone takedown of the bout 1:22 into extra time for a 4-1 win. Ranked #3 nationally and doubling his season match total this weekend, he is a perfect 3-0 all-time, including 1-0 this year, against the defending national champion Vince Robinson of NC State.

133: #16 Dom Serrano (Northern Colorado) dec. #10 Braxton Brown (Maryland), 5-4 

In one of the most exciting finals matches, Serrano scored the last-second win. Tied 1-1 late in the third, Brown scored the first takedown with around 30 seconds left. After an escape, Serrano went to work and was awarded the takedown right before the final whistle. Before this weekend, Serrano had only wrestled one match. He got in five matches over the last two days, capped with … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2026/january/04/penn-state-collects-southern-scuffle-title-with-five-individual-champions

January 8, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | | Leave a comment

Top 10 USA Wrestling Stories of 2025

Jan 1, 2026, 1:11 AM EST

by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
The year-end tradition of reflection and appreciation for the sport of wrestling continues in 2025, albeit with a different voice behind the keyboard.
My longtime mentor and friend, Gary Abbott, who retired three months ago after nearly four decades of service to USA Wrestling, always enjoyed writing up his top wrestling stories of the year. It is my intent to keep this tradition alive, if anything, because I know Gary will read and enjoy. I’ll give it my best attempt to fill these (untied) shoes. Congratulations on an amazing career, Gary. Your presence around here is already missed.
Before I jump into my personal top 10 wrestling stories of 2025, I feel the urge to brag a bit on the USA Wrestling community. First off, kudos to everyone who participated in USA Wrestling this year. Whether you are an athlete, coach, parent, official, or fan, know that you made an impact. USA Wrestling shattered its membership record in the 2024-25 membership year with nearly 372k members, up 28k from the year prior. Wrestling in the U.S. has never been healthier, and that is tremendously exciting for the future.
USA Wrestling also launched USA Bracketing, its new event management platform, with great success in 2025. A special shoutout to my colleague Dave Mathews and his crew for the tireless, sometimes thankless, efforts on this project (that continue today), and for leveling up the game in the wrestling technology space. As someone who constantly thinks about preserving the history of our great sport, what a win for all of us to have a resource like USA Bracketing at our fingertips.
With the pleasantries out of the way, let’s move on to my top 10 wrestling stories of 2025.

10. Olympian Ben Askren’s inspirational recovery from a double lung transplant 

At 41 years old and in seemingly great health, 2008 Olympian Ben Askren underwent the fight of his life and has come out the other side as an inspiration to all. In June 2025, Askren was hospitalized with a staph infection that progressed into pneumonia that severely damaged his lungs. He was in a coma for multiple weeks before receiving a life-saving double lung transplant. Askren has publicly documented his recovery journey through his social media platforms with the wrestling community behind him every step of the way. Askren’s initials were worn on the U.S. World Team singlets in Zagreb, Croatia. He remains #AskrenStrong as he carries on his recovery process each day.  

9. Kikiniou family success—Father-son duo make U.S. Open finals; Arseni doubles up at U17 Worlds 

What a year it was for the incredible Kikiniou family. Aliaksandr Kikiniou Sr. was a two-time Olympian for Belarus (2004, 2012) and immigrated to the United States, where he began competing under the U.S. banner in 2023. At age 45, Kikiniou made the finals of this year’s U.S. Open, which served as the Greco-Roman World Team Trials. As did his 18-year-old son, Aliaksandr Kikiniou Jr. Both finished as No. 2 on the U.S. National Team in Greco-Roman. … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/december/31/top-10-wrestling-stories-of-2025

January 5, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , | Leave a comment

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