As the weather cools and the foliage begins to change colors, it can only mean we are quickly approaching another wrestling season. It seems like yesterday when the season wrapped up in Cleveland, Ohio. In reality, it was approximately seven months of the typical offseason “I can’t wait for wrestling to start again” chatter. In an effort to capture the excitement, we will discuss each team’s line-up, coaching staff, and some exciting schedule dates. But, first, here’s a quick recap from last year. 
To finish off last season, the EIWA gained three more All-Americans to add to the historic list of wrestlers who have achieved this impressive feat. Cementing themselves in history were Luke Stanich of Lehigh, Danny Wask of Navy, and Caleb Campos of American. Stanich earned his second trip to the podium with a third place finish at 141lbs. Wask was an All-American for the second time in his career as well, finishing in sixth place at 174lbs. Caleb Campos had an amazing run at 184lbs to come away in fourth place. We will see all three wrestlers return to the mat this season. 
Let’s dive into each team below. 
American 
The Eagles were the host for last year’s EIWA Championships and showed up for the home crowd. They crowned two EIWA Champions in Max Leete at 133lbs and Caleb Campos at 184lbs. They set a school record with eight podium finishers to conclude a successful weekend. Six of the eight place winners will return this season to improve upon last season’s historic conference tournament. Topping off last year’s fantastic season was Caleb Campos’s All-American finish – the first American University wrestler to achieve this since 2016. 
The coaching staff has been working in tandem for over half a decade. The consistency in coaching provides a profound culture surrounding the program. Another recent addition includes a new wrestling facility. It opened in January of 2026 to further showcase the university’s commitment to invest in its athletic programs. 
The projected roster includes three ranked wrestlers, led by Campos at 184lbs. JJ Peace finished 7th in the EIWA last season, and began the season ranked inside the top 30 at 125lbs. At 285lbs, Emmanuel Ulrich claims a preseason ranking of #29 after finishing 5th in the EIWA last season – just missing a qualifying spot for the NCAA tournament, but he was awarded an at-large berth. 
To begin 2027, they will be in action at the Southern Scuffle – which is always a tough event with many ranked opponents. They will wrestle #16 Rutgers and #22 West Virginia in dual meets to highlight out-of-conference matches. Fans can expect another impressive year for the Eagles, as the program continues to turn heads nationwide. 
 
Meet The Staff
Head Coach – Jason Borrelli (6th season)
Associate Head Coach – Alex Tirapelle (6th season) 
Assistant Coach – Joey Dance (6th season)
Assistant Coach – Ganbayar Sanjaa (7th season)
 
Projected Lineup
125lbs #28 JJ Peace
133lbs Coen Bainey / Ellis Kirsch / Colin Martin
141lbs Leo Maestas / Cael McIntyre
149lbs Cam Milheim
157lbs Reagan Milheim
165lbs Gage Owen / Kaden Milheim / Gavin Cohen
174lbs Hunter Hohman / Austin Craft
184lbs #7 Caleb Campos / RJ Robinson
197lbs Caleb Close
285lbs #29 Emmanuel Ulrich / Isaiah Taylor
 
Army West Point (#29)
Army West Point will begin the season within the top 30 once again. Currently, they are #29 in Intermat’s dual rankings thanks to five individually ranked wrestlers. After finishing fourth in the EIWA last season, they are primed and ready to improve on that finish this season. The Black Knights earned nine EIWA place-finishers, and three NCAA Qualifiers. Braden Basile, Gunner Filipowicz, and Brady Colbert will be viewed as team leaders while looking to return to the NCAA Championships yet again. 
At 133lbs, Jake Crapps – is expected to man the weight class. He has big shoes to fill after Ethan Berginc graduated with four NCAA tournament appearances. There are a few weights up for grabs with plenty of underclassmen looking for an opportunity to perform in duals.
Head Coach, Troy Nickerson, enters his second season. He is looking for his first All-American to represent Army West Point and has the firepower to do so. Michael Macchiavello is a new addition to the staff who will make an immediate impact on the upper weights. The Army West Point Black Knights will have the honor of hosting the EIWA Championships on March 5 & 6, 2027. 
Some more notable dates on the schedule include the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in early December, and the NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa to begin the second semester. The CJ Morgan Invitational (formerly known as the Black Knight Invite) will occur right before Thanksgiving. The name change honors the late CJ Morgan, who was a wrestler for the Black Knights before passing unexpectedly during a training exercise in June of 2019. Finally, Army West Point will host the Star Match with Navy on February 19th. Fans should tune into this one, as it is one of the most highly anticipated rivalries in the nation. 

Meet The Staff
Head Coach – Troy Nickerson (2nd season)
Associate Head Wrestling Coach – Michael Macchiavello (1st season) 
Assistant Coach - Steve Bleise (4th season)
Assistant Coach - Alan Clothier (2nd season)
Director of Wrestling Operations – Jacob Lehr (1st season) 
 
Projected Lineup
125lbs Joseph Uhorchuk
133lbs #20 Jake Crapps
141lbs #19 Braden Basile
149lbs Mason Barvitskie / Easton Broxterman
157lbs Joe Antonio
165lbs #23 Andrew Christie / Kellen Smith 
174lbs #25 Gunner Filipowicz
184lbs Cooper Haase / Dave Barrett / Gage Laplante / Nash Banko
197lbs Garett Kawczynski / Reid Shroeder
285lbs #12 Brady Colbert 
 
Binghamton 
The Bearcats concluded the conference tournament with six EIWA placewinners last season, good enough for a seventh place finish. Both Carter Baer (174lbs) and Mikey Squires (197lbs) were finalists, which earned them a trip to the NCAA Championships. Baer will return for another year. The Bearcats were active in the transfer portal, scooping up two quality wrestlers. Both Carson DesRosier and Thomas Snipes have experience at the NCAA Championships. The three appearances between them came while competing at The Citadel under the same head coach, Ryan LeBlanc. These three graduate students will enter the season in the national rankings, alongside multiple-time EIWA placer, Carson Wagner. The projected lineup is busting at the seams with experience with eight graduate students. 
Ryan LeBlanc’s previous stint at The Citadel saw positive improvement year after year. You can expect much of the same at Binghamton. He brought on his assistant coach from The Citadel in Luke Welch and retains Brevin Cassella – one of Binghamton’s best wrestlers in recent history. 
Looking at the schedule, The Bearcats will dual out-of-conference ranked opponents in #30 Oregon State, #11 Cornell, and #1 Penn State. To begin January, they will be in action at the Southern Scuffle. With the experience up and down the line-up, expect a great year from Binghamton. 

Meet The Staff
Head Coach – Ryan LeBlanc (2nd season)
Associate Head Coach – Luke Welch (1st season)
Assistant Coach – Brevin Cassella (2nd season)
 
Projected Lineup
125lbs #32 Carson Wagner
133lbs Dillon Arrick / Gavin Sheridan
141lbs #32 Carson DesRosier
149lbs Nate Lucier
157lbs Fin Nadeau / Jordan Brown
165lbs #30 Thomas Snipes
174lbs #21 Carter Baer
184lbs Will Ebert
197lbs Cayden Bevis / Quinn Funk
285lbs Trent Sibble / Charlie Tibbitts

 
Bucknell
The Bison were another team who finished the 2026 season with an historic year. They were third in the team race for the first time in a decade, thanks in part to two EIWA champs – the first time in history. Five wrestlers earned trips to the NCAA Championships for the third year in a row. They certainly have the firepower to keep that streak alive this year. Bucknell also scored the most team points at the EIWA Conference tournament in program history. The coaching staff has been one of the best on the recruiting trail over the past half decade, and the results show. We can expect much of the same this season as they continue developing young while peaking performances when it matters most.  
Head Coach, Dan Wirnsberger, enters his 21st season at the helm – the longest tenured coach in the conference. He is currently tied for most wins in program history as head coach with 169 wins. His young, energetic staff has been excellent developing this squad while scoring great recruiting classes in the process. The Bison have three wrestlers within the top 20, and two more inside the top 33. This does not account for currently unranked heavyweight, Lucas Lawler, who saw time in the rankings last season during a stellar freshman campaign. Between Mulvaney, Takats, and Bechtold, this team has plenty of experience to help guide the remainder of the team to another fantastic year.
Bucknell’s schedule is always loaded with top-notch dual meet competition. This year, they were on the road at #8 Iowa State to open the season. They also have road duals against #10 Minnesota and #11 Cornell. You can see them compete at the Cliff Keen Invitational and Southern Scuffle – two of the premiere individual events. The Bison will be considered a top contender in the conference again this season. 
 
Meet The Staff
Head Coach – Dan Wirnsberger (21st season)
Head Assistant Coach – Tyler Smith (6th season) 
Assistant Coach – Thomas Flitz (4th season)
Assistant Coach – Dan Neff (3rd season)
 
Projected Lineup
125lbs Kade Davidheiser
133lbs Blue Stiffler / Antonio Boni*
141lbs Hudson Hohman
149lbs #33 Cade Wirnsberger
157lbs Ryan Lawler / Brian Chamberlain*
165lbs #13 Noah Mulvaney 
174lbs #17 Myles Takats 
184lbs #29 Tyler Bienus 
197lbs #21 Dillon Bechtold 
285lbs Lucas Lawler 
NOTE: * indicates second semester wrestler
 
Drexel
The Dragons finished in fifth place in the EIWA team race a season ago after placing all ten wrestlers. Drexel was one of two teams to have ten placewinners. They sent three athletes to the NCAA Championships. The lone returning NCAA qualifier from last year is Nate Schon at 285lbs, while Jasiah Queen was a qualifier two seasons ago. Both wrestlers find themselves in the national rankings to begin the year. This season’s lineup has some inexperience due to this year's EIWA roster, which included seven graduating seniors. Anthony Santaniello is a fresh face, after transferring into the program. His past results at Pittsburgh have earned him a national ranking to begin the season.  Drexel has been crowned dual meet champions of the Independence Division two years in a row. They will have a target on their back this season in an effort to three-peat. 
Head coach Matt Azevedo enters his 16th season leading the Dragons. He will work hard with his young staff to outperform last year’s number of three NCAA qualifiers. They will have a tall task to open their dual meet season, traveling to #2 Oklahoma State and #20 Little Rock. They also have home duals against #16 Rutgers and #29 Maryland aside from EIWA matchups. As usual, they will attend the PRTC Keystone Classic, hosted at The University of Pennsylvania. The Dragons will look to prove themselves as top contenders in the conference. The Dragons have a confident line-up to lean on this coming year.  

Meet The Staff
Head Coach – Matt Azevedo (16th season)
Assistant Coach – Mauro Correnti (3rd season) 
Assistant Coach – Chad Walsh (3rd season)
Assistant Coach – Desmond Pleasant (1st season) 
 
Projected Lineup
125lbs #33 Oumar Tounkara
133lbs Jaden Perez / Cole Hagerty
141lbs Anthony DePaul
149lbs #24 Anthony Santaniello
157lbs Gavin Carroll
165lbs Dom Findora
174lbs #24 Jasiah Queen
184lbs Ethan Wilson
197lbs Justin Griffith
285lbs #20 Nate Schon


Franklin & Marshall
The Diplomats placed seven at EIWA’s a season ago, which was the most in the team’s history. They graduated a loaded class, led by James Conway. Conway was one-win shy of earning All-American honors a season ago. This class also included Mason Leiphart, Bryce Kresho, and Pat Phillips. With a class of that nature leaving, the Diplomats will have some gaps to fill. There are a handful of weights with multiple options. As of now, there are no nationally ranked wrestlers. Expect things to change. With the addition of two-time All-American, Anthony Noto, on the staff – expect guys like Jimmy Garcia to reap the benefits. Garcia has been on the fringe of national rankings in the past. Look for him to be a weekly presence in those same rankings in the near future after a quality win or two. 
The coaching staff has been consistent for nearly the last decade. Noto’s position is a new addition and will be a great fit. The Lock Haven grad understands the small-school mentality while competing at the highest level. The team culture will continue to showcase itself on the national stage. Coach Rogers is also a Lock Haven alum who was an All-American twice, for what it’s worth. 
The schedule is mostly tournaments in the first half. They began at the Princeton Open the first weekend of November. You can catch them in action at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic the following week, and the Keystone Classic just before Thanksgiving. Two big events will close out the first semester – first being in early December at the Cliff Keen Invite in Las Vegas and the Midlands at the end of December. Both events will be sure to include nationally ranked opponents to help F&M potentially earn some key wins in the process. The second semester is filled with dual meets after hosting the F&M Open on January 8th. The Diplomats will always wrestle hard, making them an entertaining squad. 
 
Meet The Staff
Head Coach – Mike Rogers (17th season)
Assistant Coach – Steve Borja (14th season)
Assistant Coach – Tyson Dippery (9th season) 
Assistant Coach – Anthony Noto (1st season)
 
Projected Lineup
125lbs James Garcia
133lbs Jack Parker / Charlie Colantonio
141lbs Aidan O’Shea* / Leo Mongiello / Brayden Hartranft
149lbs Josh Hillard* / CJ Ferree
157lbs Dominic Wheatley / Jesse Scott / Cole Albert
165lbs Josh Palmucci* / Tyler Fromm
174lbs Jake Neill
184lbs Brandon Carr / Leo Varga 
197lbs Gabe Smith / Dylan Shelton / Jake Allred
285lbs Brody Kline / Isiah Rodriguez
NOTE: * indicates 2nd semester wrestler only 


Hofstra
The Pride of Hofstra return two podium finishers from last year’s EIWA conference championships. Two other placers have graduated and exhausted NCAA eligibility. Both Gauge Shipp (133lbs) and Will Conlin (197lbs) were sixth place, looking to improve on that this season. This year’s lineup should be better with a past EIWA place winner, Jurius Clark, returning to the line-up. Noah Tapia had a solid freshman season before utilizing a redshirt season last year. Jake Slotnick (165lbs) spent time in the national rankings last season. He will be a leader of this team during his senior campaign. The Pride of Long Island will be a much-improved team this year, as Coach Jamie Franco enters his third year with a young staff.
Jamie Franco is one of two head coaches in the conference to take the reins of their alma mater. He served as an assistant from 2016-2023 before spending two years on staff at Columbia. Franco’s passion for Hofstra is unmatched by many. He, and his staff, work hard to keep developing the culture on and off the mat. The young staff’s energy is contagious. Jesse Dellavecchia returns to the staff as a volunteer. The All-American from Rider will play a vital role in boosting the middle weights. Josh Mason was a known pinner during his competition days. He will look to spread that skillset to the lower and middle weights as well. 
Hofstra started the season on Halloween with a dual meet victory over Sacred Heart. They will compete at the Journeymen Classic, CJ Morgan Invitational, and Cliff Keen Invite to earn some quality individual wins. With out-of-conference duals against #17 Illinois, #22 West Virginia, and #16 Rutgers – the Pride will have plenty of opportunity to showcase their talent. 
 
Meet The Staff
Head Coach – Jamie Franco (3rd season)
Assistant Coach – Anthony Sobotker (3rd season) 
Assistant Coach – Josh Mason (1st season)
Volunteer Assistant Coach Trainee – Jesse DellaVecchia (1st season) 
 
Projected Lineup
125lbs Teague Strobel
133lbs Gauge Shipp
141lbs Jackson Slotnick / Laudan Henry
149lbs #32 Noah Tapia
157lbs Jurius Clark / Zack Reilley
165lbs Jake Slotnick
174lbs Matt Waddell / Frank Volpe / Chase Hontz
184lbs Josh Jorgge
197lbs Will Conlon
285lbs Danny Church
 
Lehigh (#11)
The Mountain Hawks were crowned EIWA team champions last season for the 40th time in program history. They will look for a three-peat this season after claiming the previous two titles. 
They qualified six to the NCAA Championships, where Luke Stanich finished in 3rd place. He is Lehigh’s 24th two-time All-American in school history. Luke enters the season as the top-ranked wrestler in the nation at 141lbs. Nathan Taylor begins the season at 285lbs with top five ranking. There are seven total ranked wrestlers in the lineup for Lehigh this year. 
Expect a huge target on their back as teams will be looking to knock off the returning champs. The team is ranked inside the top 10, nationally, to further showcase the potential they have to compete with the best in March. 
Brad Dillon was named the ninth head coach in program history this summer. He replaced Pat Santoro, who was at the helm for 18 years. Dillon was a two-time All-American for Lehigh as an athlete and served under Pat Santoro for 22 seasons as an assistant at both The University of Maryland and Lehigh. His staff is the most accomplished on the mat within the conference. Together, they claim 12 All-American honors in total, and 3 NCAA titles. Joseph has two titles, while Zac Rey has one. 
As usual, the Mountain Hawks will wrestle a very tough schedule. They will square off against ranked opponents like #4 Virginia Tech, #25 Indiana, #16 Rutgers, and #20 Pittsburgh – all in the month of November. #1 Penn State visits the first week of December and Lehigh will travel to #11 Cornell in January. They close out the regular season against #12 Arizona State. Lehigh fans are in for a treat this season with an exciting, challenging schedule.  
 
Meet The Staff
Head Coach – Brad Dillon (1st season)
Assistant Coach – Zach Rey (9th season)
Assistant Coach – Vincenzo Joseph (2nd season)
Assistant Coach – Michael McGee (1st season)
Director of Operations – Gina Quinn (4th season)  
 
Projected Lineup
125lbs Mason Ziegler / #22 Matty Lopes
133lbs Keanu Dillard 
141lbs #1 Luke Stanich / Seamus Mack
149lbs #22 Jayden Scott / Kelvin Griffin / Anthony Evanitsky / Owen Reinsel / Seamus Mack
157lbs #15 Logan Rozynski 
165lbs Richie Grungo / Zeke Dubler / Dom Federici / Bekhruz Sadriddinov
174lbs Brady Collins / Zeke Dubler / Dom Federici / Bekhruz Sadriddinov
184lbs #21 Rylan Rogers
197lbs #29 Caden Rogers / Cael Weidemoyer
285lbs #5 Nathan Taylor / Dean Bechtold
 
Long Island
The Sharks are looking to build from last year’s postseason. Chris Powell earned an 8th place finish at the EIWA tournament at 285lbs. With his departure due to graduation, Brayden Roberts will be expected to be a leader of the team this year. He was a fifth-place finisher in 2025 and will look to improve on that to earn a chance to compete at the NCAA Championships in his last season of eligibility. He will drop to 149lbs after a couple seasons at 157lbs. LIU has some experience in the lineup. Expect a much stronger performance this year compared to last.
The coaching staff is very young. Head Coach, John Arceri, joined the staff as an assistant in 2022 and helped LIU produce their first NCAA Championship qualifier at the Division 1 level. Now, in an expanded role, he is chasing the next qualifier(s). His assistant, Jay Nivison, is still getting his feet wet in the coaching scene. The Sharks are building a culture at LIU, and it begins with the staff. The energetic youth movement in the coaching staff spreads into the team in a positive way. 
Long Island University kicked off the season at the Mercyhurst Open. This week, they will wrestle #16 Rutgers. The schedule bodes well to provide opportunities to knock off higher-ranked opponents early in the season. The remainder of the duals are an equal balance of EIWA foes and schools similar in size to LIU. There will be plenty of tight battles within evenly matched dual meets. This serves as a chance for LIU to keep win percentages high while grinding out close matches that will pay dividends in the post season. 

Meet The Staff
Head Coach – John Arceri (3rd season)
Assistant Coach – Jay Nivison (2nd season)
 
Projected Lineup
125lbs Anthony Chuquilin / Vincent Orandello / Andrew Szamreta / Christian Morris
133lbs Jared Chuquilin / Dario Guglielmo / Brendan Martin / Nicolas Bribitzer
141lbs Branden Rozanski / Shehab Emam Mohamed / Tucker Pazinko / Jackson Herman
149lbs Brayden Roberts / Shehab Emam Mohamed / Armani McCann, Jack Deraney / Amir Avazov 
157lbs Tommy Bonasera / Jordan Barry
165lbs Luke Nieto / Kaden King 
174lbs Greyson Catlow-Sidler / Kaden King / Jack Valentin / Nathan Murphy
184lbs Tyler Hicks / Nathan Murphy 
197lbs Christian Horeis / Tyler Hicks 
285lbs Melvin Whitehead / James Mulhern / Maxwell Ohamuo 
 
Morgan State
The Bears were another team who completed the EIWA tournament with a historic performance. They claimed an EIWA Champion for the first time in history when Eugene Harney won his title at 149lbs. Secondly, they earned their first two NCAA Qualifiers in program history since its reinstatement in 2023. Harney has found a new home via the transfer portal. But, Yannis Charles will look to return to the NCAA Championships while leading the Bears in the process. Morgan State outperformed their seeds last year in many weight classes en route to six place finishers. If the momentum continues into this season, expect a solid improvement from last year’s eighth-place finish at the conference championships. 
Coach Kenny Monday’s staff received an upgrade this season when they announced Jordan Oliver as an addition in September. Oliver’s lengthy resume and attacking style is a perfect fit for the program’s desire to be great. He adds an incredible amount of knowledge to an already thriving staff – particularly in the middle weights. 
The Navy Classic was the opening event for the Bears. With plenty of ranked opponents, and a short trip, it’s the perfect start for Morgan State. They scheduled duals against #29 Maryland, Columbia, and Virginia for out-of-conference matchups. The Southern Scuffle is another highlighted event for the squad to earn some ranked wins. This tournament is always an opportunity to upset a higher ranked wrestler for a quality win. 

Meet The Staff
Head Coach – Kenny Monday (4th season)
Assistant Coach – Alonzo Allen (4th season)
Assistant Coach – Kennedy Monday (3rd season)
Assistant Coach – Jordan Oliver (1st season)
 
Projected Lineup
125lbs Garrett Beane
133lbs Treshaun Tucson 
141lbs Javaan Yarbrough
149lbs Myrin Nixon 
157lbs #30 Yannis Charles 
165lbs Sincere Bailey 
174lbs Cort Vann
184lbs Kingsley Menifee
197lbs Bryce Phillips 
285lbs Bence Veress

 
Navy (#19)
Last season’s EIWA team runners-up are looking to continue that success this year. The Midshipmen’s leader, Danny Wask, placed sixth at the NCAA Championships a year after placing eighth. He is looking to become Navy’s second 3X All-American in program history. At the EIWA Championships, Navy placed all ten wrestlers – one of two teams to do so. Interestingly, they achieved this with only two finalists and zero champs. You can expect up to eight podium finishers to return to the lineup this season. If they can score a few more finalists and claim a champion or two – they are very well in the discussion for the team title.  The 27th ranked dual team in the nation has plenty of potential heading into the season.
Head Coach, Cary Kolat, has been known to build programs. His tenure at Navy thus far is no different, as he enters his seventh year at the helm. The Midshipmen have been steadily improving recruiting classes and developing talent since his arrival. It is no surprise to see seven individually ranked wrestlers in the line-up. By the time the season ends, it would not be shocking to see more in the national rankings. 
Navy began the season hosting the Navy Classic. They will also compete in events like The Journeymen Classic, Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and Soldier Salute in the first semester. Also, during the first semester, they will dual #16 Rutgers and #17 North Carolina State. Expect a fun season from The Midshipmen. To complete the regular season, they will travel to Army West Point for the famous Star Match on February 19th. 
 
Meet The Staff
Head Coach – Cary Kolat (7th season)
Assistant Coach – Blaize Cabell (7th season) 
Assistant Coach – Ty Eustice (3rd season)
Assistant Coach – Peyton Walsh (1st season)
Director of Wrestling Operations – Ben Barton 
 
Projected Lineup
125lbs Nick Treaster
133lbs Sammy Spaulding 
141lbs #14 Caedyn Ricciardi / Collier Hartman
149lbs Nick Vafiadis / Coltyn Reedy
157lbs #28 Jonathan Ley 
165lbs #33 Dylan Elmore / McKaden Speece
174lbs #4 Danny Wask
184lbs #32 Daniel Williams / Gage Yackee
197lbs Zyan Hall
285lbs #11 Spencer Lanosga
 
Sacred Heart
The Pioneers return one EIWA placewinner from last year in Brendan Gilchrist at 285lbs. He earned seventh place in a very deep weight after entering the weekend as the 11th seed. Gilchrist, along with a handful of upper classmen, will look to improve upon last season’s efforts. With nearly fifty wrestlers on the roster, an experienced starting lineup is expected to translate to positive results. You will see a few of these starters have experience with other programs. Coach Clark has been taking advantage of the transfer portal to help solidify the lineup. With so many wrestlers on the roster, when you see one Sacred Heart singlet at an event – expect to see many more. 
Coach Clark enters his 10th season, this time with a new assistant coach in Michael Wilson. Wilson competed for Rider University and competed at the NCAA Championships on two occasions. You can expect an immediate impact from him in the middle to upper weights. 
This season’s schedule is very favorable to help the Pioneers be ready for March. Pioneer fans can expect a lot of exciting dual meets over the course of the season. They will compete at this Big Red Invite hosted by Cornell. They will also travel to Las Vegas to compete at the Cliff Keen Invitational, along with a handful of EIWA teams. Sacred Heart has the pleasure to open up the NCAA Division 1 wrestling season on October 31st with a dual against Hofstra. 

Meet The Staff
Head Coach – John Clark (10th season)
Assistant Coach – Michael Wilson (1st season) 
 
Projected Lineup
125lbs Austin Zimmerman
133lbs Braxton Fries-Appello
141lbs John Hildebrandt
149lbs Felix Lettini
157lbs John Sheehy
165lbs AJ Falcone
174lbs Jayden D'Ambrosio
184lbs Eric Wolf
197lbs Kevin Taylor 
285lbs Brendan Gilchrist

We’ve got the first set of rankings that reflect the first results of the 2026-27 season. The first rankings update is always interesting. Many teams did not compete on week one. For those that did, we’ve tried not to overreact to what we’ve seen.

125 lbs
The big result at this weight came from the Southeast Open where Louie Gill beat Nicolar Rivera. Rivera drops down to an opponent he beat last season (Kilkeary). Gill, along with JJ Peace, had a good weekend and moved up slightly. Carson Wagner and Oumar Tounkara both had tournament wins and move in the rankings - Wagner was in our first preseason rankings.

133 lbs
Oklahoma flipped Isaiah Powe and Tyler Wells, so the rankings reflect that. Coming from a non-DI school and at a completely different weight, there’s still plenty of debate regarding where Powe belongs. There’s a slight shakeup at the bottom as Colin Martin enters the rankings for the first time after two bonus point wins, one over a ranked opponent (Andrew Austin).

141 lbs
In the next rankings, we will remove Vince Cornella (and Bryce Hepner at 165) as we’re aware that neither is slated to compete until the second semester. Jayden Raney makes his ranking debut. He had a good win over teammate Tagen Jamison at the Cowboy Invitational. Of course, matches against teammates are not officially counted and wacky things can happen with teammates meeting, but it’s a good indication of the general area he starts in the rankings.
One of the big stories of the week was Nic Bouzakis losing three times (once to a teammate - which doesn’t count) during his debut at 141 lbs. He dropped significantly as none of those came against ranked opponents. We’ll have to see if this is a sign of things to come and, if so, react accordingly.

149 lbs
We’ve flipped Little Rock’s starters at 149/157 with Brock Herman going up and Kyrel Leavell going 149. We have also considered Eugene Harney for rankings purposes for Pitt rather than Kal Miller. Harney won in their intersquad match and went unbeaten at the Navy Classic, while Miller took two losses.

157 lbs
Along with Herman, we’ve also moved up App State’s Kaden Keiser.

165 lbs
In one of the matches between Oklahoma State teammates at the Cowboy Invitational, none may have been more interesting than Casey Swiderski over Dee Lockett. For now, we’ll go with Swiderski at this weight, but the situation bears monitoring throughout the season.
We’ve swapped out starters for Stanford as Grigor Cholakyan majored EJ Parco and beat Ty Whalen, before losing to Sean Seefeldt at the Princeton Open.
For now, we’re hanging with Noah Nininger as the Virginia Tech wrestler in the rankings; however, he lost to teammate Mac Church.
Nick Stampoulos makes his way back into the rankings after posting wins over the final three wrestlers in the top 33. Those three traded wins with each other, so we’re keeping them in the previous order.

174 lbs
Jaxon Smith lost in his Ohio State debut to Marcus Espinoza-Owens, who breaks into the rankings for the first time this year.
In other Oklahoma State teammate-related news, we’ll go with Alex Facundo after his head-to-head win over Lorenzo Norman. Again, these two could go back and forth.
A note regarding Kaleb Larkin. We understand that 165 is a more likely weight for Larkin at this point; however, with Nicco Ruiz returning at that weight, we’ll hold him at 174 lbs until the situation reveals itself.

184 lbs
Once again, with Oklahoma head-to-heads. Although Mikey White had an excellent head-to-head win over Bennett Berge, we’re going to stick with Berge for now and see if the freshman puts together a resume of those sorts of wins before flipping the two.
Lots of shenanigans in the middle part of the rankings. Ian Bush won the Southeast Open over Tomas Brooker, who beat Jaden Bullock. Rylan Rogers fell to a Stanford freshman (Slava Shahbazyan) who isn’t ranked. We’ll see in the coming weeks if Shahbazyan emerges as “the guy” over Abe Wojcikiewicz.

197 lbs
Stephen Little got the head-to-head win over Cody Merrill at the Cowboy Invitational, though it was via injury default. We are open to the possibility of counting an injury default as a head-to-head win for rankings purposes. In this instance, it’s still probably too close to make that assumption, so it gets thrown out.

285 lbs
Nothing too crazy here. Jimmy Mullen won the Southeast Open, and before that, Max Vanadia defeated Stephan Monchery. The rankings reflect that small upset.
 
For the full rankings: Click Here

The 2026-27 college season is officially underway. There were a couple of events on Saturday, but the season really got going on Sunday with a handful of tournaments and a smattering of duals. Plus, we had the morning appetizer of the World Championships and Team USA’s win Sunday morning.
This season will be different from its predecessors. With the NCAA’s five-for-five ruling, there will be no more redshirting or medical years. That means there isn’t the “will they, won’t they?” debut surrounding potential redshirts in November. The potential fight between teammates for a starting spot will be viewed a bit differently this year. Did the freshman who got the call in the first dual or won the open tournament get a leg up on his veteran counterpart? Are these dual starts or results indicative of how the coaching staff views the internal pecking order? Or maybe there’s an injury at play?
This season is already shaping up to be one of the most intriguing in some time and the eligibility changes should only help enhance the excitement.
With so much going on there’s bound to be a result or an upset you might have missed. With that in mind, let’s take a spin around the country to look at the first weekend of collegiate action.

Duals
Purdue had a 24-12 win over Kent State, which could be viewed as a decent result for both squads. Redshirt freshman Vincent Paino (Purdue) posted an 11-2 major decision over #33 Nick Molchak (Kent State). The Golden Flashes got wins at 125 (Adan Benavidez), 149 (Nate Roth), 157 (Reese Stephen), and 285 (Brentan Simmerman).
Michigan got off to a fast start with a 50-0 shutout of VMI. True freshman Henry Aslikyan (125) and Moses Mendoza (133) won via fall. Kellan Wolbert (141) and Niko Sahakian got major decisions. I’ve stated multiple times that Michigan could fly up the rankings if two or three of their freshmen are really good. The jury is still out on them, but it was a good start.
Wisconsin rolled to a 32-7 win over Bloomsburg, but the most notable result came at 165 lbs as Bloomsburg’s Morgan Schwarz majored national qualifier #21 Cody Goebel.
American swept the Chippewa Challenge, a dual meet series that featured the DI teams led by Central Michigan graduates. Freshman Reagan Milheim stood out with two falls, while AU’s first two wrestlers #29 JJ Peace (125) and Collin Martin, went 2-0. Martin picked up an impressive 15-3 major decision victory over #28 Andrew Austin (Central Michigan).
Sunday concluded with Iowa State getting a 29-12 win over Bucknell in Brent Metcalf’s debut as the Cyclones head coach. We’ll have to monitor the 184/197 lb situation for the Cyclones. Sawyer Bartelt and Brayden Thompson got the call at those weights, respectively. Both suffered losses against two of the Bison’s top wrestlers.

Southeast Open
Louie Gill won the 125 lb weight class with a major decision victory over #27 Travis Clawson (Chattanooga) and a 7-2 win over #11 Nicolar Rivera (Maryland).
One of the positional battles to monitor going forward is Virginia Tech at 165 lbs. Word out of Blacksburg was that Noah Nininger might be ahead in that race; however, incumbent Mac Church got the head-to-head win in the tournament finals.
There was a top 20 scuffle at 174 lbs in the finals as #18 Ryan Burton (Virginia Tech) defeated #20 Colin Kelly (Illinois). Burton redshirted in 2026-27 and won a U20 world bronze medal over the summer.
Lots of chaos and shenanigans at 184 lbs! West Virginia’s Ian Bush won the title with wins over Sergio DeSiante (Virginia Tech) and Tomas Brooker (Appalachian State). Brooker had an earlier win over returning ACC champion Jaden Bullock (Virginia Tech). In an all-Hokie third-place match, Bullock got by DeSiante, 6-3.

Clarion Open
Ohio State finished with the top three wrestlers at 125 lbs. Vinny Kilkeary won the weight class with a 8-3 decision over Dom Munaretto. Munaretto’s fellow freshman Antonio Mills was third. This is probably a weight to watch going forward, as the two freshmen are both highly ranked coming into Columbus.
All-American Carter Nogle (Air Force) won the 141 lb bracket; however, that’s probably not the biggest story from this weight. #9 Nic Bouzakis’ (Ohio State) debut at this weight went pretty badly as he took sixth place, losing to unranked Brogan Fielding (Ohio State), Keagan Oler (Clarion), and Smokey McClure (Utah Valley). He’s moving up after spending the 2025-26 season at 125 lbs and is ideally a 133 lber.
Speaking of debuts at new weights, Jaxon Smith appeared for the first time in an Ohio State singlet and also at 174 lbs, a collegiate low for him. Marcus Espinoza-Owens (Utah Valley) used a third-period takedown to defeat the #4 ranked Smith in the finals.

Cowboy Invitational
Oklahoma State got to flex their muscles and show off their depth at multiple weight classes in a small, bracketed tournament. They also showed off their #1 overall recruiting class and a handful of first-year freshmen impressed.
In a top-10 matchup at 133 lbs, top-ranked Jax Forrest (Oklahoma State) teched #9 TK Davis (Gardner-Webb).
It was a successful collegiate debut for Jayden Raney (Oklahoma State) at 141 lbs. He grabbed the title by edging Cowboy teammate Tagen Jamison, 6-5 in the finals.
At 165 lbs, two-time All-American Casey Swiderski’s (Oklahoma State) debut his new weight was a good one. He defeated teammate and returning starter Ladarion Lockett, 4-3.
Oklahoma State’s returning starter at 174 lbs, Alex Facundo, held serve and defeated Stanford transfer Lorenzo Norman, 7-5.
With such a star-studded Oklahoma State recruiting class, perhaps Mikey White got overlooked by wrestling fans. White made sure that wouldn't happen going forward as he beat All-American and new transfer Bennett Berge, 10-4.
There was a weird result at 197 lbs as #3 Stephen Little (Little Rock) captured the title with an injury default victory in tiebreakers over #2 Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State). Merrill defeated Little in tiebreakers last year in the NCAA semifinals.
At heavyweight, Dreshaun Ross teched his way to the title, defeating #31 Bryson Buhk (SIU Edwardsville) in the finals.

Princeton Open
The 133 lb weight class has some depth at Stanford. Freshman Siraj Sidhu won the bracket with victories over #19 Jake Crapps (Army West Point) and Joe Uhorchuk (Army West Point). Uhorchuk was a huge recruit for Army and is expected to push Crapps for the starting role or perhaps move down to 125 lbs. In addition to Sidhu, Stanford also has returning All-American Tyler Knox at this weight.
Luke Stanich showed why he’s the top-ranked 141 lber in the land. He dispatched #8 Jack Consiglio (Stanford) by a tech fall in the championship bout.
Another fight for a starting spot to monitor should happen with Stanford at 165 lbs. EJ Parco is the returning starter; he moved up multiple weights to fill at 165 lbs and ended up making the NCAA bloodround. Parco was majored by teammate Grigor Cholakyan in the semifinals. Penn’s Sean Seefeldt ended up winning the weight.
Once again, Stanford’s depth was on display at 174 lbs as Collin Guffey took out #25 Gunner Filipowicz (Army West Point) in sudden victory. The Cardinal is also expected to have two-time AA Hunter Garvin at this weight.
More competition for Stanford at 184 lbs. Returning national qualifier, Abe Wojcikiewicz, ended up fifth at this weight. Teammate and freshman Slava Shahbazyan won the bracket, though the two did not meet. Shahbazyan did beat Round of 12 finisher Rylan Rogers (Lehigh) and Shay Addison (Rider); Addison got a win over Wojcikiewicz.

Navy Classic
The 149 pool stood out as it featured three wrestlers with NCAA experience. The highest-ranked of the group, #13 Kal Miller (Pittsburgh) suffered losses to the other two - #18 Lucas Kapusta (Lock Haven) and AJ Rallo (Bellarmine). Kapusta ended up losing to Miller’s teammate Eugene Harney, who also defeated Miller in their intersquad bout.
Last season started with Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh) and Spencer Lanosga (Navy) meeting in a dual and then the next day at the Navy Classic. This year they clashed again, but Pitzer came out on top, 5-2. While Lanosga got the two early-season wins in 2025-26, Pitzer got revenge at NCAA’s and did so again on Sunday.