2026 NCAA DI National Championships Preview (197 lbs)

The 2026 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships are less than a week away! In a few short days, 330 wrestlers will make the trek to Cleveland, with hopes of a national title on their minds. Now it's in a city that hasn't hosted nationals since 2018, but it’s within driving distance of some of the top wrestling areas in the country. Before the action on the mat starts, InterMat will go through each individual bracket and highlight the favorites, top matches to watch, and much more. We’re moving onto the penultimate weight class 197 lbs - one that features two undefeated wrestlers and a handful of contenders from outside of the Big Ten. The Top Seed: Josh Barr (Penn State) The last of the seven #1 seeds for Penn State is 197 lber Josh Barr. Barr was a part of the huge contingent of Nittany Lion wrestlers that competed in the fall at the U23 World Championships. In that event, Barr was injured and ended up missing the first month-plus of the collegiate season. He returned at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals, and it was like he never left. Despite missing a significant chunk of the regular season, Barr’s performance has catapulted him into Hodge Trophy contention. He’s 19-0 on the year with a perfect bonus-point percentage. Barr’s “closest” match of the season thus far has been a 9-1 major decision over two-time returning AA, Stephen Little. In his last outing, Barr was able to tech his way through the Big Ten Championships. A year ago, Barr was a bit of a surprise starter, moving up from 184 lbs. He ended up winning his first 12 matches and ended his season in the NCAA finals. The Contenders: #2 Rocky Elam (Missouri), #3 Stephen Little (Little Rock), #4 Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech), #5 Joey Novak (Wyoming), #6 Justin Rademacher (Oregon State), #7 Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State) The Conference Champs ACC: #4 Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech) Big 12: #2 Rocky Elam (Iowa State) Big Ten: #1 Josh Barr (Penn State) EIWA: #17 Dillon Bechtold (Bucknell) Ivy: #18 Andrew Reall (Brown) MAC: #19 Zayne Lehman (Ohio) Pac-12: #3 Stephen Little (Little Rock) SoCon: #30 Kade Rule (Chattanooga) Top First-Round Matches #17 Dillon Bechtold (Bucknell) vs. #16 Branson John (Maryland) #9 Angelo Posada (Stanford) vs. #24 Brock Zurawski (Rider) #19 Zayne Lehman (Ohio) vs. #14 Gabe Sollars (Indiana) #27 Gabe Arnold (Iowa) vs. #6 Justin Rademacher (Oregon State) #15 Remy Cotton (Rutgers) vs. #18 Andrew Reall (Brown) Despite Barr’s dominance, there’s still a lot of intrigue surrounding this weight class. While the Big Ten had 10 wrestlers automatically qualify for nationals, Barr was the only wrestler from the conference in the top ten. Of the other top-eight seeds, #3 Little is the only one that has faced Barr this season. That means there are a handful of quality matches that we’ve yet to see. Where the Big Ten might lack at this weight, the Big 12 picks up with four of its wrestlers seeded in the top eight. Of course, unbeaten Rocky Elam leads the way. Elam is already a four-time All-American, but is looking to finish his career on top of the podium for the first time. Elam defeated Wyoming Joey Novak for his Big 12 title and in the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Novak is on the top half of the bracket as the fifth seed. His only loss that didn’t come against Elam? It was courtesy of Sonny Sasso at the National Duals Invitational. Sasso is the fourth seed, so he and Novak could clash again in the quarters. Sasso comes in red hot after edging #10 Mac Stout in the ACC semis and majoring #9 Angelo Posada in the finals. There’s lots of fun on the bottom half of the bracket with Little as the #3 seed, Justin Rademacher as the #6, Cody Merrill as the #7, and Stout at #10. The quarterfinals could feature a Pac-12 finals rematch between Little and U20 world champion Justin Rademacher. At Pac-12’s, Little won by a narrow, 4-3 margin. Of course, Rademacher would have to get through Big Ten runner-up and 2025 All-American Camden McDanel for that to happen. McDanel comes in as the #11 seed. In a bracket filled with potentially intriguing Round of 16 matches, the 7/10 between the All-American Stout and the freshman Merrill is excellent. It might lack scoring, but will have plenty of physicality and tactics. Darkhorse All-American Candidate: #13 Bennett Berge (South Dakota State) Our potential darkhorse is a past All-American. Bennett Berge was fourth in the nation as a freshman in 2024 at 184 lbs. Last year, Berge got the fifth seed at this weight class and went 1-2. He comes into Cleveland after a fifth-place showing at the Big 12 Championships. That gives him a first-round bout against Wisconsin’s #20 Wyatt Ingham and a potential Round of 16 clash with #4 Sasso. Berge could advance to the quarters with that draw. Even with a loss to Sasso, there’s a decent path to the bloodround. Early in the 2025-26 season, Berge posted a win over ACC runner-up Angelo Posada, the #9 seed. That remains his best win of the campaign. Extreme (20+) All-American Candidate: #24 Brock Zurawski (Rider) Speaking of Posada, his first round match is against Rider’s Brock Zurawski. Zurawski qualified for the tournament last season after winning the MAC and he posted a win in Philly. He looked to be on his way to a second conference title and brought a 13-match winning streak into the conference semifinals. There, he was upset by Kent State’s Blake Schaffer. Had Zurawski won out, he probably would have been looking at a top 15 seed. With the loss and a third-place finish in the MAC, Zurawski had to rely on an at-large berth to punch his ticket to Cleveland. The point is that Posada should be a significant favorite and might wrestle like it. That being said, Zurawski is not your average 24th seed. Even with a first-round loss, Zurawski could do some damage in the consi’s. The Team Race There are a handful of trophy contenders that could help (or hurt) their case in this bracket. Starting with the #2 seed, Elam. At one point, Iowa State looked like a lock to finish in the top four. Now, it’s a possibility but not a certainty. Elam is one of the best potential point-scorers for the Cyclones, so he’ll need to wrestle up to his seed for Iowa State to finish in the top four. Sasso is the #4 seed. If you were tabulating team points a few weeks ago, you might not have put Sasso down for an All-American finish. Should he wrestle up to his seed, it would be massive for Virginia Tech’s trophy hopes. He’s also a big move guy, so Sasso might be able to add some bonus along the way. Despite making the B1G finals, McDanel is seeded off the podium. His cracking the top-eight in any place would give Nebraska more points than they’re projected at this time. Merrill is seeded seventh but might be capable of finishing higher on the podium. Oklahoma State probably needs that to ensure they finish ahead of Nebraska/Ohio State. Projected Quarterfinals: #1 Josh Barr (Penn State) vs. #9 Angelo Posada (Stanford) #5 Joey Novak (Wyoming) vs. #4 Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech) #3 Stephen Little (Little Rock) vs. #11 Camden McDanel (Nebraska) #7 Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State) vs. #2 Rocky Elam (Iowa State) Projected Semifinals: #1 Josh Barr (Penn State) vs. #5 Joey Novak (Wyoming) #11 Camden McDanel (Nebraska) vs. #2 Rocky Elam (Iowa State) Projected All-Americans: 1st: Josh Barr (Penn State) 2nd: Rocky Elam (Iowa State) 3rd: Stephen Little (Little Rock) 4th: Camden McDanel (Nebraska) 5th: Joey Novak (Wyoming) 6th: Angelo Posada (Stanford) 7th: Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State) 8th: Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) Projected Round of 12 Finishers: #4 Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech) #6 Justin Rademacher (Oregon State) #13 Bennett Berge (South Dakota State) #8 DJ Parker (Oklahoma) Projected Consolation Round of 16 Finishers: #16 Branson John (Maryland) #19 Zayne Lehman (Ohio) #12 Luke Geog (Ohio State) #17 Dillon Bechtold (Bucknell)

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2026 NCAA DI National Championships Preview (197 lbs)

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