InterMat Staff

The most anticipated match of this young 2026-27 season took place on Friday and it didn’t disappoint. Seven days after winning a Senior world championship, Virginia Tech freshman Bo Bassett made his collegiate debut for the Hokies against the top-ranked 141 lber in the nation, Lehigh’s Luke Stanich. The dual between the fourth-ranked Hokies and the #14 Mountain Hawks started at 149 lbs so as to end with the 141 lb contest being the main event. Stanich made his 2026-27 debut last week at the Princeton Open and posted five wins - all coming via tech falls. He is the returning NCAA third-place finisher at this weight class and a 2025 U20 world champion. In addition to the bout being Bassett’s first match in a Hokie singlet and a bout that was for the top spot in the nation, it also had a personal aspect to it. Stanich defeated Bassett in three matches at the 2025 U20 World Team Trials for the opportunity to compete at the world level. The losses to Stanich were Bassett’s most recent losses to an American opponent. The bout itself started with heavy hand fighting from both wrestlers; however, it was Bassett who got on the board late in the opening period with an elbow pass to a high crotch. He led 3-1 after one period. In the second period, Bassett added a pair of takedowns to increase his lead to 9-3. After an escape from Bassett and a stall call on Stanich, early in the third period, the match appeared to be getting away from the Lehigh veteran as he faced an 11-3 deficit. To his credit, Stanich fought back and picked up two takedown, one right after another in the final :30 seconds of the period to pull within a three-point margin, 12-9. After the second Stanich takedown, the Virginia Tech corner threw a challenge brick and the sequence was confirmed. That break stopped Stanich’s momentum heading into the final :19 seconds of the match. Stanich allowed Bassett to escape but couldn’t get another takedown, making the final score 13-9. The late rally from Stanich will keep the intrigue surrounding their next meeting, which takes place later this month at the NWCA All-Star Classic. With his win, Bassett will jump up from his current position of fifth at 141 lbs to a number one ranking once InterMat’s new rankings are released on Tuesday morning. The fourth-ranked Virginia Tech team lived up to the hype, taking eight of ten matches from Lehigh in a 30-6 victory. The highlight for the home team was a slight upset by #15 Logan Rozynski, who knocked off Virginia Tech’s All-American, #8 Collin Gaj. Lehigh will be in action this weekend with a dual against Indiana tomorrow and the Journeymen Collegiate Classic on Sunday. Virginia Tech has almost two full weeks off between a date with The Citadel on November 19th. Virginia Tech 30 Lehigh 6 149 lbs - Drew Gorman (Virginia Tech) tech Kelvin Griffin (Lehigh) 17-2 157 lbs - Logan Rozynski (Lehigh) dec Collin Gaj (Virginia Tech) 5-2 165 lbs - Mac Church (Virginia Tech) maj Richie Grungo (Lehigh) 10-0 174 lbs - Ryan Burton (Virginia Tech) maj Brady Collins (Lehigh) 16-6 184 lbs - Jaden Bullock (Virginia Tech) dec Rylan Rogers (Lehigh) 4-3 197 lbs - Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech) maj Cael Weidemoyer (Lehigh) 16-1 285 lbs - Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) dec Jimmy Mullen (Virginia Tech) 6-0 125 lbs - Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) dec Mason Ziegler (Lehigh) 4-2 133 lbs - Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech) maj Keanu Dillard (Lehigh) 14-2 141 lbs - Bo Bassett (Virginia Tech) dec Luke Stanich (Lehigh) 13-9

What a way to kick off the 2027 Season. Lots of wrestling, some surprise results, and new faces in staring spaces. Let’s take a look at the top 7 Fantasy Wrestlers of Week 1: For a quick recap of Week 1, check out the Fantasy College Wrestling Podcast (#FCWpodcast)! On to Week 2… A reminder of some important rules: Wrestlers entered at a weight must compete at that weight or else their results will not be counted. Wrestlers in the “Floater” spots can compete at ANY weight and accumulate Fantasy points. A wrestler will LOCK on your roster at 12pm ET on the day of their first competition for the week. (refer to the SHP’s Week Preview) Only results against D1 competition (starters, backups, and redshirts) will count towards Fantasy Points. Check your league settings to know how many add/drops are permitted per week. Have a question, concern, suggestions, or just want to chat about Fantasy Wrestling? Hit us up on X (Twitter) or head over to the InterMat Forums where we have a Fantasy Wrestling dedicated Forum page! Tournament entries are still trickling in, so turn those notifications “ON” and check the InterMat Forums for updated entries Wrestlers I Like This Week Wrestler (School)- competition for the week [Proj Score] 125: Isaiah Cortez (COR) - Journeyman Classic Marcello Milani (COR) - Journeyman Classic Henry Aslikyan (MICH) - Michigan State Open Antonio Mills (OHST) - Michigan State Open Dom Munaretto (OHST) - Michigan State Open Anthony Knox (RUT) - WrangleMania [+9] Vincent Robinson (NEB) - Vs Wyoming [+5] Troy Spratley or Rocklin Zinkin (OKST) - vs Drexel [+4] Brady Roark (SDSU) - Vs Buffalo [+4] Eddie Ventresca (VT) - @ Lehigh [+3] Alan Koehler (WISC) - Vs Army [+3] 133: Tyler Ferrara (COR) - Journeyman Classic (recommended Flex) Elijiah Cortez (COR) - Journeyman Classic Moses Mendoza (MICH) - Michigan State Open Markel Baker (NIU) - Michigan State Open Vinny Paino (PUR) - Vs Air Force, Vs The Citadel [+8] Brett Ungar (RUT) - WrangleMania [+8] Jax Forrest (OKST) - vs Drexel [+5] Aaron Seidel (VT) - @ Lehigh [+5] Joseph Uhorchuck (ARMY) - @ Wisconsin [+4] TK Davis (GWU) - Vs Virginia [+4] Cale Seaton (SDSU) - Vs Buffalo [+4] Jacob Van Dee (NEB) - Vs Wyoming [+3] 141: Eren Sement (MICH) - Michigan State Open Kellen Wolbert (MICH) - Michigan State Open Carter Nogle (AF) - Vs Purdue, Vs The Citadel [+8] Caedyn Ricciardi (NAVY) - WrangleMania [+7] Jayden Raney (OKST) - vs Drexel [+4] Braden Basile (ARMY) - @ Wisconsin [+4] Evan Frost (ISU) - @ Utah Valley [+4] Tyler Wells (OU) - @ Northern Colorado [+4] Gable Porter (UVA) - @ Gardner-Webb [+4] Greyson Clark (ILL) - WrangleMania [+3], Journeyman Classic 149: Jordyn Raney (OKST) - Michigan State Open Gavin Brown (PUR) - Vs Air Force, Vs The Citadel [+6] Anthony Echemendia (NEB) - Vs Wyoming [+5] Jack Gioffre (OU) - @ Northern Colorado [+5] AJ Rallo (BELL) - @ Ohio [+4] Jacob Frost (ISU) - @ Utah Valley [+4] Sergio Vega (OKST) - vs Drexel [+4] Sam Ewing (BUFF) - @ South Dakota State [+3] Michael Gioffre (ILL) - WrangleMania [+3], Journeyman Classic Caleb Henson (VT) - @ Lehigh [+3] 157: Jaxon Joy (COR) - Journeyman Classic Haakon Peterson (MICH) - Michigan State Open Kannon Webster (ILL) - WrangleMania [+3], Journeyman Classic Landon Robideau (OKST) - vs Drexel [+5] Joseph Antonio (ARMY) - @ Wisconsin [+4] Brock Herman (LR) - Vs Drexel [+4] Antrell Taylor (NEB) - Vs Wyoming [+4] Rafael Hipolito (OU) - @ Northern Colorado [+4] Cael Swensen (SDSU) - Vs Buffalo [+4] Paniro Johnson (ISU) - @ Utah Valley [+3] Derek Raike (OHIO) - Vs Bellarmine [+3] 165: Alessio Perentin (COR) - Journeyman Classic Noah Mulvaney (BUCK) - Michigan State Open Cam Catrabone (MICH) - Michigan State Open Ladarion Lockett (OKST) - Michigan State Open Kody Routledge (OKST) - Michigan State Open Joey Blaze (PUR) - Vs Air Force, Vs The Citadel [+9] Paddy Gallagher (OU) - @ Northern Colorado [+4] Casey Swiderski (OKST) - vs Drexel [+4] Mac Church (VT) - @ Lehigh [+4] Connor Euton (ISU) - @ Utah Valley [+3] Jacob Herm (SDSU) - Vs Buffalo [+3] Nick Hamilton (UVA) - @ Gardner-Webb [+3] 174: Simon Ruiz (COR) - Journeyman Classic Lorenzo Norman (OKST) - Michigan State Open Danny Wask (NAVY) - WrangleMania [+7] Christopher Minto (NEB) - Vs Wyoming [+5] Grant O’Dell (BELL) - @ Ohio [+4] Colin Kelly (ILL) - WrangleMania [+4], Journeyman Classic Marcus Espinoza-Owens (UVU) - Vs Iowa State [+4] Tyler Eise (OU) - @ Northern Colorado [+3] Drake Rhodes (SDSU) - Vs Buffalo [+3] Ryan Burton (VT) - @ Lehigh [+3] 184: Louis Cerchio (COR) - Journeyman Classic Mikey Dellagatta (COR) - Journeyman Classic Brock Mantanona (MICH) - Michigan State Open Bennett Berge (OKST) - Michigan State Open Shane Cartegena-Walsh (RUT) - WrangleMania [+8] Chris Moore (ILL) - WrangleMania [+5], Journeyman Classic Mikey White (OKST) - vs Drexel [+5] Dylan Newsome (UVA) - @ Gardner-Webb [+5] Jersey Robb (OU) - @ Northern Colorado [+3] Eddie Neitenbach (WYO) - @ Nebraska [+3] 197: Jude Correa (COR) - Journeyman Classic Dillon Bechtold (BUCK) - Michigan State Open Hayden Walters (MICH) - Michigan State Open Ryder Rogotzke (OHST) - Michigan State Open Karson Tomkins (AF) - Vs Purdue, Vs The Citadel [+8] Stephen Little (LR) - Vs Drexel [+5] Cody Merrill (OKST) - vs Drexel [+5] Sonny Sasso (VT) - @ Lehigh [+4] 285: Rocco Dellagatta (COR) - Journeyman Classic Nicholas Sahakian (MICH) - Michigan State Open Rylan Kuhn (AF) - Vs Purdue, Vs The Citadel [+7] Coby Merrill (ISU) - @ Utah Valley [+5] Bradley Hill (OU) - @ Northern Colorado [+5] Dreshaun Ross (OKST) - vs Drexel [+5] Cade Ziola (NEB) - Vs Wyoming [+4] Luke Rasmussen (SDSU) - Vs Buffalo [+4] Brenan Morgan (UVA) - @ Gardner-Webb [+4] Nathan Taylor (LEH) - WrangleMania [+3]

Hey Guys- need more questions!! In the meantime, let's talk about the axe. There is a pretty good read by Andy Frisella about The Axe on his website. What The Axe Can Teach You About Success... (andyfrisella.com) You can read at your leisure. I think you guys would enjoy Andy's content if you want to take a deep dive. Yesterday, I found myself telling our guys to "keep swinging the axe" as we get ready for the start of the season. I like using that metaphor because I think it highlights a couple of things. 1- They aren't going to go down on the first swing. 2- You gotta have a sharp axe 3- Swinging an axe is hard, and it doesn't get much easier as you continue to do it. Frisella covers some of these points in his piece as well. So, obviously this can be applied to mat wrestling. Your first attack might not be successful, but if you are persistent with that axe, you will get to where you want to be. You have to be dogged. It can also be a mantra for your training. You don't see immediate progress with an axe. It takes a while. It isn't an implement built for instant gratification. But every swing does matter. The last place I think about axe swinging is in your pursuit of the outcomes you want. You have to push your athletes to be sure, but you have to push your peers, your supervisors, your stakeholders as well. No one wants to do paperwork, but you have to. No one wants to think strategically, but it is essential to "felling the tree." No one wants to bother people and stay on them every day. But all these things are just as essential as the 90 minutes, or so, you practice every day. You have to keep swinging the axe. Axe swinging is grim, gritty work and the payoff is almost never apparent on the first strike. Keep doing it. Have an axe-worthy weekend.

We’re getting right down to it! The 2026-27 season started last week with a good appetizer for those hungry for some collegiate action. There weren’t any massive dual meets or marquee matchups at open tournaments, but it was college wrestling. Now, in week two, it’s on! We’ve got #4 Virginia Tech traveling north to #14 Lehigh in a great dual matchup. Overall, the dual should be fun, but all eyes will be on the 141 lb contest between the number-one-ranked wrestler in the country and perhaps the most popular incoming freshman, one who just captured a Senior World title less than a week ago. That freshman is Bo Bassett, and he’s one of the reasons for the most anticipated season in Virginia Tech wrestling…ever. In addition to Bassett, the Hokies could field a lineup with eight returning national qualifiers - four of which are All-Americans. Virginia Tech is led by Tony Robie, who has been with the program since 2006 and was elevated to the head coaching position shortly after the national tournament in 2017. The Hokies are coming off an 11-3 dual season and their second consecutive ACC team title. They ended up 11th at the NCAA Tournament, which is a bit lower than they’re accustomed to, and the expectations are much higher in 2026-27. The 2026-27 season will be the first for Brad Dillon as Lehigh’s head coach. Dillon is no stranger to the program, though. He assisted Pat Santoro for the previous 18 seasons in Bethlehem and also coached under him at Maryland. Dillon is also a Lehigh alum and a two-time All-American in 2003 and 2004. Lehigh is coming off an 11-7 season, which is a bit deceiving as they always wrestle a tough non-conference schedule. In 2026, the Mountain Hawks claimed their second-straight EIWA title and finished 16th in the nation on the strength of Luke Stanich’s third-place finish. This dual takes place on Friday night at 7 pm (Eastern) and it’s live on Flo. Here’s a breakdown of both teams’ probable lineups and the matchups for this top 15 collision. 125 lbs #6 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) vs. #22 Matty Lopes (Lehigh) It’ll be an All-Jersey matchup in this intriguing bout between two natives of the Garden State in the 125 lbs contest. Eddie Ventresca is a two-time All-American who won an ACC title last season and was seeded second at the NCAA Tournament, but didn’t place. Throughout the regular season, Ventresca picked up wins over three of the eventual 2026 All-Americans. He is stout defensively and tends to get in low-scoring bouts that need extra time. At the NCAA Tournament, both losses were in either sudden victory or tiebreakers. We’re not sure exactly what to expect from Matty Lopes at 125 lbs. As of late summer, it was uncertain whether Lopes would compete at 125 or 133 lbs. Lopes has competed at one event in college (in November of 2024) at 125 lbs, but has been at 133 lbs since then. Last year, Lopes redshirted and captured titles at the Princeton Open, the Journeymen Classic, and notched three wins over national qualifiers. 133 lbs #3 Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech) vs. Keanu Dillard (Lehigh) We started with an All-New Jersey matchup and now here’s one between two Pennsylvania natives who combined to win seven state championships. Aaron Seidel competed right away for the Hokies in 2025-26 and finished third at the freshmen-heavy 133 lb NCAA bracket. His final win at that tournament came over recent Senior World medalist Marcus Blaze. Speaking of freestyle, Seidel shined over the summer capturing a U20 world title in freestyle. Seidel started his season last weekend with three techs and a fall while winning the Southeast Open. One of the techs came over #10 Gunner Andrick of West Virginia. Dillard is expected to make his official collegiate debut and he’ll have his hands full. This won’t be Dillard’s first collegiate match, as he entered the Clarion Open as a high school junior and went 3-1. In addition to his four PA state titles, Dillard also has some international hardware. He was a bronze medalist in freestyle two years ago at the U17 World Championships. Dillard was the #29 overall recruit in a Class of 2026 that was ranked #12 in the nation by InterMat. 141 lbs #5 Bo Bassett (Virginia Tech) vs. #1 Luke Stanich (Lehigh) This one is the big one! Regardless of the actual rankings, most fans are treating this like a #1 vs. #2 matchup and for good reason. Bo Bassett will make his Virginia Tech debut slightly more than a week after winning a Senior world championship in freestyle over in Kazakhstan. He confirmed with multiple sources that he wants this match and intends to wrestle. Even though this is Bassett’s first appearance in a Hokie singlet, he has a decent amount of experience at the collegiate level. In each of the last two years, Bassett has claimed titles at the Clarion Open and the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial, before starting his high school season. Last year, Bassett hung bonus points on a pair of wrestlers who ended up as top-six seeds at the NCAA Tournament. Stanich comes in as the top-ranked wrestler in the land after a third-place finish at the 2026 NCAA Championships. His only loss during the 2025-26 campaign came in sudden victory to two-time NCAA champion Jesse Mendez in the national semifinals. In the summer before last season, Stanich traveled internationally and won a U20 world championship and suffered an injury which kept him out for the first two months of the season. This season, Stanich looks healthy - evidenced by his five tech falls at the Princeton Open. Not only is this an excellent matchup on paper, but these two also have some history. In order for Stanich to compete at the U20 World Championships, he had to go through Bassett in the finals of the World Team Trials. He prevailed two matches to one in their best-of-three competition. Since then, there have been few wrestlers who have been able to replicate Stanich’s ability to slow Bassett down with handfighting. We’ll see if that happens again. 149 lbs #1 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) vs. #22 Jayden Scott (Lehigh) Making his return to the Virginia Tech lineup is 2024 NCAA champion Caleb Henson. Henson had a good redshirt year with plenty of high level experience and competition on the freestyle scene. He is only the second Hokie wrestler to capture a national championship and could cement himself as one of the best (if not, the best) wrestlers in program history as he already has three All-American honors, two NCAA finals appearances, and a pair of ACC crowns. Jayden Scott is in his first year with the Lehigh squad after transferring in from North Carolina. Scott was a 2025 national qualifier after making the ACC semifinals and receiving an at-large berth. He ended up going 1-2 in his Philadelphia. In his Lehigh debut, Scott went 4-1 last weekend and was third at the Princeton Open. His only loss came by a point to All-American Cross Wasilewski (Penn) and he picked up a ranked win over Rider’s Dylan Layton. These two do have one career meeting against each other. During the first week of their first collegiate season, Scott took Henson to tiebreakers at the Southeast Open, before losing by a point. 157 lbs #8 Collin Gaj (Virginia Tech) vs. #15 Logan Rozynski (Lehigh) One of the deeper weight classes in the country this season is 157 lbs. That is on display here with All-American Collin Gaj ranked eighth and two-time EIWA champion Logan Rozynski at #15. Gaj competed for the Hokies as a true freshman in 2025-26 and won an ACC title, which gave him the #4 seed at NCAA’s. He would overcome a second-round upset before winning four straight consolation matches before settling into fifth place. Rozynski turned heads last November when he posted an upset win over the returning national champion Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) at the National Duals Invitational. A few weeks later, Rozynski was injured and ended up missing about a month and a half’s worth of action. He ended up going 1-2 at the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year. For Lehigh to pull an upset, they’d probably need a win at 157 lbs. 165 lbs #19 Noah Nininger/Mac Church (Virginia Tech) vs. Richie Grungo (Lehigh) We came into the year with the understanding that Noah Nininger might have a leg up in the battle for the starting role at 165 lbs. Returning starter and two-time national qualifier, Mac Church, isn’t going down without a fight and won the season-opening Southeast Open, beating Nininger in the finals. Church qualified for the 2026 NCAA Tournament after finishing as an ACC runner-up. Nininger is coming up from 149 lbs, but showed he was able to hold his own over the summer by picking up some huge wins on his way to a third place finish at the U23 Trials. Lehigh has a large group of 165 lb options, but Richie Grungo is a returning starter and 2026 EIWA championship entry at 174 lbs. He took seventh in the conference and is now down a weight class, the same one that he competed at in 2024-25. During that campaign, Grungo put together a 17-13 record and had one win over a national qualifier. Both coaching staffs might try to outdo the other with the potential options and matchups that each might present at this weight. 174 lbs #18 Ryan Burton (Virginia Tech) vs. Brady Collins (Lehigh) Like his teammates, Bassett and Seidel, Ryan Burton also enjoyed some international success over the summer, earning a bronze medal at the U20 World Championships. Burton redshirted during his initial year in Blacksburg, but amassed a 19-6 record, good enough for a top 20 preseason ranking. In week one, Burton justified that billing with a 7-2 victory over Illinois’ national qualifier Collin Kelly, the #20 ranked wrestler in the country. Coach Dillon has plenty of options at 174 lbs; however, only Brady Collins is listed as a probable starter for this match. Collins is also a redshirt freshman. He’s coming off an 11-10 season and saw action in three late-season dual meets. In his dual debut against Penn, Collins’ 4-1 victory over Caden Bellis was instrumental in Lehigh’s 24-16 victory over their former EIWA rivals. Last weekend, at the Princeton Open, Collins went 4-1 and picked up another win over Bellis. 184 lbs #23 Jaden Bullock/Sergio Desiante/Ben Weader (Virginia Tech) vs. #21 Rylan Rogers (Lehigh) At this weight, it’s Virginia Tech with the options. They have the ACC’s returning champion at the weight, Jaden Bullock, along with Sergio Desiante, the conference’s runner-up at 174 lbs a year ago. Last week, the pair met at the Southeast Open and Bullock picked up a 6-3 win. Both wrestlers ended up with losses at the event, so it’s unclear who the coaching staff might favor. They also could turn to redshirt freshman Ben Weader, who went 5-1 in that same bracket with a 4-1 loss to Desiante. Lehigh’s probable starter is also coming off a loss over the weekend. Rylan Rogers went 3-1 at the Princeton Open, with a loss to Stanford freshman Slava Shahbazyan. Last year was the first time that the former top recruit advanced to the NCAA Tournament - he did so after finishing third in a stacked EIWA weight class. Rogers made the most of his trip to nationals and advanced to the bloodround after starting as the #16 seed. 197 lbs #8 Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech) vs. #29 Caden Rogers/Cael Weidemoyer (Lehigh) We’re expecting to see Sonny Sasso for the first time this season. Sasso had an interesting 2026 postseason, winning the ACC title in spectacular fashion, beating two All-Americans along the way. Those wins helped him earn the #4 seed at nationals. Unfortunately, Sasso went 1-2 in Cleveland. The ACC tournament version of Sasso is capable of racking up bonus points in this bout. With a busy schedule over the weekend, after Virginia Tech, freshman Cael Weidemoyer is likely to make his Lehigh debut. We’ll see if it’s against Sasso and the Hokies. Weidemoyer was the #56 overall recruit in the Class of 2026 and was an Ironman finalist as a senior. Rogers was a national qualifier in 2025, but missed the entire 2025-26 campaign due to an injury. He returned last weekend with a runner-up finish at the Princeton Open. He fell via bonus points to one of Sasso’s ACC foes, Angelo Posada (Stanford). 285 lbs #13 Jimmy Mullen (Virginia Tech) vs. #5 Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) Provided they start at 125 lbs, we’ll close with an excellent heavyweight matchup featuring two top 15 wrestlers. Jimmy Mullen is a two-time NCAA qualifier and a 2025 ACC finalist. During the 2025-26 regular season, Mullen earned tournament titles at the Keystone Classic and the Southern Scuffle. He started this year off on an impressive note, winning the Southeast Open and earning bonus points in all four of his matches. Looking to get over the hump this year is two-time EIWA champion and three-time finalist Nathan Taylor. Taylor was an NCAA bloodround finisher in 2024 and has twice earned top-six seeds at the NCAA Championships. He also won his week one tune-up at the Princeton Open, though he was pushed more than Mullen in his win. In the finals, Taylor defeated Army West Point’s national qualifier and U23 world team member Lucas Stoddard, 5-3. Despite being veterans and multiple-time national qualifiers, these two haven’t met during their collegiate careers. Should Lehigh pull an upset or two along the way, Taylor is a good ace-in-the-hole to have waiting at the end of the lineup.

Tony and Todd talk about week one of the collegiate wrestling season and preview week 2 and all of the fantasy wrestling strategies you'll need to be successful.

The 2026 Senior World Championships wrapped up on Sunday afternoon with the men’s and women’s freestyle teams claiming team titles and 15 Americans came away with medals. Nine in men’s freestyle and six in women’s freestyle. Those world medalists will add their names (or add another medal to their existing total) the list below which is American world medalist in all three styles since 2001. Men’s Freestyle Vito Arujau (2): 2024 - Bronze, 2023 - Gold Bo Bassett (1): 2026 - Gold Marcus Blaze (1): 2026 - Bronze Jordan Burroughs (9): 2022 - Gold, 2021 - Gold, 2019 - Bronze, 2018 - Bronze, 2017 - Gold, 2015 - Gold, 2014 - Bronze, 2013 - Gold, 2011 - Gold Joe Colon (1): 2018 - Bronze Daniel Cormier (1): 2007 - Bronze J’den Cox (5): 2022 - Silver, 2021 - Bronze, 2019 - Gold, 2018 - Gold, 2017 - Bronze Kyle Dake (6): 2026 - Gold, 2023 - Silver, 2022 - Gold, 2021 - Gold, 2019 - Gold, 2018 - Gold Yianni Diakomihalis (1): 2022 - Silver Tervel Dlagnev (2): 2014 - Bronze, 2009 - Bronze Brandon Eggum (1): 2001 - Silver Daton Fix (1): 2021 - Silver Thomas Gilman (3): 2022 - Silver, 2021 - Gold, 2017 - Silver James Green (2): 2017 - Silver, 2015 - Bronze Nick Gwiazdowski (2): 2018 - Bronze, 2017 - Bronze Levi Haines (2): 2026 - Gold, 2025 - Silver Wyatt Hendrickson (1): 2026 - Bronze Sammie Henson (1): 2006 - Bronze Jake Herbert (1): 2009 - Silver Trent Hidlay (2): 2026 - Silver, 2025 - Gold Spencer Lee (1): 2026 - Gold Kerry McCoy (1): 2003 - Silver Mason Parris (1): 2023 - Bronze Donny Pritzlaff (1): 2006 - Bronze Zain Retherford (3): 2026 - Bronze, 2023 - Gold, 2022 - Silver Cael Sanderson (1): 2003 - Silver Kyle Snyder (9): 2026 - Gold, 2025 - Gold, 2023 - Bronze, 2022 - Gold, 2021 - Silver, 2019 - Bronze, 2018 - Silver, 2017 - Gold, 2015 - Gold Logan Stieber (1): 2016 - Gold David Taylor (5): 2024 - Bronze, 2023 - Gold, 2022 - Gold, 2021 - Silver, 2018 - Gold Tolly Thompson (1): 2005 - Bronze Zahid Valencia (2): 2025 - Gold, 2023 - Bronze Jake Varner (1): 2011 - Bronze Joe Williams (2): 2005 - Bronze, 2001 - Bronze Real Woods (1): 2025 - Bronze Bill Zadick (1): 2006 - Gold Mike Zadick (1): 2006 - Silver Women’s Freestyle Ali Bernard (1): 2011 - Bronze Kennedy Blades (2): 2026 - Bronze, 2025 - Bronze Jenna Burkert (1): 2021 - Bronze Clarissa Chun (1): 2008 - Gold Katie Downing (1): 2007 - Bronze, 2005 - Bronze Amit Elor (2): 2023 - Gold, 2022 - Gold Tina George (2): 2003 - Silver, 2002 - Silver Adeline Gray (9): 2023 - Bronze, 2021 - Gold, 2019 - Gold, 2018 - Gold, 2015 - Gold, 2014 - Gold, 2013 - Bronze, 2012 - Gold, 2011 - Bronze Dymond Guilford (1): 2026 - Bronze Sarah Hildebrandt (4): 2023 - Bronze, 2022 - Bronze, 2021 - Silver, 2018 - Silver Leigh Jaynes (1): 2015 - Bronze Macey Kilty (2): 2024 - Bronze, 2023 - Silver Alyssa Lampe (2): 2013 - Bronze, 2012 - Bronze Becka Leathers (1): 2017 - Bronze Everest Leydecker (1): 2026 - Gold Kristie Marano (4): 2007 - Silver, 2006 - Bronze, 2003 - Gold, 2002 - Bronze Helen Maroulis (9): 2026 - Bronze, 2025 - Gold, 2023 - Bronze, 2022 - Silver, 2021 - Gold, 2017 - Gold, 2015 - Gold, 2014 - Bronze, 2012 - Silver Sara McMann (3): 2007 - Bronze, 2005 - Bronze, 2003 - Silver Tamyra Mensah-Stock (4): 2022 - Gold, 2021 - Bronze, 2019 - Gold, 2018 - Bronze Kayla Miracle (2): 2022 - Silver, 2021 - Silver Patricia Miranda (2): 2006 - Bronze, 2003 - Silver Forrest Molinari (1): 2021 - Bronze Tocarra Montgomery (1): 2003 - Silver, 2001 - Silver Stephanie Murata (1): 2001 - Silver Abby Nette (1): 2026 - Silver Adaugo Nwachukwu (1): 2026 - Gold Tatiana Padilla (1): 2010 - Bronze, 2008 - Bronze Jennifer Page (1): 2023 - Bronze Dom Parrish (1): 2022 - Gold Elena Pirozhkova (4): 2014 - Silver, 2013 - Bronze, 2012 - Gold, 2010 - Silver Alli Ragan (2): 2017 - Silver, 2016 - Silver Sally Roberts (2): 2005 - Bronze, 2003 - Bronze Iris Smith (1): 2005 - Gold Mallory Velte (2): 2022 - Bronze, 2018 - Bronze Kylie Welker (2): 2025 - Bronze, 2024 - Bronze Jacarra Winchester (2): 2023 - Silver, 2019 - Gold Jenny Wong (1): 2003 - Bronze Men’s Greco-Roman Andy Bisek (2): 2015 - Bronze, 2014 - Bronze Dremiel Byers (3): 2009 - Silver, 2007 Bronze, 2002 Gold Adam Coon (1): 2018 - Silver Rulon Gardner (1): 2001 - Gold G’Angelo Hancock (1): 2021 - Bronze Justin Lester (2): 2007 - Bronze, 2006 - Bronze Matt Lindland (1): 2001 - Silver Justin Ruiz (1): 2005 - Bronze Brad Vering (1): 2007 - Silver Joe Warren (1): 2006 - Gold

Kewaskum

Becker

Downers Grove South

COLUMBIA, Mo. — After nearly three decades leading Mizzou Wrestling, head coach Brian Smith announced that the 2026-27 season will be his final at the helm of the Tigers. Smith will retire following his 29th season leading the program, leaving behind a legacy that has helped establish Tiger Style as one of the nation's premier collegiate wrestling programs. With Smith’s retirement, Mizzou Director of Athletics Laird Veatch has appointed current associate head coach Kendric Maple to take over as the program’s head coach following the 2026-27 season. Mizzou Athletics will host a press conference Thursday, Nov. 5, at 3 p.m. CT inside the EquipmentShare Club 1926 in Memorial Stadium’s North End Zone, featuring Veatch, Smith and Maple. “For almost 30 years at Mizzou, Brian Smith has established a championship program and an elite team culture that has shaped generations of student-athletes and elevated our entire wrestling program,” Veatch said. “We’re grateful for everything Brian has given this university — and we’re incredibly excited to support Kendric Maple as he builds on that foundation. Our focus right now is on the 2026-27 team and the opportunities ahead this season, and the best way to honor Coach Smith's legacy is to keep competing and pursuing championships." “Very few coaches get the opportunity to leave on their own terms. I'm grateful that I can do that, and I'm grateful that I can leave this program in a position of strength,” Smith said. “We have outstanding coaches, an incredible staff, and a talented young team. I believe the future of Mizzou Wrestling is as bright as it's ever been. I am thankful to the University of Missouri, the people of Columbia and the state of Missouri for the incredible support they have shown our program over the years. Thank you for believing in Tiger Style and for being part of this incredible journey. Now let’s go do something special at the NCAA Championship in St. Louis.” “Brian Smith’s ‘Tiger Style’ not only built champions. His branded method of coaching also molded successful and productive lives for all his followers,” said Bob Blitz, Vice Chair of the University of Missouri Board of Curators and Chair of the Mizzou Intercollegiate Athletics Special Committee. “Brian’s excellent record as a coach hopefully will be duplicated or even exceeded, but as a person Brian can never be replaced.” Maple enters his eighth season with Mizzou Wrestling and fifth as associate head coach after joining the program as an assistant in 2019. During his time with the Tigers, Maple has helped coach seven wrestlers to 17 All-America honors, 11 conference champions and Keegan O’Toole to back-to-back NCAA titles in 2022 and 2023. He also helped Mizzou earn a fifth-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Championships, the program’s best result since 2017. Before arriving at Mizzou, Maple coached at Nebraska, Purdue and his alma mater, Oklahoma. As a wrestler for the Sooners, he was a three-time NCAA All-American and won the 2013 NCAA Championship at 141 pounds, finishing his collegiate career with a 127-25 record. He also found success in freestyle wrestling, winning the UWW Freestyle World Cup in 2018 and the U.S. Freestyle Open in 2017 and 2022. “Coach Smith has meant so much to me, this program and the University of Missouri,” Maple said. “His impact goes far beyond wins and championships, building a culture, a family and a standard that has shaped generations of young men. I’m incredibly grateful for his mentorship, friendship and trust. I’m humbled and honored to lead this program in the future, and I look forward to building on the foundation he has established, pursuing championships and developing young men who make Mizzou proud. But right now, our focus remains on making this season a special one for Coach Smith and our team.” Since his hiring on May 5, 1998, Smith has transformed Mizzou Wrestling into perennial contenders for conference and national championships. In 28 seasons, Smith has guided the Tigers to 351 dual victories, accounting for more than half of the program's 681 all-time wins. Throughout his tenure, Smith has coached 66 conference champions, 203 NCAA qualifiers and 72 All-Americans, while leading six Tigers to a combined 10 individual national championships. He holds a career record of 354-130-3 (.730) at Mizzou and led the program to 12 consecutive conference team titles from 2012-23. Smith's impact has extended to the national stage, where Missouri has consistently competed among the country's top programs. His teams have earned two NCAA Championship team trophies, finishing third in 2007 and fourth in 2015, and placed in the top 10 at nine of the last 12 national tournaments. Smith has also helped develop athletes who excelled on the international stage. Former Tigers Ben Askren and J'den Cox represented the United States at the 2008 and 2016 Summer Olympics, respectively, with Cox capturing a bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro. More recently, O'Toole claimed U20 and U23 world titles in 2021 and 2023, respectively; Rocky Elam captured U20 world gold in 2021; and Aeoden Sinclair won gold at the 2026 U20 Championships. During Smith's tenure, Mizzou wrestlers have made 20 appearances at World Championships across multiple age groups. Beyond competition, Smith has emphasized the development of student-athletes in the classroom and throughout their lives. Under his leadership, Mizzou wrestlers have earned 180 academic honors. His coaching has also been recognized nationally, including the 2007 Dan Gable Coach of the Year award, the 2017 NWCA Coach of the Year honor, three Big 12 Coach of the Year awards and five MAC Coach of the Year honors. As Smith enters his final season, Mizzou Wrestling will celebrate the coach, mentor and leader whose impact has shaped generations of Tigers and helped define the standard of Tiger Style. His final campaign will provide an opportunity to honor his career, recognize his contributions to the program and reflect on a legacy that will continue well beyond his time on the mat.

The college season kicked off last weekend; however, most of the action took place in a tournament format. There were a couple of duals scattered here and there, but this week the season really moves into gear with plenty of good matchups. The intriguing matchups are exactly what we’re focusing on today, matchups of the individual variety that may take place within some of those duals. Later in the week, we’ll focus on one specific dual that is loaded with great matchups, but here’s a tease. A weight-by-weight look at the ranked versus ranked matches slated to take place during dual meet action from Friday-Sunday. There will probably be some in the tournaments and pool events taking place over the weekend, but it’s frustrating to try and project those without entries and trying to project advancement. 125 lbs #6 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) vs. #22 Matty Lopes (Lehigh) #7 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) vs. #33 Oumar Tounkara (Drexel) #16 Conrad Hendriksen/Sebastian Degenarro (Oklahoma) vs. #30 Daniel Guanajuato (Northern Colorado) 133 lbs #18 Isaiah Powe (Oklahoma) vs. #27 Carter Schmidt (Northern Colorado) 141 lbs #1 Luke Stanich (Lehigh) vs. #5 Bo Bassett (Virginia Tech) #4 Carter Nogle (Air Force) vs. #24 Isaiah Schaefer (Purdue) #7 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) vs. #16 Luke Willochell (Wyoming) 149 lbs #1 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) vs. #22 Jayden Scott (Lehigh) #2 Sergio Vega (Oklahoma State) vs. #24 Anthony Santaniello (Drexel) #16 Lucas Kapusta (Lock Haven) vs. #20 Tom Crook (Indiana) #20 Tom Crook (Indiana) vs. #22 Jayden Scott (Lehigh) #21 Michael Gioffre (Illinois) vs. #32 Noah Tapia (Hofstra) 157 lbs #8 Collin Gaj (Virginia Tech) vs. #15 Logan Rozynski (Lehigh) #27 Conner Harer (Rutgers) vs. #28 Jonathan Ley (Navy) 165 lbs #14 Connor Euton (Iowa State) vs. #24 Moses Espinoza-Owens (Utah Valley) #16 Andrew Barbosa (Rutgers) vs. #33 Dylan Elmore (Navy) #21 Tyler Lillard (Indiana) vs. #28 Nick Stampoulos (Lock Haven) 174 lbs #2 Christopher Minto (Nebraska) vs. #32 Riley Davis (Wyoming) #4 Danny Wask (Navy) vs. #19 Ryan Ford (Rutgers) #12 Alex Facundo (Oklahoma State) vs. #24 Jasiah Queen (Drexel) 184 lbs #8 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers) vs. #32 Daniel Williams (Navy) #21 Rylan Rogers (Lehigh) vs. #23 Jaden Bullock (Virginia Tech) #21 Rylan Rogers (Lehigh) vs. #28 Sam Goin (Indiana) #22 Tomas Brooker (Appalachian State) vs. #30 Sammy Gautreau (Lock Haven) #28 Sam Goin (Indiana) vs. #30 Sammy Gautreau (Lock Haven) 197 lbs #4 Joey Novak (Wyoming) vs. #5 Camden McDanel (Nebraska) #8 Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech) vs. #29 Caden Rogers (Lehigh) #18 Gabe Sollars (Indiana) vs. #29 Caden Rogers (Lehigh) #23 Kael Bennie (Utah Valley) vs. #32 Carson Floyd/Brayden Thompson (Iowa State) 285 lbs #1 Konner Doucet/Dreshaun Ross (Oklahoma State) vs. #20 Nate Schon (Drexel) #4 Christian Carroll (Wyoming) vs. #14 Cade Ziola (Nebraska) #5 Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) vs. #13 Jimmy Mullen (Virginia Tech) #5 Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) vs. #17 Connor Barket (Indiana) #11 Spencer Lanosga (Navy) vs. #21 Daniel Herrera (Rutgers) #17 Connor Barket (Indiana) vs. #23 Stephan Monchery (Appalachian State)

Real American Freestyle (RAF), the main stage for wrestling's elite, today announced that RAF17 will take place Saturday, January 23, 2027 at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event marks the league's first stop of the new year and its debut in the city, continuing RAF's expansion into new markets across the country. Tickets go on sale Friday, November 6, at realamericanfreestyle.com. RAF17 will bring some of the biggest names in wrestling and combat sports to Charlotte, featuring Olympic champions, World medalists, NCAA standouts and MMA stars competing in RAF's live fight-night format. Matchups and additional event details will be announced in the coming weeks. The Charlotte debut follows a landmark year of growth for RAF, which has expanded its presence across the U.S. and internationally since launching in August 2025. RAF closes out 2026 with three major events: RAF Abu Dhabi at Etihad Arena on November 14, RAF15 in Chicago on November 28 and RAF16 on Long Island, New York on December 19. About Real American Freestyle Real American Freestyle (RAF) is the first unscripted professional freestyle wrestling league and the new main stage for the sport’s elite. Founded by Chad Bronstein, Izzy Martinez, and Eric Bischoff, RAF brings Olympic champions, World medalists, NCAA standouts, and top MMA crossover athletes together in a modern fight-night format built for today’s combat sports audience. Since launching in August 2025, RAF has quickly emerged as one of the fastest-growing properties in combat sports, generating billions of media impressions and more than 300 million social views per event. RAF combines elite competition, global storytelling, and high-level production to create matchups and moments that extend far beyond the mat. All RAF events stream live exclusively on FOX Nation. Beyond the professional league, RAF is building a broader wrestling ecosystem through athlete development initiatives, a national youth wrestling tournament series, and club acquisition under RAF NEXT GEN and RAF Clubs. For more information and updates, visit realamericanfreestyle.com or follow @RAFWrestlingUSA.

Delta

Gilroy

Quakertown

Baldwinsville

Patriot

North Penn-Liberty

Nazareth

We're off and running with the second week of the 2026-27 season and have a semi-full schedule of DI duals this week. A total of 31 duals will be contested. Since it can be difficult to figure out where and when to watch all of these events, InterMat has put together a list of all of the live-streamed events occurring this week. Below are the dates/times and how to watch each match (with links). All times are Eastern. Friday, November 6: Virginia Tech at Lehigh 7:00 PM FloWrestling Iowa State at Utah Valley 9:00 PM FloWrestling Saturday, November 7: Davis & Elkins at George Mason 9:00 AM ESPN+ Marymount at George Mason 10:30 AM ESPN+ Union College at George Mason 12:00 PM ESPN+ Williams at George Mason 1:30 PM ESPN+ Arizona State, Bucknell, Central Michigan, Edinboro, Indiana, Kent State, Michigan, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, VMI, Wisconsin at Michigan State Open 9:30 AM FloWrestling Bloomsburg vs. Sacred Heart at Bethlehem, PA 10:00 AM FloWrestling Hofstra vs. Illinois at Bethlehem, PA 10:00 AM FloWrestling Appalachian State vs. Hofstra at Bethlehem, PA 12:00 PM FloWrestling Bloomsburg vs. Duke at Bethlehem, PA 12:00 PM FloWrestling LIU vs. Sacred Heart at Bethlehem, PA 12:00 PM FloWrestling Duke vs. Navy at Bethlehem, PA 2:00 PM FloWrestling Indiana vs. Lock Haven at Bethlehem, PA 2:00 PM FloWrestling LIU vs. Rutgers at Bethlehem, PA 2:00 PM FloWrestling Appalachian State vs. Lock Haven at Bethlehem, PA 4:00 PM FloWrestling Indiana vs. Lehigh at Bethlehem, PA 4:00 PM FloWrestling Navy vs. Rutgers at Bethlehem, PA 4:00 PM FloWrestling CSU Bakersfield at Menlo Open, Atherton, CA 12:00 PM FloWrestling Air Force vs. The Citadel at Mount Pleasant, SC 12:30 PM FloWrestling Gardner-Webb vs. Virginia at Mount Pleasant, SC 1:00 PM FloWrestling Air Force vs. Purdue at Mount Pleasant, SC 2:30 PM FloWrestling Purdue vs. The Citadel at Mount Pleasant, SC 5:00 PM FloWrestling Virginia vs. Glenville State at Mount Pleasant, SC 5:00 PM FloWrestling Buffalo at South Dakota State, 5:00 PM FloWrestling Mercyhurst vs. West Virginia at Cameron, WV 7:00 PM Bellarmine at Ohio 7:00 PM ESPN+ Sunday, November 8: Appalachian State, Binghamton, Bloomsburg, Clarion, Columbia, Cornell, Davidson, Duke, Franklin & Marshall, Harvard, Hofstra, Illinois, Indiana, Lehigh, LIU, Lock Haven, Maryland, Navy, NC State, Sacred Heart at Journeymen Collegiate Classic, Bethlehem, PA 9:00 AM FloWrestling American at Averett Cougar Open 9:00 AM FloWrestling Presbyterian at Presbyterian Round Robin 11:00 AM Buffalo, Minnesota, North Dakota State, South Dakota State at Daktronics Invitational 11:00 AM FloWrestling Drexel at Oklahoma State 3:00 PM ESPN+ Wyoming at Nebraska 4:00 PM B1G+ Oklahoma at Northern Colorado 4:00 PM FloWrestling Penn State Behrend at Mercyhurst 6:00 PM Friends at SIU Edwardsville 7:30 PM ESPN+ Maryville at SIU Edwardsville 9:00 PM ESPN+

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.