The National Duals Invitational sponsored by Paycom will feature a first round dual between Tom Ryan's Ohio State Buckeyes and Mark Branch's Wyoming Cowboys. The Cowboys enter the contest as underdogs, but they'll be prepared to make noise in this dual with a returning core of four NCAA qualifiers and several high-impact new faces.

This dual features five nationally ranked matchups starting at 149 lbs where Oregon State All-American transfer #11 Ethan Stiles will represent the Buckeyes against Wyoming's #21 Gabe Willochell. A victory for Willochell would be an upset by ranking, but Willochell already owns a win over Stiles from their meeting at the Wyoming vs Oregon State dual this January. Stiles had three first-period takedowns and a 9-2 lead after the first three minutes, but Willochell stormed back for the 11-10 win in one of the wilder matches of the season.

Watch Willochell and Stiles' 21 point thriller from January

Ohio State's #9 Brandon Cannon and Wyoming's #16 Jared Hill will square off for the first time in their careers in a top-20 showdown. Cannon will be favored, but Hill has shown the ability to notch notable victories including three over All-American Vinny Zerban who defeated Cannon at the NCAA Championships in March.

At 184 lbs, we'll see a pair of Ohio high school wrestling stars in #7 Dylan Fishback of Ohio State and #14 Eddie Neitenbach of Wyoming. Fishback enters his redshirt junior campaign after back to back round of 12 finishes at NC State. He'll have a tough test in Neitenbach who reached the round of 16 at NCAAs in his true freshman year.

The last time #11 Luke Geog and #4 Joey Novak met, Novak got his hand raised after a fall, but the final result doesn't tell the whole story. Geog led that contest 8-6 in the third period before Novak scrambled his way to a cow catcher and ended the match. Since that time, Novak has only improved and reached All-American status in March. The Cowboys will need him to repeat his victory over Geog in this dual.

Watch Novak and Geog's previous meeting at CKLV in 2023

#6 Nick Fedlman and #27 Christian Carroll haven't wrestled each other since high school, but their previous match was one of the most memorable heavyweight bouts in Who's Number One history. Feldman took the 3-2 victory in 2021 in a bout that featured elite scrambles and a ton of incredible action. They'll meet for the first time since then at the National Duals Invitational.

Watch Christian Carroll vs Nick Feldman at 2021 Who's Number One

2025-26 Ohio State Overview

Head Coach: Tom Ryan (20th season)

Assistants: J Jaggers, Bo Jordan, Logan Stieber

2025 NCAA tournament finish: 5th

2025 NCAA tournament points: 51.5

2025 Big Ten tournament finish: 6th

2025 Dual  Record: 13-3

Returning All-Americans: 4 (Jesse Mendez, Ethan Stiles, Carson Kharchla, Nick Feldman)

Returning National Qualifiers: 12 (Brendan McCrone, Nic Bouzakis, Jesse Mendez, Ethan Stiles, Brandon Cannon, Paddy Gallagher, Carson Kharchla, Dylan Fishback, Luke Geog, Seth Shumate, Ryder Rogotzke, Nick Feldman)

Key Off-Season Transfers: Ethan Stiles (Oregon State), Dylan Fishback (NC State)

Last NCAA champion: 2025 (Jesse Mendez)

Highest NCAA team finish: 1st (2015)

Highest NCAA team finish under Ryan: 1st (2015)

Most national placers in a season under Ryan: 8 (2018)

2025-26 Wyoming Overview

Head Coach: Mark Branch (18th season)

Assistants: McCade Ford, Branson Ashworth, Josh Heil, Sam Mitchell

2025 NCAA tournament finish: 22nd

2025 NCAA tournament points: 19.5

2025 Big 12 tournament finish: 10th

2025 Dual  Record: 12-6

Returning All-Americans: 1 (Joey Novak)

Returning National Qualifiers: 4 (Gabe Willochell, Jared Hill, Eddie Neitenbach, Joey Novak)

Key Off-Season Transfers: Sefton Douglas (Western Wyoming), Cody Phelps (Michigan State), Christian Carroll (Iowa State)

Last NCAA champion: 1960 (Dick Ballinger)

Highest NCAA team finish: 3rd (1960)

Highest NCAA team finish under Branch: 17th (2011, 2018)

Most national placers in a season under Branch: 2 (2011, 2012, 2013, 2018)

Probable Lineups

Ohio State

125 lbs - #19 Brendan McCrone

133 lbs - #8 Ben Davino

141 lbs - #1 Jesse Mendez

149 lbs - #11 Ethan Stiles

157 lbs - #9 Brandon Cannon 

165 lbs - #16 Paddy Gallagher

174 lbs - #10 Carson Kharchla

184 lbs - #7 Dylan Fishback

197 lbs - #11 Luke Geog

285 lbs - #6 Nick Feldman

Wyoming

125 lbs - Sefton Douglas

133 lbs - Cody Phelps

141 lbs - Cole Brooks

149 lbs - #21 Gabe Willochell

157 lbs - #16 Jared Hill

165 lbs - Sloan Swan

174 lbs - Riley Davis

184 lbs - #14 Eddie Neitenbach

197 lbs - #4 Joey Novak

285 lbs - #27 Christian Carroll

Ranked Wrestlers

Ohio State

125 lbs - #19 Brendan McCrone

133 lbs - #8 Ben Davino

141 lbs - #1 Jesse Mendez

149 lbs - #11 Ethan Stiles

157 lbs - #9 Brandon Cannon 

165 lbs - #16 Paddy Gallagher

174 lbs - #10 Carson Kharchla

184 lbs - #7 Dylan Fishback

197 lbs - #11 Luke Geog

285 lbs - #6 Nick Feldman

Wyoming

149 lbs - #21 Gabe Willochell

157 lbs - #16 Jared Hill

184 lbs - #14 Eddie Neitenbach

197 lbs - #4 Joey Novak

285 lbs - #27 Christian Carroll

Key Matchups

149 lbs - #11 Ethan Stiles, Ohio State vs #21 Gabe Willochell, Wyoming

157 lbs - #9 Brandon Cannon, Ohio State vs #16 Jared Hill, Wyoming

184 lbs - #7 Dylan Fishback, Ohio State vs #14 Eddie Neitenbach, Wyoming

197 lbs - #11 Luke Geog, Ohio State vs #4 Joey Novak, Wyoming

285 lbs - #6 Nick Feldman, Ohio State vs #27 Christian Carroll, Wyoming

Prediction

Wyoming wrestlers are always ready to compete, and while they're ranked behind nine out of ten of Ohio State's starters, don't be surprised if this dual is much closer than that.

125 lbs - Brendan McCrone, Ohio State over Sefton Douglas, Wyoming by decision

133 lbs - Ben Davino, Ohio State over Cody Phelps, Wyoming by major decision

141 lbs - Jesse Mendez, Ohio State over Cole Brooks, Wyoming by major decision

149 lbs - Gabe Willochell, Wyoming over Ethan Stiles, Ohio State by decision

157 lbs - Brandon Cannon, Ohio State over Jared Hill, Wyoming by decision

165 lbs - Paddy Gallagher, Ohio State over Sloan Swan, Wyoming by decision

174 lbs - Carson Kharchla, Ohio State over Riley Davis, Wyoming by major decision

184 lbs - Dylan Fishback, Ohio State over Eddie Neitenbach, Wyoming by decision

197 lbs - Joey Novak, Wyoming over Luke Geog, Ohio State by decision

285 lbs - Nick Feldman, Ohio State over Christian Carroll by decision

Final Score: Ohio State 27, Wyoming 6