Today · 3:30 PM UTC

Utah JV State

Today · 11:00 PM UTC

Vernon Township, NJ @ North Hunterdon, N

Tomorrow · 12:00 AM UTC

Long Island vs Hofstra

Tomorrow · 12:00 AM UTC

Lenape Valley/Hopatcong, NJ @ Newton, NJ

Tomorrow · 10:00 PM UTC

Jackson-Reed, DC @ The St. James Perform

Tomorrow · 11:00 PM UTC

Butler, NJ @ Parsippany Hills, NJ

Tomorrow · 11:50 PM UTC

Wilmington vs Mount Union

Tomorrow · 11:50 PM UTC

Muskingum vs Heidelberg

Feb 11-12, 7:00 PM UTC

UHSAA 6A Boys & Girls State Champs

Feb 11, 10:00 PM UTC

Carl Albert State vs Texas Woman's

Feb 11, 11:00 PM UTC

Depaul Catholic, NJ @ St Peters Preparat

Feb 11, 11:00 PM UTC

Gannon vs Ashland

Feb 11, 11:00 PM UTC

Emmanuel (MA) vs Plymouth State

Feb 11, 11:00 PM UTC

Lyndhurst/North Arlington, NJ @ Hasbrouc

Feb 11, 11:30 PM UTC

Franklin & Marshall vs Morgan St

NCAA D1 Weekly Roundup: 2025-26

NCAA D1 Wrestling Week 15 Roundup: Duals Do Matter

NCAA D1 Wrestling Week 15 Roundup: Duals Do Matter

The world's finest collection of noteworthy happenings from the 15th week of the 2025-26 NCAA D1 wrestling season.

Feb 9, 2026 by Andrew Spey
NCAA D1 Wrestling Week 15 Roundup: Duals Do Matter

I hope you enjoyed the "Big Game" this weekend. I have to call it the "Big Game" because if I say the words Super Bowl™ the NFL will sue me into oblivion. 

Oh no, I've just said it! I take it back! I'm sorry NFL, I didn't mean to! Please don't destroy me and all those whom I hold dear in a litigious tidal wave of pain and destruction! 

Week 14 Rankings | Week 15 Box Scores

Roundups: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14

I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers and pray Roger Goodell takes mercy on a humble college wrestling blogger. 

In the meantime, we've got another week's worth of NCAA D1 action to recap! Here are all the noteworthy happenings from week 15 of the 2025-26 season!

The Dual of the Century of the Week

Mania in Jersey Mike's Arena: Rutgers Defeats Minnesota for the 1st Time Ever

It was a rapturous evening for wrestling fans on the banks of the Raritan River last Friday. This is exactly the thing people mean when they say "dual meets matter". Dual meet final scores still have no bearing on a program's finish at the NCAA Championships, however, the right environment and performance in home duals is what grows a fan base, attracts recruits, and builds the foundation upon which improvements in NCAA Championship results are made. 

The Scarlet Knights got command performances from #28 Ayden Smith at 125, Andrew Clark at 149, and #32 Anthony White at 157, where they registered upsets of #8 Jore Volk, #19 Drew Roberts and #15 Charlie Millard, respectively. 

Things were still in the balance going into the penultimate bout, as #16 Remy Cotton and #25 Gavin Nelson are very evenly matched 197-pounders. That played out on the mat, as the bout went into suddent victory, where Cotton came up huge with a pinfall and a nine point swing for the home team. 

Koy Hopke was able to respond and pick up one more win for the Gophers at heavyweight, but the dual was out of reach at that point. 

The Scarlet Knights celebrated by dousing head coach Scott Goodale in ice water. 

I'm sure there are haters out there who will poo-poo the accomplishment and perhaps suggest saving this level of celebration for an achievement of a higher magnitude. And that's fine to think, I guess, but if we're not here to celebrate wins, what even is the point? Seriously. Go read a book and let everyone who wants to revel in victory enjoy themselves. As they say on Rutgers' campus, play the song. 

Elsewhere in Duals

Big Ten Talk

  • Neither team had their full postseason lineup available, but the Ohio State vs Iowa contest could still boast of having four top-ten bouts. 
    • #3 Pat Kennedy defeated #5 Carson Kharchla for the second time this season. It was the opposite in the 2024-25 season, with Kharchla winning their two meetings. 
    • Conversely, #9 Ben Kueter was 3-0 against #3 Nick Feldman last season. Feldman's 3-2 win over Kueter on Friday was the first of his career. 
    • It was also Jesse Mendez's last match in Columbus. The three-time All-American and two-time champion senior teched his opponent for his Covelli Center curtain call. 
    • The Hawkeyes won the first bouts, which started at 157, but the Buckeyes won the next seven, much to the delight of the packed house in Columbus. 
    • One of the matches Ohio State won was at 184, where Gabe Arnold and Dylan Fishback went to sudden victory. A scramble decided the match, originally in favor of Arnold, only for the officials to determine in a video review that Fishback scored a takedown before the final whistle. You can judge for yourself how you think the call should have gone. 
  • Iowa bounced back and won nine of ten bouts against Michigan State, where their only loss was a forfeit to the Spartans at 197.
  • Illinois vs Purdue had a top ten matchup at 165, where #4 Joey Blaze controlled #8 Braeden Scoles to a 3-0 victory. 
    • Illinois dominated most other bouts, however, ultimatley winning 28 to 6. 
  • Indiana smashed Wisconsin 30-9, which featured two big upsets by the Hoosiers. 
    • At 149, Joey Butler defeated #11 Joey Zargo, and at 133, Jackson Blum beat #11 Zan Fugitt.
  • Penn State dominated their dual meet opponent, as is their custom. Michigan fell to the Nittany Lions, running PSU's consecutive dual meet win streak up to 84. 
    • Nate Desmond filled in for Braeden Davis at 133. The true freshmen took out senior Dylan Ragusiin in sudden victory, 8-5. 
    • #5 Taye Ghadiali defeated #8 Cole Mirasola at heavyweight for Michigan's only win in a 38-3 loss. Michigan's redshirt freshman Cam Atrabone also gave PSU's true freshman phenom #4 PJ Duke all he could handle in a 12-10 decision. 

ACC Conversations

  • Virginia Tech defeated Virginia in the Smithfield Ham Bowl, aka the Commonwealth Clash
    • Hokie 133 true frosh terror Aaron Seidel continues to rampage, notching a 15-0 tec-fall.
    • VT won eight of ten duals, but the Cavaliers secured a big upset at 149, where #33 Wynton Denkins beat #4 Collin Gaj, 3-2.
  • NC State and Pittsburgh were in a battle. The Panthers were in it until the final bout, but Wolfpack stalwart Isaac Trumble slammed the door on Pitt with a 5-2 victory over Dayton Pitzer. 
    • The highlight for Pittsburgh was when #16 Luca Augustine upset #6 Matty Singleton at 174. 

Big 12 Palaver

  • Oklahoma State hosted Little Rock on Friday and honored Native American heritage with sharp looking turquoise singlets.
  • Little Rock's Brock Herman got the dub at 149 over Beau Hickman, who was filling in for Casey Swiderski, who had the week off. 
    • The marquee matchup was at 165, where #2 LaDarion Lockett defeated #5 Matty Bianchi, 7-2.
  • Missouri thwarted West Virginia 26-13, in a battle that featured 13 ranked wrestlers. 
    • The Tigers won six bouts, including a near run bout by redshirt freshman stud #3 Aeoden Sinclair over #22 Ian Bush at 184.
    • Mountaineer #7 Ty Watters impressed at 157 with an 8-0 major over #17 Teague Travis. 
  • Arizona State had an up-and-down weekend. They beat Oregon State 23-16 but lost to Oklahoma 31-9. 
    • Sun Devil 197-pounder Colton Hawks registered a huge upset against the Beavers with a sudden victory win over #4 Justin Rademacher. Against the Sooners, however, it was an 11-1 loss to #12 DJ Parker, typifying how both duals went for ASU. 
  • In two battles of Big 12 affiliates, Northern Iowa beat South Dakota State 19-13 -- in a dual where both teams were wrestling at less than full strength -- and Wyoming downed North Dakota State 30-9, which saw Cowboy Joey Novak make his triumphant return to the mat for the first time since the Soldier Salute on January 3rd. Novak won. 8-1 over Devin Wasley. 

Pac-12 Ponderings

  • Speaking of the return of 197lb podium contenders, Little Rock's Stephen Little also got his hand raised in a dual meet. The #3 ranked Trojan received a forfeit against CSU-Bakersfield.

EIWA Interpretations

  • Bucknell defeated Drexel 21-17 in a contest between Keystone State private schools. This Bison then fell to Navy 19-18.
    • Bucknell's #19 Myles Takats picked up a big upset over #9 Danny Wask on riding time in tiebreakers at 174lbs, but it wasn't enough, as Midshipman heavyweight #15 Spencer Lanosga came through when he was needed most with a 2-0 win over #33 Lucas Lawler. 
  • Navy's rival, Army, picked up two wins over EIWA opponents, Hofstra and LIU. 

MAC Mastications

  • Kent State and Ohio had a nominee for Dual of the Century of the Week, as the Golden Flashes needed criteria to beat the Bobcats in the Grudge Match Trophy dual. 
    • Ohio got wins from four ranked wrestlers but could not complete the comeback thanks to a 10-3 win by Kent State heavyweight Brentan Simmerman. That brought the score to 19-19, giving KSU the victory based on the criteria of most 6 point wins.
  • Elsewhere in MACtion, Buffalo scored a convincing win over Northern Illinois, 29-11. 
  • Lock Haven dominated Bloomsburg 32-12 on Thursday, but then found themselves getting dominated on Friday by Rider 29-12.
  • SIUE's #3 at 149 Caleb Tyus won again, but SIUE fell to Central Michigan 21-14. 

Ivy League Intonations

  • Cornell bounced back from a loss to Columbia with a 19-13 win over Penn and a 31-5 destruction of Princeton.
    • At 149, Cornell's #2 Jaxon Joy beat #15 Eligh Rivera of Princeton and #12 Cross Wasilewski of Penn. 
    • The headliner for Cornell and Penn was 141, which saw #6 Vince Cornell of Cornell prevail over Penn's #7 CJ Composto 7-3. 

SoCon Stimulants

  • On Sunday, Gardner-Webb won a thriller over Bellarmine, 19-18, shaking off a 19-13 loss to the Citadel on Friday. 
    • Running Bulldog T.K. Davis picked up a fall against Bellarmine and a 16-7 major against the Citadel to maintain his #15 ranking. 
  • App State maintained pole position in the conference with wins over the Citadel and Bellarmine. 
  • Chattanooga racked up three shutout wins this week. They beat VMI 46-0 on Friday, Campbell 47-0 on Sunday, and Presbyterian 52-0 to wrap things up on Sunday. 

Here's a Cool Video

The Quest to Be the Best

Our very own JD Rader went to Bulgaria last summer to document what may end up being the best U20 World Team in American history. Most of the world teamers are starting for their respective college teams right now. How many points at NCAAs will the following guys combine for: Marcus Blaze, Luke Stanich, PJ Duke, Ladarion Dockett, Max McEnelly, Justin Rademacher, and Cole Mirasola?

Why Try? Ask AI!

One popular question that comes up whenever football is in the news is 'who are the best wrestlers to play in the NFL?' So I asked ChatGPT to provide a list of 10 pro-bowlers by order of their high school wrestling accolades, and here's what the robo-brain said. 

1. Stephen Neal (Patriots OL)

  • 2× California State Champion
  • Beat future UFC champ Brock Lesnar in freestyle
  • One of the best pure wrestlers ever to play in the NFL
  • Pro Bowl (2007)

2. Carlton Haselrig (Steelers OL)

  • 6× NCAA Division II National Champion (yes, six)
  • High school stud in Pennsylvania
  • One of the most accomplished wrestlers ever in football
  • Pro Bowl (1993)

3. Warren Sapp

  • Florida State Champion
  • Elite heavyweight athlete
  • Hall of Fame DT
  • 7× Pro Bowl

4. Alan Page

  • Minnesota high school wrestling champion

  • Hall of Fame DT with wrestler leverage and endurance
  • 9× Pro Bowl
  • 5. Ray Lewis
  • High school wrestling standout in Florida
  • Not necessarily a state champ, but highly accomplished
  • 13× Pro Bowl

6. Aaron Donald

  • Pennsylvania wrestling standout
  • Serious competitor with documented success
  • 10× Pro Bowl

7. Creed Humphrey

  • Oklahoma State Champion
  • One of the most recent true champ-to-Pro Bowlers
  • Pro Bowl (2022)

8. Micah Parsons

  • Elite Pennsylvania wrestler (very high-level)
  • Dominant enough to project D1 potential
  • 3× Pro Bowl

9. Trent Williams

  • Texas wrestling standout
  • State placer-level athlete
  • 11× Pro Bowl

10. Brian Urlacher

  • High school wrestling background in New Mexico
  • Multi-sport dominance
  • 8× Pro Bowl

Pretty decent-looking list. But is all the information accurate? Let's ask a different AI to check for errors. This is what Perplexity said when I cut and pasted the info above and asked the cyber-mind to confirm the information. 

Perplexity spat back a whole mess of corrections and explanations that is too much for me to copy and paste to this blog. But one example is for Stephen Neal. He was never a state champ in California (though he did place fourth), he was also never a Pro Bowler, and he beat Brock Lesner at NCAAs in folkstyle, not freestyle. 

Now I need another AI to fact check the corrections from Perplexity, but I think this bit has gone on far enough as is, so I'll just leave it at that and remind everyone to beware of AI information. Trust it at your peril!

Okay, that's all for week 15. Hope everyone had a SUPER weekend, especially the lawyers who work for the National Football League. See you next week!