Penn State Wrestling opens the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championships on Thursday, March 19 in Cleveland with a full slate of first-round matchups across all 10 weight classes. 

The Nittany Lions enter the tournament as the nation’s top-ranked team and bring a lineup loaded with top seeds and title contenders.

• More Information On FloWrestling And The FloSports App
• See 2026 College Wrestling Rankings By FloWrestling
• Who Got Tough Draws? NCAA Bracket Reactions

Action begins with the preliminary rounds at noon Eastern, where Penn State will look to set the tone early. The lineup features eight No. 1 seeds, highlighting the program’s depth and positioning as it chases another NCAA team title following its record-setting performance in 2025.

Here’s when Penn State wrestling is in action on Thursday.

Penn State Wrestling Schedule On NCAA Wrestling Championships Day 1

First-round action begins at noon ET. Take a look at the FloWrestling interactive bracket for times and mat information. The new FloWrestling Next Gen platform allows fans to track each match from anywhere in the world. Fans can get alerts for individual wrestlers and individual matches.

125: (1) Luke Lilledahl vs. (17) Jett Strickenberger (WVU)

• 133: (3) Marcus Blaze vs. (30) Gabe Whisenhunt (ORST)
• 141: (14) Braeden Davis vs. (11) CJ Composto (PENN)
• 149: (1) Shayne Van Ness vs. (17) Lucas Kapusta (LH)
• 157: (1) PJ Duke vs. (17) Luke Mechler (WIS)
• 165: (1) Mitchell Mesenbrink vs. (17) Braeden Scoles (ILL)
• 174: (1) Levi Haines vs. (17) Jared Simma (UNI)
• 184: (1) Rocco Welsh vs. (17) Ian Bush (WVU)
• 197: (1) Josh Barr vs. (17) Dillon Bechtold (BUCK)
• 285: (9) Cole Mirasola vs. (24) Connor Barket (DUKE)

Watch The Penn State Wrestling Documentary 'We Are: Cael's First Decade'

Don't miss the FloSports documentary series 'We Are: Cael's First Decade' streaming at FloWrestling and the FloWrestling Youtube page. 

NCAA Wrestling Championships 2026 Schedule

Thursday, March 19

• 12:00 p.m. ET: Session I (First Round) - ESPN2
• 7:00 p.m. ET: Session II (Second Round, Consolation Matches) - ESPN

Friday, March 20

• 12:00 p.m. ET: Session III (Quarterfinals, Consolation Matches) - ESPNU
• 8:00 p.m. ET: Session IV (Semifinals, Consolation Matches) - ESPN2

Saturday, March 21

• 11:00 a.m. ET: Session V (Medal Matches) - ESPNU
• 6:30 p.m. ET: Session VI (Finals) - ESPN

How To Watch NCAA Wrestling Championships 2026

• The 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships will be broadcast across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU from March 19-21 in Cleveland. 
• Every match will also be streamed on ESPN+, including concurrent mat coverage.

NCAA Wrestling Championships Seeds 2026

Here are the top eight seeds for each weight class at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. See more here. 

125 lbs

• (1) Luke Lilledahl, Penn State
• (2) Eddie Ventresca, Virginia Tech
• (3) Nic Bouzakis, Ohio State
• (4) Sheldon Seymour, Lehigh
• (5) Troy Spratley, Oklahoma State
• (6) Jore Volk, Minnesota
• (7) Nico Provo, Stanford
• (8) Dean Peterson, Iowa

133 lbs

• (1) Jax Forrest, Oklahoma State
• (2) Ben Davino, Ohio State
• (3) Marcus Blaze, Penn State
• (4) Aaron Seidel, Virginia Tech
• (5) Kyler Larkin, Arizona State
• (6) Drake Ayala, Iowa
• (7) Lucas Byrd, Illinois
• (8) Markel Baker, Northern Illinois

141 lbs

• (1) Jesse Mendez, Ohio State
• (2) Sergio Vega, Oklahoma State
• (3) Brock Hardy, Nebraska
• (4) Anthony Echemendia, Iowa State
• (5) Luke Stanich, Lehigh
• (6) Vince Cornella, Cornell
• (7) Nasir Bailey, Iowa
• (8) Vance Vombaur, Minnesota

149 lbs

• (1) Shayne Van Ness, Penn State
• (2) Jaxon Joy, Cornell
• (3) Cross Wasilewski, Penn
• (4) Collin Gaj, Virginia Tech
• (5) Koy Buesgens, NC State
• (6) Caleb Tyus, SIUE
• (7) Ethan Stiles, Ohio State
• (8) Casey Swiderski, Oklahoma State

157 lbs

• (1) PJ Duke, Penn State
• (2) Antrell Taylor, Nebraska
• (3) Meyer Shapiro, Cornell
• (4) Kaleb Larkin, Arizona State
• (5) Landon Robideau, Oklahoma State
• (6) Jude Swisher, Penn
• (7) Kannon Webster, Illinois
• (8) Brandon Cannon, Ohio State

165 lbs

• (1) Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State
• (2) Joey Blaze, Purdue
• (3) Mikey Caliendo, Iowa
• (4) Nicco Ruiz, Arizona State
• (5) LaDarion Lockett, Oklahoma State
• (6) LJ Araujo, Nebraska
• (7) Max Brignola, Lehigh
• (8) Matty Bianchi, Little Rock

174 lbs

• (1) Levi Haines, Penn State
• (2) Simon Ruiz, Cornell
• (3) Christopher Minto, Nebraska
• (4) Carson Kharchla, Ohio State
• (5) Patrick Kennedy, Iowa
• (6) Matty Singleton, NC State
• (7) Cam Steed, Missouri
• (8) Alex Facundo, Oklahoma State

184 lbs

• (1) Rocco Welsh, Penn State
• (2) Aeoden Sinclair, Missouri
• (3) Max McEnelly, Minnesota
• (4) James Conway, Franklin & Marshall
• (5) Brock Mantanona, Michigan
• (6) Eddie Neitenbach, Wyoming
• (7) Angelo Ferrari, Iowa
• (8) Silas Allred, Nebraska

197 lbs

• (1) Josh Barr, Penn State
• (2) Rocky Elam, Iowa State
• (3) Stephen Little, Little Rock
• (4) Sonny Sasso, Virginia Tech
• (5) Joey Novak, Wyoming
• (6) Justin Rademacher, Oregon State
• (7) Cody Merrill, Oklahoma State
• (8) DJ Parker, Oklahoma

285 lbs

• (1) Yonger Bastida, Iowa State
• (2) Isaac Trumble, NC State
• (3) Taye Ghadiali, Michigan
• (4) AJ Ferrari, Nebraska
• (5) Nick Feldman, Ohio State
• (6) Nathan Taylor, Lehigh
• (7) Konner Doucet, Oklahoma State
• (8) Ben Kueter, Iowa

FloWrestling College Wrestling Team Rankings

1. Penn State (Points: 164, Prev Rank: 1)
2. OK State (Points: 95.5, Prev Rank: 3)
3. Ohio State (Points: 94, Prev Rank: 2)
4. Nebraska (Points: 76.5, Prev Rank: 5)
5. Iowa State (Points: 68.5, Prev Rank: 4)
6. Iowa (Points: 66.5, Prev Rank: 6)
7. Virginia Tech (Points: 53.5, Prev Rank: 9)
8. Cornell (Points: 52, Prev Rank: 7)
9. NC State (Points: 48, Prev Rank: 8)
10. Arizona State (Points: 41, Prev Rank: 14)

Trackwrestling Has Joined The New FloWrestling

Trackwrestling has officially merged with FloWrestling, bringing its powerful tournament tracking tools and live data into a modern, all-in-one platform. 

Fans can follow every bout with pro-grade brackets, mat schedules, team rosters and detailed wrestler profiles—all seamlessly integrated within FloWrestling.

This move delivers a faster, smarter and more connected experience for the wrestling community. Through the updated FloSports app, users can track live results, explore brackets and even sign up for free alerts so they never miss a match.

FloWrestling Archived Footage

Video footage from all events on FloWrestling will be archived and stored in a video library for FloWrestling subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

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