TRENTON, NJ – The 2025 MAC Wrestling Championships will kick off in the CURE Insurance Arena from March 7-8 in Trenton, NJ, and be hosted by Rider University.
Central Michigan claimed this year’s MAC West Division Championships, its 16
th regular season title and third in the last four years. It is also the first divisional championship under first-year head coach Ben Bennett. The Chippewas ended the regular season 9-10 with a 6-1 league record.
Lock Haven Clinched the MAC East Division Championship after a perfect 7-0 record against conference opponents. This is the Bald Eagles’ third regular season title and first since winning back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023. LHU (14-5) ended the season on a 10-match winning streak, an undefeated record at 6-0 at home, and its 14 wins are the most in a season since going 17-4 in the 2001-02 season.
At the 2024 MAC Wrestling Championships, Central Michigan was led by individual champion Alex Cramer, along with nine total place winners, to tally 131.0 points and win its first title in 12 years. Rider finished close behind with 114.5 points.
This year’s opening round will consist of 50 matches starting at noon on Friday, March 7, followed by the Championship Quarterfinals (40 matches) and Consolation Round 1 (10 matches) matches at 2:00 PM. The day will culminate with the Championship Semifinals (20 matches) and Consolation Round 2 (40 matches) matches at 5:00 PM.
Saturday’s schedule will begin with the Consolation Quarterfinals (20 matches) at 11:30 AM, followed by the Consolation Semifinals (20 matches) at 1:00 PM. The Championship Finals are set for 3:00 PM. Any NCAA Qualifying Spot Matches will follow if necessary for the 20205 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 20-22 in Philadelphia, PA.
For more information, official brackets, links to live scoring and video, follow this
link to the Championship Central page.
Below are the team’s previews based on the order of the 2024-25 Preseason Coaches Poll.
Previews are courtesy of the Athletic Communications Departments
Central Michigan
The Central Michigan wrestling team goes to the Mid-American Conference Championships March 7-8 at CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, N.J.
Wrestling begins at noon on Friday and concludes at approximately 7 p.m. The tournament resumes at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. The place matches are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
Seeds
Central Michigan wrestlers are seeded in nine of 10 weight classes.
CMU’s Johnny Lovett (157 pounds) and Alex Cramer (174) are seeded No. 1 in their respective weight classes. Cramer is the two-time defending MAC champion at 174, while Lovett has four times in his career placed in the top three in the tournament. He won the 149-pound crown in 2023.
CMU’s Sean Spidle (133), Andrew Austin (141), Mason Shrader (149) and Luke Cochran (197) are seeded second in their respective weight classes, while Chandler Amaker (165), Adrien Cramer (184) and Bryan Caves (285) are seeded sixth.
The lone Chippewa who is unseeded is Grant Stahl (125).
Eight wrestlers are seeded in each weight class; 13 wrestlers, one from each MAC member, comprise each bracket.
Lock Haven and Rider have three wrestlers apiece seeded No. 1, while Ohio and Northern Illinois have one each.
Lock Haven is seeded first at 133 (Anthony Noto), 141 (Wyatt Henson), and 197 (Tucker Hogan); Rider is seeded No. 1 149 (Sammy Alvarez), 165 (Enrique Munguia), and 184 (Isaac Dean). Ohio’s Jordan Greer is the top seed at 285, while NIU’s Blake West is No. 1 at 125.
History
The Chippewas are the defending MAC champions, having claimed the 2024 title at Kent State. They finished with 131 points while runner-up Rider finished with 114.5. George Mason (112.5) was third.
It marked CMU’s 17th first place finish in the MAC Championships and its first since 2012. The Chippewas finished second from 2020-23.
The Chippewas had just one champion, Alex Cramer (174 pounds), in 2023, but placed in nine weight classes. Retiring coach Tom Borrelli was named the MAC Coach of the Year for a record 15th time.
Longtime assistant Ben Bennett, one of the most successful wrestlers in the long and storied history of the program, was named to head the Chippewas shortly after Borrelli announced his retirement.
Lock Haven
The Lock Haven men's wrestling team is set to compete at the 2025 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 7-8 at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, New Jersey.
The Bald Eagles are looking for their third MAC title in four years and they looked poised to make a run again this year as they enter the tournament with the top-seeds at 133 (
Anthony Noto), 145 (
Wyatt Henson) and 197 (
Tucker Hogan).
Noto and Henson (Co-Outstanding Wrestler) are returning MAC Champions bringing home conference titles at 125 and 133 pounds.
The 2019-20 season marked Lock Haven's debut campaign in the Mid-American Conference. Since then, the Bald Eagles have crowned eight individual MAC champions, and The Haven has won two of the previous three team titles.
MAC RELEASES PRE-SEEDS FOR CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Eight of 10 Bald Eagles seeded among the top-five and Noto, Henson and Hogan seeded first for 2025 Mid-American Conference Championship.
Anthony Noto (133 lbs.),
Wyatt Henson (141 lbs.) and
Tucker Hogan (197 lbs.) are seeded No. 1. In all, eight of 10 Bald Eagles are seeded in the top-five at their respective weight class.
Lock Haven's MAC Championship Seeds
125:
Branden Wentzel, unseeded
133: #1
Anthony Noto
141: #1
Wyatt Henson
149: #5
Lucas Kapusta
157: #4
Nick Stampoulos
165: #7
Caden Dobbins
174: #3
Avery Bassett
184: #2
Colin Fegley
197: #1
Tucker Hogan
285: #2
Gavin Hoffman
AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS
The MAC Championships is one of seven NCAA qualifying tournaments across the country. The Mid-American Conference was awarded 23 total NCAA championship qualifying spots stretched across the 10 weight classes: 125 (1), 133 (3), 141 (1), 149 (3), 157 (3), 165 (2), 174 (3), 184 (3), 197 (1) and 285 (3).
After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 47 at-large qualifiers. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers.
BEASTS OF THE EAST
Behind the perfect 7-0 run through MAC duals, the Bald Eagles secured their third MAC East regular season title and first since Lock Haven won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023.
- MAC East Champions
- Undefeated in the MAC (7-0)
- Undefeated at home (6-0)
- 10 straight wins to end the season
- 14 overall wins, most since 2001-02
George Mason
George Mason Wrestling will travel to New Jersey for the 2025 MAC Wrestling Championships on Friday and Saturday, March 7-8 inside the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, NJ, on Friday and Saturday.
Ten Patriots will look to punch their ticket to the 2025 NCAA Championships at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA, on Mar. 20-22.
In its sixth season in the MAC, Mason finished the season with an 12-6 record, and its best finish in the MAC (6-2). For the third consecutive season the Green and Gold have double-digit wins. After back-to-back 11-win seasons, GMU won 12 this season, which is the most wins in a season since the 2007-08 season when the Patriots finished with a 13-5 record.
Two wrestlers,
Evan Maag (165) and
Malachi DuVall (184) are aiming to defend their 2024 MAC Championships. Maag is seeded second, while DuVall earned a three seed. George Mason has nine wrestlers included in the pre-seedings. In addition to Maag and DuVall, 2024 NCAA Qualifier
DJ McGee in the 157-weight class earned a three seed.
Kaden Cassidy (149), ranked #26 in NWCA Coach's Poll, is also a three-seed.
Three Patriots additional wrestlers are in the top 5;
Tyler Kocak (197) is a four seed, while senior
Logan Messer (174) and freshman
James Blackman (285) garnered five seeds.
MAC QUALIFIER ALLOCATIONS FOR 2025 NCAA D1 WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) earned 23 NCAA allocations, including four from George Mason wrestlers. The Patriots were one of only four teams with four or more allocations with Lock Haven leading the way with six, followed by Central Michigan, Rider, and George Mason with four each.
After all the conference tournaments have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 43 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 11, while brackets and seeding will be announced on NCAA.com at 8 p.m. on March 12. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers.
RPI Rankings/NWCA Rankings
George Mason has four wrestlers ranked in the most recent RPI/NWCA ranking; #26/#26
Kaden Cassidy at 149, #27/#22
DJ McGee at 157, #21/#23
Evan Maag at 165, and #31/#23
Malachi DuVall at 184.
Weight Wrestler RPI Coaches
149
Kaden Cassidy 26 26
157
DJ McGee 27 22
165
Evan Maag 21 23
184
Malachi DuVall 31 23
Ohio
The Ohio Wrestling team is set to travel to the 2025 Mid-American Conference Championships, hosted by Rider University in Trenton, NJ. The championships will take place on Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8.
The tournament kicks off on Friday, March 7, with the opening rounds spread across four mats starting at 12 p.m. ET. Following the initial rounds, the Championship Quarterfinals begin at 2 p.m. ET, along with the first consolation round. The Championship Semifinals and the second consolation round are scheduled for 5 p.m. ET
Day two, Saturday, March 8, begins at 11:30 a.m. ET with the consolation quarterfinals and semifinals. The Championship Finals Parade is set to start at 2:50 p.m. ET, followed by the final matchups at 3 p.m. ET.
The entire event will be streamed live on ESPN+.
SIU Edwardsville
SIUE wrestling is aiming for a productive weekend as the Mid-American Conference Championships gets started Friday at CURE Insurance Arena.
The MAC's 13 coaches selected the pre-seeds for the Championships. The official brackets first will be released Thursday evening with the final version to be posted after weigh-ins on Friday morning.
Friday's first round begins at 12 p.m. and concludes with the championship semifinals and round two of the consolation matches.
On Saturday, action begins at 11:30 a.m. with the championship finals to begin at 3 p.m.
The NCAA announced the allocations for the national championships the MAC will received three spots at 133, 149, 157, 174, 184 and 285. Two spots are available at 165 while only the chapion is guaranteed a spot at the national championships at 125, 141 and 197. At large spots are available in all weight classes and are selected after all of the conference championships have been completed. The NCAA Championships take place March 20-22 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
SIUE's
Drew Davis (125) and
Danny Martinez (141) earned the top pre-seeds to the MAC Tournament at No. 4. Six SIUE wrestlers are ranked in the top eight. Below are the pre-seeds for the MAC Championships.
Northern Illinois
Blake West is the top-seeded wrestler at 125 pounds as the Northern Illinois University Huskies wrestling program is set to compete at the 2025 Mid-American Conference Championships, March 7-8. Action will take place at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, New Jersey with Rider University serving as the host school.
Action will start at 11 a.m. on March 7 with the opening round of the tournament. The final bracket will be released on Thursday evening (March 6). More information can be found on the Championship Central website.
The Huskies last won the MAC title in 1985. NIU has crowned 46 MAC Champions since 1975 and six since the 2020 season.
During the 2024 MAC Championships, West and
Jacob Brya took runner-up honors in their respective weight classes.
Tommy Bennett took eighth at 165 pounds last year.
West is one of six Huskie wrestlers to be seeded for the tournament.
Markel Baker holds the third seed at 133 pounds as he and West went undefeated in MAC duals this season. Brya holds the fifth seed at 141 pounds while
Landen Johnson is the fifth seed at 157 pounds after going 14-10 this season (4-3 in the MAC). Rounding out the seeded wrestlers are Bennett at 174 pounds with the seventh seed and
Sean Carroll is the seventh seed at 197 pounds.
The Huskies enter the MAC Championship on a five-dual winning streak, having not dropped a contest since January 17. This season, NIU has claimed two MAC victories by a single point.
West and Baker are both receiving rankings in the national polls, with their highest rankings coming from WrestleStat. West clocks in at No. 13 while Baker lands at No. 32. The duo is also ranked in the latest Intermat Poll at No. 19 (West) and No. 33 (Baker).
West leads the NIU wrestlers with 19 wins this season and is just six wins away from eclipsing 100 career wins as a Huskie. Additionally, West leads the Huskies with eight major decision wins this season. Johnson leads NIU with seven wins via fall as Brya, Baker, and Johnson team up to lead the team with three technical fall victories.
Rider
The Rider wrestling team will host the 2025 MAC Wrestling Championships at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, NJ, on Friday and Saturday.
MAC Tournament
- The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced on Tuesday the pre-seeding for the upcoming 2025 MAC Wrestling Championship.
- The Broncs earned the top spot in three weights with No. 13
Sammy Alvarez (149 lbs), No. 27
Enrique Munguia (165 lbs), and No. 15
Isaac Dean (184 lbs), each securing the top seed in the championships.
- The Broncs finished second overall in last year's championships, sending four to the 2024 NCAA Championships.
- Out of those four, two returned for the Broncs in
Colton Washleski and
Michael Wilson, who are looking to get back to the tournament.
- Washleski took 5th last year while Wilson took second, and
Isaac Dean placed eighth.
Broncs in the Rankings
- The Broncs have four wrestlers in the final NCAA Coaches' Poll Rankings with No. 13
Sammy Alvarez (149 lbs), No. 24
Colton Washleski (157 lbs), No. 27
Enrique Munguia (165 lbs), and No. 15
Isaac Dean (184 lbs).
Chaos in the Rankings
- Oklahoma State transfer
Sammy Alvarez has had a stellar season, going undefeated in the MAC and competing with some of the top wrestlers in the country, with his highest-ranked victory against No. 6 Ty Whalen (Princeton).
- Alvarez's only five losses on the season have all been ranked opponents which have all been close bouts with losses against No. 4 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska), No. 9 Paniro Johnson (Iowa State), No. 11 Jaden Abas (Stanford), Ty Watters (West Virginia, was ranked as high as No. 3 but injury cut his season short), and No. 18 Carter Young (Oklahoma State.
- Along with Alvarez,
Isaac Dean has also had an exceptional senior season. Dean has victories over No. 13 Reece Heller (Pittsburgh), No. 9 Jaxon Smith (Maryland), and No. 5 Bennet Berge (South Dakota State).
- Both Dean (5th) and Alvarez (6th) placed in the prestigious Cliff Keen Invitational in December.
2025 NCAA Championships
- Ten Broncs will look to punch their ticket to the 2025 NCAA Championships at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA, on Mar. 20-22.
- Three Broncs in the lineup for this weekend have had experience in the national championships with Washleski, Wilson, and Alvarez.
- The other seven Broncs will look for their first-ever NCAA Championships appearance.
Clarion
The Golden Eagles wrestling team will look for NCAA bids at the 2025 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships, hosted this year by Rider at CURE Arena. Action will kick off Friday afternoon and conclude on Saturday.
This year the conference's NCAA allocations appear to line up well with the weights where the Golden Eagles have been strongest over the course of the season. Of the classes where the conference will send three wrestlers to NCAAs, two of them – 133 and 174 pounds – will feature Clarion wrestlers returning from midyear injuries.
At 133 pounds, seventh-seeded
Scott Johnson was perhaps the Golden Eagles' most consistent wrestler before suffering an injury at the Southern Scuffle; the redshirt freshman had been on a tear at that point, winning five out of his last six matches with three tech falls and a major before an injury default against Chattanooga's Bryce Luna.
The other starter returning to the lineup is fourth-seeded 174-pounder
John Worthing, who was at one point featured in the NCAA coaches ranking as well as the RPI. The sixth-year senior last qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2023, going 2-2 with a major decision. Last year Worthing came up one spot short of making NCAAs, losing in a true second place match to Rider's Michael Wilson.
Three other Golden Eagles appear in the pre-seeds for this year's event. Austin Chapman is the fourth seed at heavyweight, and the senior will look to crack the top-three to earn his first NCAA bid. Chapman went 6-2 in conference dual matches over the course of the season.
Kyle Schickel is the eighth seed at 149 pounds, and he too will be looking to cap his Clarion career with a trip to the NCAA Championships. Schickel went 5-3 in MAC duals in the regular season but over the last two months of the year was the Golden Eagles' leading scorer. Rounding out the pre-seeds is125-pounder
Travis Clawson, who checks in at seventh at his weight. Clawson recently enjoyed a stretch of five straight wins - including four major decisions - before losing in his regular season finale to Rider's Noah Michaels.
Edinboro
Trenton, N.J. – The Edinboro wrestling team begins postseason action on Friday at the 2025 MAC Championships.
The Championships
The doors to the CURE Insurance Arena open at 11 a.m. on Friday with wrestling beginning at noon with four mats. The quarterfinals and first consolation round will take place at 2 p.m. on Friday. The final Friday session starts at 5 p.m. with the semifinals and consolation second round.
On Saturday, doors open at 8 a.m. with consolation wrestling beginning at 11:30 a.m. with the consolation semis to start at 1:00 p.m. The Finals Parade will take place at 2:50 with the Finals starting at 3 p.m.
The matches will be streamed on ESPN+ with live results on TrackWrestling.
Cleveland State
The Vikings head into the 2025 MAC Championships with six guys seeded in the top eight and are looking for their third MAC champion in program history.
A Look Back at Last Year's Championships
In last year's MAC Championships at Kent State, Cleveland State finished in tenth place with 64.5 points. The Green and White had five placers:
Ben Aranda (125 Pounds),
Marcus Robinson (157 Pounds),
Tate Geiser (165 Pounds),
Ben Smith (197 Pounds), and
Daniel Bucknavich (285 Pounds).
Smith also became a two-time MAC Champion after 197-pounds after defeating No. 28 Sam Mitchell of Buffalo, 8-3, securing his third trip to the NCAA Championships. Bucknavich also qualified for the NCAA Championships with his runner-up finish at 285-pounds.
Team History at the MAC Championships
2024 – Tenth Place | Five Placers | One Champion | Two NCAA Qualifiers
2023 – Seventh Place | Seven Placers
2022 – Sixth Place | Six Placers | One Champion | Three NCAA Qualifiers
2021 – Sixth Place | Six Placers | Three NCAA Qualifiers
2020 – Seventh Place | Seven Placers | One NCAA Qualifier
Placers Through the Years in the MAC
125 Pounds |
Ben Aranda – Sixth (2023) | Seventh (2024)
133 Pounds |
Tate Geiser – Fifth (2024)
285 Pounds |
Daniel Bucknavich – Second (2024)
Kent State
The Golden Flashes will compete in the 2025 MAC Wrestling Championships this weekend at Cure Insurance Arena.
The conference tournament will be a two-day event with the opening round starting on Friday at noon.
The Flashes have 7 seeded wrestlers. Jordan Decatur is the highest seeded Kent State wrestler and is seeded third at 141 lbs. Billy Meiszner is seeded fourth at 149, while Ethan Barr and Blake Schaffer are seeded fifth at 165 and 197. Heavyweight Brentan Simmerman is the seventh seed. Carson Miller and Holden Martin are seed eighth at 157 and 184.
In addition to individual and team titles being up for grabs, so are spots in the NCAA Championships. The Mid-American Conference was allocated 23 spots for the National Tournament that will take place in Philadelphia later this month. The full allocation chart is below, and at-large bids will be handed out early next week.
Buffalo
Preview coming soon...
Bloomsburg
Preview coming soon...
