Previews courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Schafer and Rebuck Set for the 2026 NCAA DI National Championships
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – Graduate student Jace Schafer and junior Mason Rebuck punched their tickets to the 2026 NCAA DI Wrestling National Championships two weeks ago at the MAC Championships. The national championships are set to begin on Thursday, March 19, at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
 
Schafer and Mason are the first pair to qualify for the national championship for Bloomsburg since Trevor Allard and Alex Carida qualified in 2020. The last time the Huskies sent a wrestler to the national tournament was Josh Mason in 2023.

Bloomsburg National Qualifiers
125: Jace Schafer, Graduate student
No. 33 Seed
Season Record: 23-8 | Career Record: 66-44 (includes four seasons at WVU) | NCAA Tournament Experience: First appearance
 
285: Mason Rebuck, Graduate student
No. 33 Seed
Season Record: 23-8 | Career Record: 34-25 | NCAA Tournament Experience: First appearance

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Schafer and Rebuck each enter the NCAA National Championships 23-8 overall after finishing third at the MAC Championships and winning their true second place matches at 125 pounds and 285 pounds, respectively.
 
Schafer finished third at 125 pounds after a 5-1 tournament at the MAC Championships. The graduate student fell to the eventual champion, Tyler Klinsky of Rider in the opening round, but ran through his final five matches. After closing out Friday's competition with a pin at 2:53 over Zach Belverio of Buffalo, Schafer won his first match on Saturday 7-1 over Ben Monn of George Mason. He won his semifinals match 2-0 over Drew Davis of SIUE before defeating Blake West (Northern Illinois) with a pin at 5:27 in the third-place match. Schafer defeated Chris Vargo of Edinboro in the true second to claim one of the MAC's two automatic spots in the NCAA Championships.
 
Rebuck won his first match at the MAC Championships with a 8-5 sudden victory over Magnus Biblia of Buffalo before Devon Dawson defeated Rebuck with a pin the second round. Rebuck came back Saturday with a 8-2 win over Bryan Caves of Central Michigan in the consolation semifinals before defeating John Meyers of Clarion 4-1 in the third-place match. Rebuck won the true second match with an 11-8 decision over Bryson Buhk of SIUE to punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships.

SCHAFER MATCH PREVIEW
Schafer pulled the #33 seed and will face #32 Mack Mauger of Missouri. Mauger is 22-14 overall this season. The winner of the pigtail match will face the No. 1 seed Luke Lilledahl of Penn State in the opening round of the tournament. The loser will face either Nick Bouzakus of Ohio State or Sulayman Bah of Colorado. The loser of the Lilledahl/pigtail match winner will take on either Jett Strickenberger (WVU) or Ezekiel Witt (NDSU).
 
REBUCK MATCH PREVIEW
Rebuck is the No. 33 seed and will face the No. 32 seeded Emmanuel Ulrich of American in the pigtail match. The winner will take on Yonger Bastida of Iowa State while the loser will go on to face the loser of the Taye Ghadiali (Michigan)/Jack Forbes (UVU) match. The loser of the Bastida/pigtail match will face either Vincent Mueller (Colorado) or Jimmy Mullen (VT).


Buffalo's Brackets Revealed for NCAA Championships
BUFFALO, NY – The NCAA revealed the brackets for the NCAA Wrestling Championships, which begin on Thursday in Cleveland. Kaleb Burgess qualified at 157 and is the 23^rd seed.

Burgess will face 10^th-seed Logan Rozynski of Lehigh in his first-round match. A sophomore, Rozynski went 13-3 overall and 7-3 in duals on the season. He was the 157 champion at the EIWA Championships.

Preliminary matches start at noon on Thursday at Cleveland's Rocket Arena.


Two Chippewa Wrestlers Begin Quest for All-America Honors
CLEVELAND – Central Michigan's Andrew Austin is seeded 32^nd and Mason Shrader is 25^th for the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena.

The 330-wrestler tournament, the pinnacle of the college wrestling season, begins on Thursday, March 19 and concludes on Saturday, March 21.

Austin, a junior wrestling at 133 pounds, will wrestle 33^rd-seeded Carter Schmidt of Oklahoma at noon on Thursday. Austin, a first-time NCAA qualifier, is 20-13; Schmidt, a sophomore, is 7-14 and is also a first-time qualifier.

Austin earned his spot in the NCAA with a fourth-place finish at the Mid-American Conference Championships, while Schmidt punched his ticket to Cleveland with a seventh-place finish in the Big 12 Championships.

The winner advances to take on the No. 1 seed, Jax Forrest (13-0) of Oklahoma State.

Shrader (24-10), a senior, will take on No. 8 Brandon Cannon of Ohio State (18-2) in a bout that will begin at approximately 1 p.m. on Thursday.

Shrader, who finished 0-2 last season wrestling at 149 at the NCAA Championships, earned an at-large bid to the tournament, while Cannon gained a spot as an automatic qualifier by placing fourth in the Big Ten Tournament.

Cannon, a sophomore, went 3-2 in the NCAA Championships last season.

The Shrader-Cannon winner will take on Stanford's Daniel Cardenas (17-3), the ninth seed, or Jaivon Jones of Little Rock (19-9), the No. 24 seed.


Four Fighting Scots Wrestlers Set for NCAA Championships
Cleveland – The Edinboro wrestling team has sent four wrestlers to the NCAA Championships that begin Thursday inside Rocket Mortgage Arena in Cleveland.
 
The Qualifiers
The Scots have four qualifiers with Ryan Michaels at 149, Garrett McChesney at 157, Ryan Burgos at 165 and Jared McGill at 184.
 
Ryan Michaels
Michaels punched his ticket to the NCAA Championship winning the true-fourth place match at the MAC Championships. Michaels finished the season 23-9 earning bonus points in 47 percent of his matches. Michaels is seeded 31^st at 149 and drew the second-seeded Jaxon Joy of Cornell.
 
Garrett McChesney
McChesney was the first Scot to earn his way into the NCAA Field scoring a pair of upsets in the MAC Championships to reach the finals and finish second in the MAC. He finished the season with a 12-14 record and drew into the 31^st seed at 157. He will open the Championship against No. 2 Antrell Taylor of Nebraska.
 
Ryan Burgos
Burgos earned an at-large bid into the 165-pound field. He was 18-7 on the season and earned bonus points in 48.2 percent of his matches. Burgos is seeded 29^th and will take on Arizona State's Nicco Ruiz, who is the fourth seed.
 
Jared McGill
McGill was the highest-seeded Scots filling in the No. 19 line. He finished third at the MAC Championships. McGill was 16-3 overall and earned bonus points in 60.0 percent of his matches. McGill opens the NCAA Championships against No. 14 Jaden Bullock of Virginia Tech.


Four Patriots Ready to Compete for NCAA Championships
Cleveland -- The 2026 DI men's wrestling championships will be held at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on Thursday, March 19, through Saturday, March 21. 
The George Mason men's wrestling team will be represented by four individuals at the national tournament, the most NCAA Qualifiers for the Patriots since 2001.
 
The Patriots DJ McGee (Stafford, Va./Bullis Prep), Kaden Cassidy (Bedford, Pa./Bedford), Malachi DuVall (Centre Hall, Penns Valley Area) and Logan Messer (Norton, Ohio, Wadsworth) earned bids to compete at the NCAA Championships.

Messer won his first MAC Championship title earning a trip to the NCAA Championships for the first time in his tremendous career as a Patriot. The Ohio native has 101 career wins.

DuVall punched his ticket to the NCAA Championship for the third straight season with a second-place finish at the MAC. After winning two straight matches to get into the championship bout, top-seeded Sal Perrine from Ohio defeated DuVall in the final.

DJ McGee defeated K. Burgess from Buffalo in the third-place match with a major decision, 12-2, to earn his third trip to the NCAA Championship.

Cassidy was among the 42 at-large selections for the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championships. The two-time NCAA Qualifier earned the bid after a tremendous season on the mat. The grad student finished with a 16-3 and finished the season ranked No. 2 in the MAC at 149 pounds. Cassidy defaulted both matches at the MAC Championships because he wasn't medically cleared in time. 

Coach Beasley has coached 18 NCAA Qualifiers since becoming head coach of the Patriots in 2017-18. This year marks the fifth time during Beasley's nine seasons the Green and Gold have at least three qualifiers.

George Mason First Round Match-ups:
149: #29 Kaden Cassidy, 16-3 vs. #4 seed Collin Gaj (VT), 20-8
157: #18 DJ McGee (24-4) vs. #15 Michigan's Cameron Catrabone (18-8)
174: #19 Logan Messer (26-6) vs. #14 Moses Espinoza-Owens (SDSU), 27-8
184: #21 Malachi DuVall (24-5) vs. #12 seeded Silas Allred (Neb), 17-7
 # = NCAA Tournament Seed
 
Chris Earnest and Black Schaffer Set to Represent Kent State in Cleveland
CLEVELAND- In 2026, all roads lead to Cleveland as two Kent State Wrestlers are ready to perform on collegiate wrestling's biggest stage this week at the NCAA Wrestling Championships right up the road at Rocket Arena.

The Tournament will be a three-day double-elimination event with 33 wrestlers qualifying from schools all over the country in each of the ten weight classes to battle for their name in the wrestling history books with a national championship.

The Golden Flashes will bring representation to nationals for the first time in three years when Jake Ferri qualified at the 125-pound weight class in 2023. It will be the first championship appearance for KSU under Head Coach Josh Moore and his staff of Fred Garcia and Devin Schroder.

Kent State National Qualifiers
165- Chris Earnest(18-6; 8-2 MAC)
Two weeks ago, Chris Earnest brought back the first Individual MAC Wrestling title to Kent State since 2022. He did so with a 2-0 defensive victory over Brett Smith(NIU). To advance to the 165-pound finals, Earnest defeated top-seeded Brock Woodcock(SIUE) on a buzzer-beating reversal to win the match by a score of 3-2. All three of his wins in the MAC Tournament were seeding-upsets.

As a late addition to the starting lineup midway through the season, Earnest has impressed, proving there is no one in the MAC that he can't beat. Prior to Kent State, the Wadsworth native was a SoCon runner-up at Campbell in 2025 before transferring this year. He matches up in the first round with No. 10 Will Denny of NC State.

197- Blake Schaffer(23-9; 8-4 MAC)
In his final year of wrestling as a senior, Blake Schaffer has made it into the field of 33 for the first time. The Canton native punched his ticket to nationals two weeks ago at the MAC Championships in Buffalo, and will now compete for a national title less than an hour from where he grew up.

Schaffer advanced to the finals with two takedowns in the final minute in the semifinals against Brock Zurawski(Rider). In the 197-pound finals, Schaffer had a lead in the third period, but suffered a loss to Zayne Lehman of rival Ohio. Schaffer also leads the team in takedowns with 61 by a large margin. He will wrestle Karson Tompkins(Air Force) in the pig-tail round and if he wins will face top-seeded Josh Barr(Penn State).

Kent State NCAA Championship History
The Golden Flashes have a deep-rooted history at the NCAA Championships as they will be right in Kent's backyard in Cleveland for the third time. The last time the championships were in The Forest City, an event record was set for attendance.

The Blue and Gold have 22 All-Americans in the program's history to finish in the top eight nationally. The first to do that was Carmen Falcone way back in 1939. The most recent All-American was current volunteer assistant coach, Kyle Conel in 2018.

Ian Miller and Dustin Kilgore are the program's only three-time All-Americans, while Don Horning also made the top eight twice in the 1980's. Kilgore brought KSU its only national championship back in 2011 with a pin over Clayton Foster of Oklahoma State in the finals.


Four Bald Eagles Set to Compete at 2026 NCAA DI National Championships 
The Lock Haven men's wrestling team is set to compete at the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championship. The National Championship is scheduled for March 19-21 (Thurs. – Sat.) at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
 
The Bald Eagles will be represented by Gable Strickland (133), Wyatt Henson (141), Lucas Kapusta (149) and Avery Bassett (174). Nick Stampoulos (157) and Sam Gautreau (184) will also serve as first alternates at their respective weight classes.
  
Bald Eagles by the numbers:
133: #31 Gable Strickland 
2026 record: 26-10 | NCAA Tournament Record: 1-4
2023, 2024 MAC Champion
 
141: #13 Wyatt Henson
2026 record: 23-5 | NCAA Tournament Record: 1-4
2024, 2025, 2026 MAC Champion
 
149: #17 Lucas Kapusta 
2026 record: 25-4 | NCAA Tournament Record: First Appearance
2026 MAC Champion
 
174: #29 Avery Bassett 
2026 record: 25-7 | NCAA Tournament Record: 1-2
 
Lock Haven – First Round Bouts:
133: #31 Gable Strickland (Lock Haven) vs. #2 Ben Davino (Ohio State)
141: #13 Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) vs. #20 Julian Tagg (South Dakota State)
149: #17 Lucas Kapusta (Lock Haven) vs. #16 Jacob Frost (Iowa State)
174: #29 Avery Bassett (Lock Haven) vs. #4 Carson Kharchia (Ohio State)


Baker and Dawson Set for NCAA Championships
DeKALB, Ill— Markel Baker and Devon Dawson are set to make their first appearances and represent the Northern Illinois University Huskies at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. Action will take place at Rocket Arena, March 19-21.
 
The first session begins on March 19 at 11 a.m. CT with preliminary rounds and first matches before the second session begins at 6 p.m. CT. A full schedule can be found at NCAA Wrestling Championship Central. All matches throughout the championship will be available on the ESPN family of networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+).
 
Baker earned the No. 8 seed at 133 pounds — the highest seed by a Huskie since Brit Wilson received the No. 7 seed at 184 pounds in 2021. Bryce West was the Huskies last qualifier at 133 pounds, qualifying for the 2021 tournament. Baker was an alternate for the 2025 tournament and did not compete.
 
Dawson earned the No. 11 seed at 285, earning the Huskies first qualifier at 285 pounds since Max Ihry in 2020. Dawson will make his first NCAA appearance as a Huskie, having previously competed at the NJCAA level for Pratt Community College. 
 
Baker became NIU's first MAC champion at 133 pounds since 2016 when Austin Eicher won the title and first consecutive title since 2022-23 for the Huskie wrestling program. Baker's first round opponent will be a rematch of the 2026 title bout as he takes on Will Betancourt of Rider. Baker posted a 2-1 decision on March 7 to claim the title. Baker is currently on a 15-match win streak and has defeated four ranked opponents this season.
 
Dawson earned NIU's second conference title at 285 pounds when he defeated Bryson Bukh of SIUE, 12-8. Dawson is the only Huskie ranked in four polls with his highest coming from Intermat at No. 19. Dawson put together a 31-5 season and has not dropped a match since January 9 against Harvard. This season, Dawson claimed seven wins over ranked opponents. Dawson's opening match will come against Trevor Tinker of Cal Poly.
 
With Baker and Dawson qualifying for the national tournament, NIU extends their streak of at least one NCAA qualifier to 55-straight years and the third straight year of two wrestlers qualifying. This dates to 1972 when Larry Johnson earned All-America honors by taking fifth.

NIU has two national champions in its history, with Roy Conrad winning the Division I title in 1960 at 177 and Neal McDonald earning the Division II championship in 1965.
 

Four Bobcats Head to Cleveland for the 2026 NCAA Men's Wrestling Championships
All three days can be seen across the networks of ESPN. Redshirt seniors Garrett Thompson, Sal Perrine and Zayne Lehman will make return trips to the NCAA Championships, while redshirt junior Derek Raike will make his first trip. The weekend begins on Thursday, March 19, at 12 p.m. ET for prelims, with more prelims and wrestle-backs set for 7 p.m. ET. Quarterfinals and wrestle-backs are set for Noon ET on Friday, March 20, with semifinals and wrestle-backs set for 8 p.m. ET. Consolation finals are set to begin at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 21, with Championship Finals scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET. 

Ohio's four qualifiers are the most since 2022-23. It also marks the first time Ohio wrestling has had three individual MAC Champions since the 1999-00 season, when Brad Wright, Dan Bednar, and Tim Coutard each won MAC titles. Ohio's three individual champions were the most of any team at this year's MAC Championships.

Raike enters the NCAA Championship as the highest-seeded Bobcat at No. 13 in the 157 lb. bracket, set to face No. 20 seed Jimmy Harrington of Harvard. Raike compiled a 21-5 record in the regular season, including a 6-1 mark in MAC dual matches before going 4-0 at the MAC Championships to secure his first individual conference title. Raike's run included a defeat of 18th-seeded DJ McGee of George Mason in the semifinals.  
 
Perrine is the 15^th seed in the 184 lb. bracket, set to face No. 18 seed Jake Dailey of the University of North Carolina. Perrine finished the regular season with a 19-4 record, going undefeated in MAC dual matchups before continuing his streak through the MAC Championship to secure his first individual conference title. Perrine defeated 25th-seeded Malachi DuVall of George Mason in the 184 lb. championship match.
 
Lehman is the 19^th seed in the 197 lb bracket, set to face 14th-seeded Gabe Sollars of Indiana. Lehman finished the regular season with a stellar 19-2 record, going undefeated in dual matches and continuing his unbeaten streak through the MAC Championships, securing his first individual title. Lehman defeated 32nd-seeded Blake Schaffer of Kent State in the 197 lb. championship match.
 
Thompson enters the NCAA Championship as the No. 24 seed in the 174 lb. division, set to face No. 9 seed Beau Mantanona of Michigan. Thompson earned his tournament spot by winning the third-place match the MAC Championships, before defeating the second-place finisher, Rider's Evan Munguia, in a true second-place match to clinch the conference's second automatic bid at 174 lbs. Thompson also had a strong season, compiling a record of 16-3 after returning to the Bobcat lineup in January.


Five Broncs Set for NCAA Championships Run in Cleveland
What You Need to Know
- Five Broncs head to Cleveland with podium aspirations at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships inside Rocket Arena.
- Tyler Klinsky (125), Will Betancourt (133), Elijah Griffin (141), Dylan Layton (149), and Brock Zurawski (197) will all compete for national titles and All-America honors.

NCAA Championships History
- Rider continues its pursuit of the program's first individual national champion.
- The Broncs have produced 10 All-Americans in the last 11 seasons.
- At last year's championships, Sammy Alvarez became Rider's 21st All-American, placing seventh at 149 lbs.
- Quinn Kinner (2024) and Ethan Laird (2023) added to the legacy with podium finishes, marking Rider's 20th and 19th All-Americans, respectively.
- In 2021, Jesse Dellavecchia made history as the program's first national finalist.

NCAA Championships Individual Previews
No. 11 Tyler Klinsky (125 lbs)
- Klinsky makes his second career trip to the NCAA Championships after previously qualifying in 2024. He enters as the No. 11 seed, the highest-seeded Bronc in the field.
- The graduate student has been dominant all season, posting a 26-3 overall record while riding a 19-match win streak dating back to Dec. 5. 
- He is coming off a standout performance at the MAC Championships, where he claimed his first conference title at 125 lbs and earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors.
- Klinsky is 6-2 against ranked opponents this season, highlighted by wins over No. 16 Spencer Moore (Illinois), No. 19 Jett Strickenberger (West Virginia), No. 23 Conrad Hedriksen (Oklahoma), No. 26 Ayden Smith (Rutgers), No. 29 Desmond Pleasant (Drexel), and No. 32 Jace Schafer (Bloomsburg).

No. 25 Will Betancourt (133 lbs)
- Betancourt makes his NCAA Championships debut, qualifying for the first time in his career. He enters the tournament as the No. 25 seed with a 23-8 overall record.
- The graduate student is coming off a runner-up finish at the MAC Championships, where he dropped a narrow 2-1 decision to his first-round NCAA opponent, Markel Baker (Northern Illinois).
- Betancourt has proven he can battle in tight matches, competing in 14 bouts decided by three points or fewer and going 8-6 in those contests, along with a 2-2 mark in sudden victory. 
- All eight of his losses this season have come against NCAA qualifiers, with six decided by three points or less against nationally ranked opponents.

No. 15 Elijah Griffin (141 lbs)
- Griffin makes his second career appearance at the NCAA Championships, entering as the No. 15 seed with a 26-7 overall record.
- He is coming off a runner-up finish at the MAC Championships, falling in sudden victory in the finals to Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven). 
- Earlier this season, Griffin made program history by becoming Rider's first-ever finalist at the prestigious Cliff Keen Invitational, where he dropped a 6-2 decision to No. 3 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State).
- Griffin has gone 6-5 against ranked opponents this season, earning wins over No. 15 Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven), No. 18 Tyler Wells (Oklahoma), No. 23 Pierson Manville (Arizona State), No. 26 Braden Basile (Army West Point), and No. 29 Nash Singleton (Oregon State).
- A high-scoring threat, Griffin has totaled 18 bonus-point victories this season, including six pins, four technical falls, and eight major decisions.

No. 30 Dylan Layton (149 lbs)
- Layton makes his first NCAA Championships appearance in his debut season with Rider after transferring from Cleveland State. 
- He enters the tournament with a 25-9 overall record and the No. 30 seed.
- Layton earned his spot at nationals with a third-place finish at the MAC Championships and has been a consistent offensive presence, recording 13 bonus-point wins this season.
- In the MAC semifinals, he battled No. 2-ranked Caleb Tyus (SIUE) in a tight 2-1 decision that was decided in rideouts (TB1). 
- Layton also owns wins over No. 26 Andrew Clark (Rutgers) and No. 30 Drew Roberts (Minnesota) this season.

No. 24 Brock Zurawski (197 lbs)
- Zurawski makes his second career appearance at the NCAA Championships, entering as the No. 24 seed with a 22-5 overall record.
- A year ago, he made headlines with a first-round upset of No. 7 Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa), proving he can shake up the bracket on the national stage.
- Zurawski secured his return to nationals with a third-place finish at the MAC Championships, earning an at-large bid. 
- His résumé includes notable wins over No. 32 Blake Schafer (Kent State) and No. 15 Remy Cotton (Rutgers).
- A consistent bonus-point scorer, Zurawski has totaled 16 bonus-point victories this season, including seven technical falls, three pins, and six major decisions.
- Similar to last year, he enters as a lower seed with upset potential, drawing No. 9 Angelo Posada (Stanford) in the opening round.

First Round Matchups
Session I - Thursday, March 19th at 12:00 PM
125: (11) Tyler Klinsky vs. (22) Davis Motuka (UPenn)
133: (25) Will Betancourt vs. (8) Markel Baker (Northern Illinois)
141: (15) Elijah Griffin vs. (18) Carter Nogle (Air Force)
149: (30) Dylan Layton vs. (3) Cross Wasilewski (UPenn)
197: (24) Brock Zurawski vs. (9) Angelo Posada (Stanford)


SIUE Trio Set for NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships 
CLEVELAND, Ohio – SIUE wrestling boasts three entrants for the 2026 NCAA Division I Championships, which gets underway Thursday at Rocket Arena.

Marcel Lopez (133), Caleb Tyus (149) and Brock Woodcock (165) represent SIUE at the Championships. It is the most qualifiers for the national tournament for the Cougars since the 2023 Championships.

This is the third appearance for Tyus, who competed in the 2023 and 2024 Championships. It is the first appearance for both Lopez and Woodcock.