Every match matters just a little bit more in this part of the college wrestling season.
With less than a month before the conference tournaments begin, results now have even more significant seeding implications and provide greater insight into where an athlete is heading into March. Teams are starting to hit some of their toughest competition too, and rankings are becoming solidified.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways to know from last weekend as we head into the final stretch of the 2025-2025 dual slate.
Gophers top Bucks 20-17 behind four bonus point wins
Ohio State and Minnesota are two of just a select group of elite teams with all ten ranked wrestlers, and though not all ten of these ranked athletes for each team took the mat on Friday night, both programs brought the intensity, resulting in a narrow, three-point upset win for Minnesota. The Gophers, as usual, picked up bonus points from 2021 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson at heavyweight in a tough match against All-American Nick Feldman 13-4, and they also earned major decisions from Tommy Askey at 157 pounds and Max McEnelly at 184 pounds, and a tech fall from No. 11 Andrew Sparks.
To the wire 😮💨
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling)
No. 8 takes down No. 4 Ohio State, 20-17.
McEnelly, in particular, is having a phenomenal year as a redshirt freshman with an undefeated 17-0 record and wins over Big Ten champion Silas Allred and All-American Bennett Berge. His win over Ohio State's No. 17 Ryder Rogotzke is another notch in his belt.
Ohio State's NCAA finalist and senior leader Sammy Sasso did not wrestle Askey at 157 pounds in what would have been a good, ranked challenge for Sasso, but the Bucks did get a surge from sophomore No. 18 Brendan McCrone who beat No. 9 Cooper Flynn 9-0 and All-American Dylan D'Emilio who topped No. 29 Drew Roberts 11-3.
Buckeye star Jesse Mendez, meanwhile, battled a tough match against Minnesota All-American Vance VomBaur in a bout that nearly went VomBaur's way before Mendez squeezed out the win 6-5. Ben Davino also earned a win for Ohio State in overtime against No. 18 Tyler Wells 3-1, while No. 5 Carson Kharchla added a ranked win over No. 22 Clayton Whiting 7-1.
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The biggest problem for the Bucks, though, came at 165 pounds when No. 11 Sparks turned up the intensity against Brock Herman, a backup to NCAA qualifier Paddy Gallagher. Sparks ended up with the 18-1 tech fall, the only tech fall of the night, for five team points. Big Ten champ Isaiah Salazar also picked up a key win, beating No. 18 Seth Shumate 4-1 in sudden victory. Minnesota's team effort helped the Gophers ultimately get it done against a scrappy, talented Ohio State squad, and this result should earn the squad a rise in the national rankings later this week.
Minnesota also wrestled Purdue over the weekend, beating the Boilermakers 35-6, though fans were deprived of a No. 9 Cooper Flynn vs. No. 1 Matt Ramos match at 125 pounds with Flynn instead wrestling backup Isaiah Quintero to a 5-2 decision win.
Josh Barr’s upset over Jacob Cardenas helps Penn State shut out the No. 19 Wolverines
Penn State is just unstoppable. The Nittany Lions have flexed their depth and strength all year, dominating No. 7 Nebraska, crushing No. 2 Iowa, taking down No. 12 Rutgers, and now, in relentless fashion, shutting out No. 19 Michigan, a team that finished third at NCAAs last season. Penn State was certainly favored in this dual, holding a rankings edge in nine of ten matches, but being favored in nine matches AND winning all nine plus taking an upset victory at 197 pounds are two different things. There’s just a certainty to this year’s Penn State squad from top to bottom — the Nittany Lions don’t lose.
An electric atmosphere last night in a packed BJC Dual!
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST)
Get ready for tomorrow's Rec Hall showdown with Maryland by looking back at last night's shutout win over Michigan!
Luke Lilledahl kicked off the action with a pin against Michigan’s Christian Tanefeu in the third period, while backup Kyison Garcia followed with a 4-1 decision against Michigan’s Nolan Wertanen. All-American Beau Bartlett then battled a tough Sergio Lemley 3-2 before teammates Shayne Van Ness and Tyler Kasak added their own decisions, while Mitchell Mesenbrink, Levi Haines and Carter Starocci notched bonus point wins.
The match of the night came at 197 pounds as Penn State’s No. 4 redshirt freshman Josh Barr took on graduate student and two-time All-American Jacob Cardenas. Barr didn’t back down for a second against the Wolverine, charging him early and forcing action. Neither athlete managed to score in the first period, but the pace was high with the athleticism of both men on full display. Barr and Cardenas both notched escapes in the second and third periods, respectively, but those points would prove to be the only points in regulation.
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Overtime looked like much of the same for Barr and Cardenas with neither athlete earning a takedown in the two-minute sudden victory period. Cardenas then put himself in a winning position with a quick escape in tiebreakers, but Barr, in gritty fashion, fought for a reversal in his 30-second tie-breaker to take the win 3-2, giving him his fourth win over an All-American thus far this season.
NCAA champion Greg Kerkvliet then finished off the dual for Penn State with a solid 6-0 win over No. 8 Josh Heindselman.
The Nittany Lions continued their winning ways two days later against the Terps — a team that only narrowly lost to Rutgers earlier in the weekend 20-21. Penn State beat Maryland 35-10, but the most notable result of the afternoon came in a match that will be recorded as an injury default win at 157 pounds for Maryland. Penn State's No. 1 Tyler Kasak, who was leading 1-0 after an escape in the second period, went down with a head injury and ultimately entered concussion protocol, extending Maryland's No. 6 Ethen Miller's undefeated season. Kasak's status remains uncertain, according to head coach Cael Sanderson’s comments in the , but he's expected to return by the conference tournament.
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Penn State will have Ohio State, Illinois and American left this season, with the big individual matches to watch in those bouts being No. 1 Jesse Mendez vs. No. 3 Beau Bartlett in the Ohio State match, and No. 7 Braeden Davis vs. No. 4 Lucas Byrd in the Illinois match, if Davis is healthy.
Iowa, Oklahoma State survive tough tests from in-conference foes
The Oklahoma State Cowboys jumped to No. 2 last week in the NWCA polls following Iowa's loss to the Nittany Lions, but that doesn't mean that the Cowboys are head and shoulders above the rest of the field in the same way that Penn State is. In fact, Oklahoma State, and the now No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes both trailed at points in their duals against No. 16 Little Rock and No. 7 Nebraska before ultimately squeaking out the win.
GUTS. l
— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling)
Iowa's victory was narrower than Oklahoma State with the Hawks taking the win 19-17 behind bonus points from No. 1 Stephen Buchanan and No. 11 Ben Kueter at 197 pounds and 285 pounds respectively. Buchanan took the mat immediately following teammate Gabe Arnold's upset loss to No. 8 Silas Allred in overtime and went to work. He ramped up the pace against No. 20 Camden McDanel, wearing down the Husker before ultimately pinning him in a dramatic fashion to put the fate of the dual in the hands of Iowa's heavyweight Ben Kueter.
Kueter's match against No. 21 Harley Andrews looked competitive at first, with Andrews initially earning the first takedown before having those points wiped away. Kueter then picked up a takedown of his own with backpoints to take a 5-0 lead at the end of the first period. A reversal in the final seconds of the third period combined with a riding time point gave Kueter the major and secured Iowa's win 19-16.
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Iowa's No. 4 Kyle Parco also picked up a key win in the dual, topping No. 2 Ridge Lovett 3-2 for the third time in his career. Parco, Lovett and Penn State's Shayne Van Ness create a ranker's delight with Parco's win over Van Ness, Van Ness' major decision against Parco and Lovett's major decision against Van Ness. These three will be fun to watch in March.
Nebraska's No. 14 Lenny Pinto also made a statement in the dual with his 18-11 high-paced win against Iowa's No. 6 Patrick Kennedy. This is the kind of Round of 12 match that both athletes could find themselves in next month, so Pinto's ability to find a way to win is an important testament to where the Husker is at right now. Kennedy will have a chance to rebound next weekend against Minnesota and Northwestern.
No. 14 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska) upsets No. 6 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 18-11 in a candidate for match of the year.
— Saturday Night Lights (@WrestlingSNL)
Condensed Match:
While Iowa was pushed by Nebraska more than Oklahoma State was challenged by its competitor Little Rock this weekend, the Trojans did put up a valiant fight and showed that they don't back down from anyone. In fact, Oklahoma State actually trailed Little Rock 13-8 midway through the dual after No. 17 Matt Bianchi's pin over No. 12 Caleb Fish at 157 pounds. Little Rock held on to a lead even after Oklahoma State's No. 6 Cam Amine picked up a decision win 4-2 against No. 33 Joey Bianchi, though Oklahoma State regained team control following a 6-1 win from No. 3 Dean Hamiti over Little Rock's Tyler Brennan.
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Wins from No. 3 Dustin Plott, No. 7 Luke Surber and No. 3 Wyatt Hendrickson iced the dual for the Cowboys, but Little Rock came to compete and put on a show in front of a record-setting home crowd against the No. 2 team in the country (and head coach Neil Erisman's alma mater).
Little Rock put two athletes on the podium last year and has the opportunity to match, if not exceed that total this year. Oklahoma State and Iowa will likely be battling for the second-place team trophy, but Little Rock could be chasing its own glory in March too.
Nolan Neves shows off against Pittsburgh’s Dayton Pitzer in Carolina’s upset win
Over on the East Coast, No. 18 North Carolina made a headline too, topping No. 15 Pittsburgh 17-16 on criteria, one week after narrowly dropping to in-state rival NC State 19-16. This is a Carolina team that is rounding into form and preparing itself to be a real threat in the top-heavy ACC conference that has been led by NC State and Virginia Tech for nearly a decade.
Friday Night Duals and always deliver 🗣
— UNC Wrestling (@UNCWrestling)
All-American Lachlan McNeil paced the Tar Heels through the first half of the dual with his major decision against No. 28 Finn Solomon, a result that served as the only bonus point win in the opening eight matches. Carolina's Spencer Moore also notched a ranked win at 125 pounds against No. 23 Nick Babin 6-4, while Ethan Oakley, Jayden Scott also added decisions against Tyler Chappell and Anthony Santaniello, respectively.
After the first four bouts though, it was almost all Pittsburgh. The Panthers won 157, 165, 174, 184 and 197 pounds — it all came down to heavyweight. With his team trailing by three points, Carolina sophomore Nolan Neves took the mat against No. 13 Dayton Pitzer and went to work. The big men ran up the scoreboard, but, in the end, Neves found a way to win, topping Pitzer in a dual-defining 14-9 result.
WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Read more about Carolina's upset over Virginia Tech earlier this year
Neves' win tied the dual 16-16, and, since neither team had any pins or tech falls, and both teams had a major decision each as well as five bout wins, the dual went to team points, a criteria that fell in Carolina's favor.
Pittsburgh was Carolina's only opponent over the weekend, while the Panthers also wrestled No. 14 Iowa State and dropped to the Cyclones 23-14.
Former champs Richard Figueroa, Andrew Alirez, Caleb Henson, Parker Keckeisen also added victories to their resumes
Ten returning champs populate each of the ten weight classes in college wrestling this year, led by Penn State's four-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci, who, as previously mentioned, went 2-0 on the weekend with wins over Michigan and Maryland. The other multiple-time NCAA champion in the field, Missouri's Keegan O'Toole, is temporarily out with injury.
Of the remaining eight champs, only three — Ohio State's Jesse Mendez, Virginia Tech's Caleb Henson and Minnesota's Gable Steveson — are ranked No. 1 at their respective weights. Mendez and Steveson notched wins over the weekend against Vance VomBaur and Nick Feldman respectively, in Minnesota's win over Ohio State, while Henson picked up an impressive tech fall over All-American Jaden Abas in Virginia Tech's 30-13 win over Stanford.
Something that isn't fun:
— Virginia Tech Wrestling (@HokiesWrestling)
Wrestling Caleb Henson. 🦃
Henson has been a steading force at a 149-pound weight class that also includes All-Americans Shayne Van Ness, Kyle Parco and Ridge Lovett, all of whom have beaten each other, with Parco recently beating Lovett after losing to Van Ness, a wrestler Lovett majored. Henson's only remaining dual competition includes No. 22 Koy Buesgens of NC State and Solomon of Pitt, putting him in a good position to chase another ACC title and national title in March.
One weight below Henson, at 141 pounds, the battle for the No. 1 spot in the rankings is a little more contested, with undefeated No. 1 Jesse Mendez and No. 2 Andrew Alirez both holding reasonable claim to that top ranking. Mendez has the edge in Intermat's standings right now because he's wrestled less than half as many matches as Mendez, but Alirez did add a nice win to his resume this weekend via a major decision over Julian Tagg of South Dakota State 11-3. The Northern Colorado Bears ultimately lost the team battle 30-10, but Alirez's individual victory keeps him atop the Big 12 rankings.
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Northern Iowa's Parker Keckeisen also made some noise in the Big 12 this weekend, picking up a tech fall against Aidan Brenot of North Dakota State 22-7 to maintain his undefeated season and 88%+ bonus rate. Northern Iowa has had quite the season — the Panthers are currently ranked No. 5 in the country and sit second in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma State. This weekend's 33-6 dominant win over the Bison of NDSU further showcased their dominance and strength.
The only returning champs who are not currently undefeated on the official records for the year are Penn State's Levi Haines — who lost in sudden victory to Missouri's two-time champ Keegan O'Toole — and Arizona State's Richard Figueroa who had to take an injury default loss to Brady Roark of South Dakota State in November.
Figueroa is back to form now though and just picked up a fall over Ethan Perryman of Iowa State. While the Sun Devils still fell to the Cyclones 26-15 this kind of consistent, aggressive offense from Figueroa shows what he's capable of for the rest of the season.
Figueroa with the PIN📌 |
— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios)
Ranked No. 2 in the national rankings behind Matt Ramos, Figueroa will be the favorite to win the Big 12 tournament in March, setting him up for a top-2 seed at NCAAs. He will have three more ranked opponents this year in No. 28 Antonio Lorenzo, No. 12 Sheldon Seymour and No. 18 Jett Strickenberger, and his last win against Lorenzo was a tight 6-5 battle. The best version of Figueroa is a title contender but close matches against these ranked foes with the threat of an upset are not out of the question.
The best version of CSU Bakersfield's AJ Ferrari is also a title contender, though the notorious 197-pound star did not take the mat this weekend in CSU Bakersfield's 28-12 loss to Air Force. Ferrari is 12-0 on the year with nearly an 85% bonus rate with his best win coming against No. 22 Nick Stemmet of Stanford. Ferrari is currently ranked No. 3 in the country behind No. 1 Stephen Buchanan of Iowa and No. 2 Jacob Cardenas of Michigan, though No. 4 Josh Barr will likely jump him after his win over Cardenas.
Ferrari could see No. 5 Stephen Little next week in a match that would pit him against his first All-American of the year. If he takes the mat for that match, it will be must-watch action. If not, questions will still remain about where Ferrari is at against the best in the country this year heading into the conference tournament.
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