New Headline: "Rumble Revealed: Meet the Beast - NCAA '26 Champion!
Check out the 141-pound bracket for the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Ohio State’s two-time national champion Jesse Mendez is atop this bracket and is the favorite to win a third crown, but he’ll have plenty of challengers. Among the contenders with New Jersey ties are Lehigh’s Luke Stanich , a U-20 world champion and 2024 All-American ; Rutgers senior Joey Olivieri, who missed two months this season but appears to be in good form ; Penn’s two-time All-American C. J.
Composto and Rider’s breakout senior Eli Griffin . Navy true freshman Caedyn Ricciardi, a two-time state champion at St. Peter’s Prep who lost to Stanich in an epic state final as a sophomore, is the No.
17 seed and could meet Mendez in the second round. 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships When : March 19-21 Where : Rocket Arena, Cleveland TV : ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU Streaming : ESPN+ Schedule Thursday, March 20 Session 1 (pigtails and first-round competition), noon (ESPN2 and ESPN+); Session 2 (Second round and wrestleback first round), 7 p. m.
(ESPN and ESPN+) Friday, March 21 : Session 3 (quarterfinals, wrestleback second and third rounds), noon (ESPNU and ESPN+); Session 4 (Semifinals, blood round and wrestleback fifth round), 8 p. m. (ESPN2 and ESPN+) Saturday, March 22 : Session 5 (Wrestleback semifinals and medal rounds), 11 a.