Ohio State Buckeyes finish fifth at NCAA Wrestling Championships
The Ohio State Buckeyes finished in fifth place as a team at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. The Penn State Nittany Lions won the title.
The Ohio State Buckeyes finished the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships with a disappointing yet respectable fifth place finish. Five of Ohio State's ten wrestlers earned All-American honors, though none took home individual titles. Ben Davino and Jesse Mendez each reached the final in their weight class, though both were defeated by Oklahoma State wrestlers.
Mendez lost to Sergio Vega when he was taken down in Sudden Victory overtime off a counterattack. Similarly, Davino gave up one third-period takedown off a Jax Forrest counterattack from a relatively weak shot. Still, those two were the standouts for the Buckeyes.
And there's no shame in falling to an elite wrestler in a national final. Paddy Gallagher earned All-American honors with a dramatic win over E. J.
Parco (Stanford) in Sudden Victory in the fifth consolation round, losing his final two matches to finish in eighth. Ohio State's two other All-Americans were Brandon Cannon and Carson Kharchla. Both were impressive in their respective consolation brackets until the final match.