NCAA Wrestling Championships updates: Penn State wins 5th title ahead of finals

Jax Forrest in shadows of becoming national champion at NCAA finals

Jax Forrest’s last high school wrestling match was in late December. He’s two matches away from a national title in college with Oklahoma State.

Zeb Miller

Follow match-by-match results and highlights from the NCAA wrestling finals with USA TODAY Sports’ live updates.

It’s championship Saturday in the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships, and a familiar team will finish atop the leaderboard once again.

Following the consolation semifinals on Saturday, March 21, Penn State was already mathematically guaranteed to win a fifth straight national championship, regardless of the outcome of the seventh-, fifth-, third- and first-place matches. The Nittany Lions were followed by second-place Oklahoma State (119 points). Nebraska (101.5), Iowa (92.5) and Ohio State (84.5) in the top five heading into the championship bouts.

Penn State has six wrestlers in the championship matches.

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Elsewhere, 133-pound top seed Jax Forrest is close to finishing off an undefeated freshman season as he prepares to face No. 3 seed Ben Davino of Ohio State in the final: He has won all his NCAA Wrestling Championships matches with bonus points, including a pin in the opening round, two tech falls and a major decision in the semifinals.

Iowa State heavyweight Yonger Bastida will look to claim his first national championship against Isaac Trumble of North Carolina State. Bastida has scored bonus points in three of his five matches thus far, including two tech falls and a major decision.

Follow along live as USA TODAY Sports provides live bracket updates, team scores and highlights from Day 3 of the NCAA Wrestling Championships:

Below are the top 10 team scores in Day 3 of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. For full team scores, click here.

Of note: Penn State is mathematically guaranteed to win the national championship following the consolation semifinals.

This section will be updated.

PlaceTeamsPoints1Penn State177.52Oklahoma State1273Nebraska100.54Iowa92.55Ohio State84.56Stanford67.57Michigan668Iowa State529Minnesota48.510NC State44.5

Updated NCAA wrestling brackets

Here is the official updated bracket from the NCAA Wrestling Championships following Session 4 on March 20.

This section will be updated.

1st-place matches

• 125 pounds: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) dec. No. 10 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton), 2-1
• 133 pounds: No. 1 Jax Forrest (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 2 Ben Davino (Ohio State)
• 141 pounds: No. 2 Sergio Vega (Oklahoma State) dec. (SV) No. 1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State), 4-1
• 149 pounds: No. 10 Aden Valencia (Stanford) dec. (SV) No. 1 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State), 8-5
• 157 pounds: No. 5 Landon Robideau (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 2 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), 4-2
• 165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) TF No. 3 Mikey Caliendo (Iowa), 20-4 (5:12)
• 174 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Christopher Minto (Nebraska), 2-1
• 184 pounds: No. 3 Max McEnelly (Minnesota) dec. No. 1 Rocco Welsh (Penn State), 4-3
• 197 pounds: No. 1 Josh Barr (Penn State) dec. No. 7 Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State), 6-3
• Heavyweight: No. 2 Isaac Trumble (NC State) dec. No. 1 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State), 5-0

3rd-place matches

• 125 pounds: No. 7 Nico Provo (Stanford) major dec. No. 12 Vincent Robinson (NC State), 10-2
• 133 pounds: No. 4 Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 3 Marcus Blaze (Penn State), 5-0
• 141 pounds: No. 5 Luke Stanich (Lehigh) dec. No. 3 Brock Hardy (Nebraska), 7-2
• 149 pounds: No. 11 Lachlan McNeil (Michigan) dec. No. 20 Chance Lamer (Nebraska), 10-5
• 157 pounds: No. 1 PJ Duke (Penn State) TF No. 8 Brandon Cannon (Ohio State), 20-4 (6:38)
• 165 pounds: No. 12 Cesar Alvan (Columbia) dec. No. 4 Nicco Ruiz (Arizona State), 7-2
• 174 pounds: No. 5 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) dec. No. 4 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State), 9-6
• 184 pounds: No. 2 Aeoden Sinclair (Missouri) major dec. No. 10 Caleb Campos (American), 17-4
• 197 pounds: No. 3 Stephen Little (Little Rock) dec. No. 5 Joey Novak (Wyoming), 7-4
• Heavyweight: No. 3 Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) dec. No. 7 Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State), 5-1

5th-place matches

• 125 pounds: No. 5 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) pins No. 14 Jacob Moran (Indiana) (10-1, 4:11)
• 133 pounds: No. 6 Drake Ayala (Iowa) major dec. No. 15 Tyler Knox (Stanford), 16-5
• 141 pounds: No. 18 Carter Nogle (Air Force) wins via medical forfeit vs. No. 4 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State)
• 149 pounds: No. 4 Collin Gaj (Viginia Tech) dec. No. 15 Ryder Block (Iowa), 4-0
• 157 pounds: No. 7 Kannon Webster (Illinois) wins via medical forfeit vs. No. 11 Ty Watters (West Virginia)
• 165 pounds: No. 13 Andrew Sparks (Minnesota) wins via medical forfeit vs. No. 2 Joey Blaze (Purdue)
• 174 pounds: No. 7 Cam Steed (Missouri) dec. No. 15 Danny Wask (Navy), 5-3
• 184 pounds: No. 5 Brock Mantanona (Michigan) wins via medical forfeit vs. No. 7 Angelo Ferrari (Iowa)
• 197 pounds: No. 11 Camden McDanel (Nebraska) dec. No. 9 Angelo Posada (Stanford), 13-7
• Heavyweight: No. 8 Ben Kueter (Iowa) wins via medical forfeit vs. No. 4 AJ Ferrari (Nebraska)

7th-place matches

• 125 pounds: No. 6 Jore Volk (Minnesota) major dec. No. 11 Tyler Klinsky (Rider), 14-1
• 133 pounds: No. 13 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) dec. (TB1) No. 7 Lucas Byrd (Illinois), 6-5
• 141 pounds: No. 11 CJ Composto (Penn) pins No. 13 Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) (4-3, 4:05)
• 149 pounds: No. Cross Wasilewski (Penn) dec. No. 3 Casey Swiderski (Oklahoma State), 5-2
• 157 pounds: No. 15 Cameron Catrabone (Michigan) wins via medical forfeit vs. No. 3 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell)
• 165 pounds: No. 9 Bryce Hepner (North Carolina) major dec. No. 16 Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State), 9-1
• 174 pounds: No. 9 Beau Mantanona (Michigan) pins No. 11 MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) (8-5, 3:00)
• 184 pounds: No. 6 Eddie Neitenbach (Wyoming) wins via medical forfeit No. 22 Zack Ryder (Oklahoma State)
• 197 pounds: No. 27 Gabe Arnold (Iowa) dec. No. 16 Branson John (Maryland), 6-2
• Heavyweight: No. 10 David Szuba (Arizona State) wins via DQ No. 18 Christian Carroll (Wyoming), 6-0

Consolation semifinals

125 pounds:

• No. 7 Nico Provo (Stanford) dec. No. 14 Jacob Moran (Indiana), 8-1
• No. 12 Vincent Robinson (NC State) dec. (TB1) No. 5 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) 3-2

133 pounds:

• No. 3 Marcus Blaze (Penn State) tech fall No. 15 Tyler Knox (Stanford) 20-4, (5:46)
• No. 4 Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech) major dec. No. 6 Drake Ayala (Iowa), 11-0

141 pounds:

• No. 3 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) wins via medical forfeit vs. No. 4 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State)
• No. 5 Luke Stanich (Lehigh) dec. No. 18 Carter Nogle (Air Force), 9-4

149 pounds:

• No. 11 Lachlan McNeil (Michigan) dec. No. 15 Ryder Block (Iowa), 6-3
• No. 20 Chance Lamer (Nebraska) dec. No. 4 Collin Gaj (Viginia Tech), 4-2

157 pounds:

• No. 8 Brandon Cannon (Ohio State) dec. No. 11 Ty Watters (West Virginia), 9-6
• No. 1 PJ Duke (Penn State) dec. No. 7 Kannon Webster (Illinois), 7-3

165 pounds:

• No. 4 Nicco Ruiz (Arizona State) dec. No. 2 Joey Blaze (Purdue), 2-1
• No. 12 Cesar Alvan (Columbia) dec. No. 13 Andrew Sparks (Minnesota), 5-2

174 pounds:

• No. 4 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) dec. No. 7 Cam Steed (Missouri), 5-2
• No. 5 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) major dec. No. 15 Danny Wask (Navy), 11-1

184 pounds:

• No. 10 Caleb Campos (American) wins by medical forfeit vs. No. 7 Angelo Ferrari (Iowa)
• No. 2 Aeoden Sinclair (Missouri) major dec. No. 5 Brock Mantanona (Michigan), 11-3

197 pounds:

• No. 3 Stephen Little (Little Rock) major dec. No. 9 Angelo Posada (Stanford), 14-4
• No. 5 Joey Novak (Wyoming) dec. No. 11 Camden McDanel (Nebraska), 7-3

Heavyweight:

• No. 3 Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) dec. No. 8 Ben Kueter (Iowa), 5-0
• No. 7 Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State) wins by medical forfeit vs. No. 4 AJ Ferrari (Nebraska)

This section will be updated.

What time do NCAA Wrestling Championships start?

• Date: Saturday, March 21
• Time: 11 a.m. ET (medal rounds) | 6:30 p.m. ET (finals)
• Location: Rocket Arena (Cleveland)

The final day of the NCAA Wrestling Championships will begin at 11 a.m. ET with Session 5 (medal rounds). Following that, the final championship session will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET

What TV channel are NCAA Wrestling Championships today?

The final day of the NCAA Wrestling Championships will air nationally on ESPNU (medal rounds) and ESPN (championships). Streaming options include the ESPN app (with a valid cable login) and Fubo, the latter of which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

Another option is ESPN+, which serves as ESPN’s paid subscription service. It will offer broadcasts of action on Mats 1-4, respectively, as well as a “Matcast” broadcast.