After the electrifying first and second rounds of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday, fans await the highly anticipated quarterfinal round on Friday at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland. Penn State’s Luke Lilledahl will headline the 125lbs category, as he will face Iowa’s Dean Peterson.
Along with Lilledahl, his teammates Shayne Van Ness, PJ Duke, and Mitchell Mesenbrink will lead the 141lbs, 149lbs, and 157lbs categories, respectively. Penn State’s Levi Haines will also lead the 174lbs category in the quarterfinal after defeating Columbia’s Nick Fine with a technical fall of 21-5 in the previous round.
Rocco Welsh will face Nebraska’s Silas Allred, who entered the quarterfinal after dominating Chris Moore. The wrestlers are entering the quarterfinal round, as Penn State leads the points table with 40.5. They are followed by Nebraska, Iowa, and OK State with 27.0, 25.0, and 25.0, respectively.
Schedule And Start Times for the Quarterfinal Rounds At The 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships
The quarterfinal rounds of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships will be held on Friday, March 20. The bouts will be held during the third session of the tournament, commencing at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Four faceoffs will be hosted in each of the 10 categories, including 125, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165, 174, 184, 197, and 285 lbs. The 40 quarterfinal rounds will be followed by the semifinal bouts in the fourth session on the same day at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Where To Watch The Quarterfinal Rounds At The 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships?
The intense action at the quarterfinal stage of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships will be streamed live on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU. Fans can also tune into ESPN+ to catch the action live.
The lineup of faceoffs during the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships is given below:
125 lbs
- (1) Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) vs. (8) Dean Peterson (Iowa)
- (5) Troy Spratley (OK State) vs. (4) Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh)
- (14) Jacob Moran (Indiana) vs. (6) Jore Volk (Minnesota)
- (10) Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) vs. (2) Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech)
133 lbs
- (1) Jax Forrest (OK State) vs. (8) Markel Baker (Northern Illinois)
- (5) Kyler Larkin (Arizona State) vs. (4) Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech)
- (3) Marcus Blaze (Penn State) vs. (6) Drake Ayala (Iowa)
- (7) Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs. (2) Ben Davino (Ohio State)
141 lbs
- (1) Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) vs. (8) Vance Vombaur (Minnesota)
- (5) Luke Stanich (Lehigh) vs. (4) Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State)
- (3) Brock Hardy (Nebraska) vs. (6) Vince Cornella (Cornell)
- (7) Nasir Bailey (Iowa) vs. (2) Sergio Vega (OK State)
149 lbs
- (1) Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) vs. (8) Casey Swiderski (OK State)
- (12) Carter Young (Maryland) vs. (20) Chance Lamer (Nebraska)
- (3) Cross Wasilewski (Penn) vs. (11) Lachlan McNeil (Michigan)
- (10) Aden Valencia (Stanford) vs. (2) Jaxon Joy (Cornell)
157 lbs
- (1) PJ Duke (Penn State) vs. (8) Brandon Cannon (Ohio State)
- (5) Landon Robideau (OK State) vs. (4) Kaleb Larkin (Arizona State)
- (3) Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) vs. (11) Ty Watters (West Virginia)
- (7) Kannon Webster (Illinois) vs. (2) Antrell Taylor (Nebraska)
165 lbs
- (1) Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) vs. (9) Bryce Hepner (North Carolina)
- (12) Cesar Alvan (Columbia) vs. (4) Nicco Ruiz (Arizona State)
- (3) Mikey Caliendo (Iowa) vs. (27) EJ Parco (Stanford)
- (10) Will Denny (NC State) vs. (2) Joey Blaze (Purdue)
174 lbs
- (1) Levi Haines (Penn State) vs. (9) Beau Mantanona (Michigan)
- (5) Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) vs. (4) Carson Kharchla (Ohio State)
- (3) Christopher Minto (Nebraska) vs. (11) MJ Gaitan (Iowa State)
- (7) Cam Steed (Missouri) vs. (15) Danny Wask (Navy)
184 lbs
- (1) Rocco Welsh (Penn State) vs. (8) Silas Allred (Nebraska)
- (5) Brock Mantanona (Michigan) vs. (20) Brian Soldano (Oklahoma)
- (3) Max McEnelly (Minnesota) vs. (6) Eddie Neitenbach (Wyoming)
- (7) Angelo Ferrari (Iowa) vs. (2) Aeoden Sinclair (Missouri)
197 lbs
- (1) Josh Barr (Penn State) vs. (9) Angelo Posada (Stanford)
- (5) Joey Novak (Wyoming) vs. (4) Colton Hawks (Arizona State)
- (3) Stephen Little (Little Rock) vs. (11) Camden McDanel (Nebraska)
- (7) Cody Merrill (OK State) vs. (15) Remy Cotton (Rutgers)
285 lbs
- (1) Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) vs. (8) Ben Kueter (Iowa)
- (21) Juan Mora (Oklahoma) vs. (4) AJ Ferrari (Nebraska)
- (3) Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) vs. (27) Hunter Catka (Rutgers)
- (7) Konner Doucet (OK State) vs. (2) Isaac Trumble (NC State)
Read more:
Ex-Mizzou Star Defends Jax Forrest’s No. 1 NCAA Seed Amid Growing Backlash
Jax Forrest Celebrates Big 12 Championship And Outstanding Wrestler Honors As Bo Bassett Responds
NCAA Wrestling Championships 2026: Full TV Schedule & How to Watch Live
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