LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bellarmine wrestling traveled to Toledo, Ohio for the NCWA Great Lakes Conference Championships on Saturday, and the Knights crowned seven champions.
Bellarmine's Jack Parker (125), Zac Cowan (149), Alex Rivera (157), Cole Nance (165), Devan Hendricks (174), Kennedy Wyatt (184), and Thadd Huff (285) all claimed first place in their respective weight classes.
The Knights placed second out of nine teams with 128 points on the day, only trailing Grand Valley State who scored 144.5.
"The guys had a lot of fun today with scoring a lot of points in their matches and bonus points for the team," Knights Head Coach Ned Shuck said.

The final NCWA Women's Rankings before next weekend's Conference tournaments show Ottawa University - Arizona distancing themselves from the pack including arch-rival Grays Harbor College (Washington). Perhaps the biggest surprise (outside of Surprise, AZ) is the mighty women of M.I.T. who at 3 strong come in at 3rd in the rankings! The top-10 teams in the Women's Division are as follows:

1. Ottawa University - Arizona (Surprise, AZ) - 57
2. Grays Harbor College (Aberdeen, WA) - 46
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) - 23
4. Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, AZ) - 22
5. Washington State University (Pullman, WA) - 19
6. Big Bend CC (Moses Lake, WA) - 15
7. Texas State University (San Marcos, TX) - 13
8. Colorado State University (Ft. Collins, CO) - 11
8. Northeastern University (Boston, MA) - 11
10. Fresno State University (Fresno, CA) - 10

The individual rankings are spread out among teams with only M.I.T. having more than one #1 ranking:

101 - Jasmine Cortez - Fr - Texas State - 4-0
109 - Hermelinda Mendoza - Jr - Ottawa-Arizona - 14-1
116 - Mercaydeez Scott - Jr - Ferris State
123 - Lauren Stone - Jr - Florida
130 - Viveca Pannell - So - M.I.T. - 16-7
136 - Samantha Tuttle - Jr - Grand Canyon - 8-5
143 - Anastacia Fucci - Fr - Colorado State - 14-0
155 - Maggie Palmore - Jr - Tampa
170 - Maile Ka-ahanui - Jr - Liberty - 2-0
191 - Sarah Sams - Jr - M.I.T. - 3-2
235 - Katie Moore - Jr - Stony Brook

For a full list of top-8 rankings for all 11 NCWA weight classes click READ MORE.

One thing has become clear since the NCWA National Duals...Bellarmine is for real. Not only are they for real in the NCWA Division with a shot at a National Title in March, but they are a legitimate contender in their NCAA Southern Conference as well compiling an overall dual record of 10-2, with their only NCAA-D1 losses coming to Appalachian State and Gardner-Webb. What isn't clear is which team will leave Puerto Rico with the National Championship title. The current rankings have Liberty still at #1 with 78 points; however, Bellarmine has closed the gap considerably at #2 with 75 points. The top-10 NCWA-D1 are as follows:

#1 Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA) - 78
#2 Bellarmine University (Louisville, KY) - 75 [NCAA-D1]
#3 The Apprentice School (Newport News, VA) - 61
#4 University of Toledo (Toledo, OH) - 42
#5 Grand Valley State University (Allendale, MI) - 39
#6 Queens University of Charlotte (Charlotte, NC) - 29 [NCAA-D1]
#7 Springfield Tech CC (Springfield, MA) - 26
#8 University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL) - 21
#9 Allen University (Allen, SC) - 14 [NCAA-D2]
#10 Grays Harbor College (Aberdeen, WA) - 13

Leading NCWA-D2 are some of the mainstays:

#1 Ohio State WC - 25
#2 Penn State WC - 21
#3 Slippery Rock - 11
#4 Rutgers WC - 10
#5 Fresno State WC / South Carolina / Virginia Tech WC - 9

Bellarmine and Liberty dominate the #1 spots for the men:

125 - Jack Parker - So - Bellarmine - 21-10
133 - Michael Schiffhauer - Fr - Bellarmine - 20-4
141 - Melvin Rubio - Gr - Queens - 11-10
149 - Zach Blevins - Gr - Toledo - 6-1
157 - Grant O'Dell - Fr - Bellarmine - 8-3
165 - Cole Nance - So - Bellarmine - 22-11
174 - Luke Lardarello - Jr - Penn State-Mont Alto - 10-5
184 - Ben Liss - Jr - Rutgers WC - 17-2
197 - Josiah Murphy - Sr - Liberty - 9-1
235 - Jeff Allen - Sr - Liberty - 22-2
285 - Fredrick Weaver - Jr - Liberty - 23-3

For a full list of top-25 rankings for all 11 NCWA weight classes click READ MORE.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Springfield Technical Community College’s wrestling program hosted the inaugural 2023 National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) Massachusetts state wrestling championships on Feb. 5 at its home gym and came out on top in team standings. STCC went up against squads from >>>

The NCWA had significant growth this season, both in the men's and women's divisions. The men's numbers have returned to pre-pandemic levels and added a 9th conference: the Puerto Rico Conference; while the Women's division continues to grow in popularity. As such, the NCWA Tournament Committee has released an increase in National Qualifying bids to account for the growth.

It was a tough 20 hour journey for the STCC team. Leaving at 3am on Friday morning from MA and arriving at 11pm Friday night. "Delay after delay at Chicago O'Hare airport left us wondering if we were going to actually make it to the event. We did not have any time to get a practice in so we had to rely on jumping rope and taking jogs through the airport in order to maintain our weight. Thanks to JMU Coach Colin Steele once we arrived he had the wrestling arena open for us to check our weight. He was a great host. The next morning we weighed in and wrestled some tough teams. STCC traveled to Virginia with 7 national qualifiers 4 of whom were all-Americans." ~ Alberto Nieves (STCC Head Coach)

The team was led by 125 two time all-American Dylan Beddow who went undefeated in the duals with a 4-0 record. All-American Michael Gonzalez at 133 went 3-1 with two hard fought overtime matches while #3 Ranked freshman Kalil Shabazz chalked up a 4-0 record for the duals over the weekend. At 149 Joe Podolak a 2022 National qualifier also went 4-0 for the Pride and freshman 157lb. James Lunt recorded a 3-1 tournament record. Mitchell Aarons the 165lb freshmen went 1-3 and 174, Ricardo Magny 3x National qualifier dropped a weight from 184 to record 3-0 undefeated weekend. 184lb Stephano Magny went 3-1 after dropping weight from 197 and scored key wins for the team. At 197 Johnny Andre, National qualifier went 3-1 and at 235lb. Shawn Conniff finished the tournament undefeated at 4-0. #4 ranked heavyweight Jacob Gariepy closed out the STCC streak with 4 wins against no losses.
STCC will look forward to hosting the first NCWA Massachusetts State Championship at home on Feb 5th. with MIT, UMASS and Northeastern University in attendance.

Washington State University Men’s Team earned first place at the Western Regional Duals in Surprise, Arizona. WSU had a total of 5 wins and 0 losses at the Duals in head-to-head wins of 60-6 over Colorado State, 46-12 over Texas A&M and 49-12 over host team Ottawa University to win their pool of 4 teams on day one of competition.

Day two saw a tough battle between WSU and Wayne’s State College with the Cougers prevailing 39-21 securing them a spot in the final match against North West Conference rival Grays Harbor. WSU pulled an upset of the number one seeded Grays Harbor team with an overwhelming 39-18 win to end the 2-day event with WSU’s first ever Western Regional Championship. The WSU Cougar wrestlers were led by numerous undefeated .....

VIRGINIA BEACH - The Apprentice School hosted its first Builder Invitational since January 2020 Sunday, winning the team title with a total of 206 points. Seven Builders claimed gold, winning their respective weight classes. Surging NCWA rivals Toledo was second with 106 points, followed by the inaugural squad from NCAA Division III Marymount University with 85. The 125 pound bracket was nearly......

The Roberto Clemente Coliseum became unavailable due to unexpected repairs and determined unusable for the 2023 National Collegiate Wrestling Championships. Discover Puerto Rico's Carlos Deliz and promoter Jerry Orsini have joined forces to make the Puerto Rico Convention Center available as the new and improved venue for this year's event.

The move to this state-of-the-art Convention Center also places the venue and host hotels in the upscale T-Mobile District, eliminating the need for buses to transport athletes and coaches. Guests of the hotels can now walk the five minutes to the Convention Center. For more information on the 2023 National Collegiate Wrestling Championships, please visit www.NcwaNationals.org.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In its second day of competition at the Louisville
Exposition Center, the Bellarmine wrestling team earned first place in the
NCWA Division at the NWCA / US Marine Corp National Duals.

The Knights won all six duals they competed in over the past two days to claim the title. Each dual featured 11 bouts, including a 235 match, which is unique to the NCWA division. Seven Bellarmine wrestlers went 6-0 to help propel the Knights to the tournament win.

Friday – Pool B Results
-Bellarmine 42 – Queens 9
-Bellarmine 58 – Emory & Henry 6
-Bellarmine 46 – Apprentice School 6

Saturday – Tournament
-Bellarmine 48 – Central Florida 6
-Bellarmine 35 – Queens 12
-Bellarmine 29 – Liberty 21

"I love how our team continued to grow together as the tournament progressed," Knights Head Coach Ned Shuck said. "A dual meet atmosphere is really special and we

Four-time-defending NCWA National Duals tournament champion Liberty University’s men’s wrestling team came up just short in its bid for a fifth consecutive crown, Saturday at the Kentucky Convention Center.

More than 1,600 men’s and women’s wrestlers converged in Louisville, Ky., for the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) multi-divisional dual meet national tournament, divided into NCAA DII and DIII as well as NAIA and NCWA classifications.

After rallying from a 21-9 deficit to edge Mid-Atlantic Conference foe Apprentice School, 25-24, in the semifinals, the Flames bowed to Bellarmine University, which is

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Emory & Henry College Men's Wrestling Team competed at the USMC/NWCA Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships on Friday and Saturday. The Wasps wrestled in three pool play duals on Friday and three placing duals on Saturday. Seeded eighth in the NCWA division, which included two NCAA DI teams being reclassified from DII institutions. E&H finished in seventh place defeating University of Central Florida on Saturday afternoon with a 31-26 upset victory.

The Basics
FINAL SCORE – #4 The Apprentice School 59, #8 Emory & Henry 0
FINAL SCORE – #2 Bellarmine 58, #8 Emory & Henry 6
FINAL SCORE – #6 Queens (N.C.) 60, #8 Emory & Henry -1
FINAL SCORE – #1 Liberty 57, #8 Emory & Henry 3
FINAL SCORE – #5 Grand Valley State 40, #8 Emory & Henry 24
FINAL SCORE – #8 Emory & Henry 31, #7 Central Florida 26
LOCATION – Louisville, Kentucky
VENUE – Kentucky Exposition Center
RECORD – Emory & Henry (3-17, 0-3 SACC)

Liberty University’s top-seeded, four-time-defending NCWA National Duals championship wrestling team got out to a dominant start in Friday’s matches in its pool, slamming No. 5 seed Grand Valley State, 40-14, in the morning opener and No. 7 Central Florida, 55-3, in the afternoon match before taking down No. 3 Toledo, 41-9, in the evening clash at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky.

The Flames got pins from senior Charles Hudson at 149 pounds, sophomore Gabe Hayes at 184, and senior Seth Ellsmore at 235, and technical falls from seniors David Over at 165 and Rick Weaver at heavyweight to sink the Lakers. Ellsmore, who played football at NCAA.....

The Toledo Rockets and Grand Valley State Lakers previously squared off at the Thanksgiving Duals with the dual coming down to the heavyweight match. Toledo ultimately won 28-21. The dual was much closer at the 2023 NCWA National Duals as both squads had key additions to the lineup that weren't present in November. As with the November dual, the match ultimately came down to the heavyweight match. #3 seeded Toledo won that match and consequently the dual to secure a 27-25 victory over #5 GVSU heading into Saturday's Quarterfinals.

See Match Breakdown using current NCWA rankings:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -The Apprentice School wrestling squad went 2-1 in pool B action on day one at the NCWA National Duals. The Builders notched a pair of dominant wins before falling to NCAA DI Bellarmine (KY).

The first round of action saw the Builders shut out conference rivals Emory & Henry NCAA DII, 59-0. Recording pins were Bruno Alves (125), Dillon Messick (133), David Norris (157), David McElravy (184), Matthew Henson (197) and Peter Cortapasso (285).

In the second round, Apprentice stopped NCAA DI Queens (N.C.), 38-13. The lightweights put on a show putting the Builders up 20-0 after pins from

Liberty University’s four-time-defending NCWA National Duals tournament champion men’s wrestling team is seeded No. 1 out of eight teams in the field for this Friday’s and Saturday’s event hosted by the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky.

The tournament is being held for the first time in conjunction with the multi-divisional National Duals, with separate brackets for NCAA Division II men, NCAA Division III men, NCAA women, NAIA men, and NAIA women. A complete list of teams is available on the NCWA.net website.

The seedings for the tournament were determined partly by ranking procedures and partly by

Change is inevitable. The year changes, the weather changes, and yes even top wrestlers change weights!

The end of 2022 saw the two NCWA Women's powerhouse teams battle it out in the Las Vegas Desert Duals. While the dual was pretty one-sided with Ottawa - Arizona coming out on top over Grays Harbor College 32-4, the top of the individual rankings didn't move very much...as the saying goes, the more things change, the more things stay the same...

The #1-ranked wrestlers in the NCWA Women's division are as follows: 101 - Hermelinda Mendoza (Jr, Ottawa-Arizona, 7-1), 109 - Daniela Suttles (Jr, Grand Canyon, 3-3), 116 - Brenna Andres (Sr, Winona State), 123 - Lauren Stone (Jr - Florida), 130 - Viveca Pannell (So, MIT, 6-3), 136 - Grace Miller (Jr, Grays Harbor, 12-5), 143 - Jocelyn Fierro (So, Grays Harbor), 155 - Maggie Palmore (Jr, Tampa), 170 - Maile Ka-ahanul (Jr, Liberty), 191 - Sarah Sams (Jr, MIT, 3-2), and 235 - Katie Moore (Jr, Stony Brook). Mendoza, Andres, Stone, Miller, Fierro, Palmore, Sams, and Moore are all returning National Champions at their respective weight classes. Pannell was previously ranked #2 at 123 but with a move to 130 is favored to win that weight.

The top-10 teams look similar to the first rankings of the year with the exception of newcomers Grand Canyon (AZ) and Pacific Lutheran (WA): #1 Ottawa - Arizona (62), #2 Grays Harbor (59), #3 Big Bend CC (26), #4 MIT (21), #5 Washington State (19), #6 Grand Canyon (15), #7 Western Washington (12), and 3 tied at #8 Colorado State, Pacific Lutheran, and Washington (9). While 7 of the #1 ranked wrestlers individually hail from East of the Mississippi, the overwhelming balance of power for teams lies out west with three teams representing the West Coast Conference and six teams representing the Northwest Conference (in fact all from the State of Washington).

For a full list of the newest NCWA Women's Division rankings click on READ MORE!

The seeding for the 2023 NCWA National Duals, which will be held at the Kentucky Exposition Center January 6-7th as part of the NWCA's Multi-Divisional National Duals for the first time officially, has been announced. Prior National Duals for the NCWA were held from 2009 to 2022 at separate dates/venues from the other divisions. The seeding for the tournament was determined partly by ranking procedures and partly by a Coaches vote from the participating programs.

#1 Liberty University (NCWA-D1) - Lynchburg, VA
#2 Bellarmine University (NCAA-D1, transitioning team) - Louisville, KY
#3 University of Toledo (NCWA-D1) - Toledo, OH
#4 The Apprentice School (NCWA-D1) - Newport News, VA
#5 Grand Valley State University (NCWA-D1) - Allendale, MI
#6 Queens University of Charlotte (NCAA-D1, transitioning team) - Charlotte, NC
#7 University of Central Florida (NCWA-D1) - Orlando, FL
#8 Emory & Henry College (NCAA-D2, transitioning team) - Emory, VA

Day 1 of the event will feature round-robin pools. Pool A will feature #1 Liberty, #3 Toledo, #5 GVSU, and #7 UCF. Pool B will feature #2 Bellarmine, #4 Apprentice, #6 Queens, and #8 Emory & Henry.

Day 2 will see all 8 teams advance into a bracket based on pool results. The NCWA is the only division using this format and also the only division with a 235-lb weight class, which has been in existence in the NCWA since 1999 (the second NCWA championship held).

This tournament looks to be the toughest NCWA National Duals to date with the top-6 teams nationally present along with #9 UCF and #20 Emory & Henry. All together, the 8 teams will send out 26 returning All-Americans including 8 former NCWA National Champions, 11 Freshman that were State Champions, and a total of 22 of a possible 33 wrestlers ranked in the top-3 at their respective weight classes.

A full schedule and bracket can be accessed by clicking READ MORE.

For more information on the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals click HERE.

Liberty still rules the NCWA rankings with 5-top ranked wrestlers and 85 total team points. The top-5 is rounded out by The Apprentice School (52), Bellarmine University (51), the University of Toledo (48), and Queens University of Charlotte (40). Bellarmine and Queens are currently transitioning to NCAA-D1 but are also members of the NCWA during that period. These teams along with Grand Valley State University (ranked #6, 30 pts), the University of Central Florida (ranked #9, 21 pts), and Emory & Henry College (ranked #20, 5 pts) will vie for a National Dual title in Louisville, KY on January 6-7, 2023 as part of the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals.

The top-ranked wrestlers at each weight are: Dante Mininno (Sr, Liberty, 125), Kaden Blair (So, Toledo, 133), Jacob Grogan (Jr, Texas A&M, 141), Zach Blevins (Gr, Toledo, 149), Ian McIlhenny (Jr, Liberty, 157), Cole Nance (So, Bellarmine, 165), Luke Lardarello (Jr, Penn State - Mont Alto, 174), Seth Konynenbelt (Sr, Grand Valley State, 184), Josiah Murphy (Sr, Liberty, 197), Jeff Allen (Sr, Liberty, 235), and Frederick Weaver (Jr, Liberty, 285).

Of note, only 1 of the top-ranked wrestlers changed since the last rankings as Cole Nance pinned former #1 at 165 David Over (Liberty) during the Lindenwood Open.

The top five NCWA-D2 (non-Athletic Dept/non-Scholarship division teams) are Penn State WC (22), The Ohio State WC (18), Texas A&M (16), Fresno State WC (10), and Rutgers WC (9).

A full accounting of the top-20 in each of the 11 weight classes can be seen by clicking READ MORE.

Happy Holidays! Look for new NCWA Women's Rankings on New Year's Day!

The University of Toledo started its NCAA-D1 program in 1949 under direction of legendary Joe Scalzo. By 1951, the Rockets established themselves as a powerhouse finishing in 6th place as a team with 6 NCAA qualifiers (there were only 8 weight classes at that time) and two All-Americans (Dick Torio and Harri Lanzi). 1952 saw the team rise to 4th place in the country with its first National Champion in Harri Lanzi at 191 lbs over George Myers of Iowa. Dick Torio again finished as an All-American and 3 other Rockets were NCAA Qualifiers. From 1953 - 1959, the Rockets added 15 more NCAA Qualifiers and 4 more All-Americans. The 1960s were not much different as Toledo amassed 28 NCAA Qualifiers and 6 All-Americans including 3x NCAA Runner-up Dick Wilson, who would represent the United States on many occasions on the World and Olympic teams. But perhaps the greatest run in Toledo's history was by Greg Wojciechowski ("The Great Wojo"). Wojo made three straight NCAA finals in the Unlimited weight class (would likely have been 4 but Freshman were ineligible) winning the NCAA title in 1971 over Dave Joyner of Penn State. Wojciechowski would famously make the 1980 Olympic Team that was boycotted by President Jimmy Carter. Altogether, Toledo had exactly 100 NCAA Qualifiers and 20 NCAA All-Americans from 1951 to 1994. In 1994, the NCAA-D1 program was eliminated along with its rich history. A history that included the founding of the World Cup by Joe Scalzo, Dick Torio, and Dick Wilson. A history in which that World Cup was hosted in Toledo 17 out of 19 years. A history that saw MULTIPLE Olympic and World Team members come out of the University.

Which brought us to 1997. A 17-year old Freshman decided to start the program back up and joined the fledgling National Collegiate Wrestling Association. 25 years later, that Freshman that knew nothing about the world but everything about determination is the Head Coach of a Scholarship program that is competing against NCAA competition week in and week out looking to recapture the glory that Toledo once had captured.

The documentary by LoudKid Films will capture Toledo's rich wrestling history in all its glory, the eventual crash that was as much about Title IX legislation as the 1980 Olympic boycott and politics, and the now resurgent NCWA team on its quest to capture the elusive National Championship that even the greatest teams of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s couldn't achieve. But this story isn't unique to Toledo, the film will likely invoke emotions and attachments to many other programs long abandoned. This is a story about the forgotten men and women that grind each and every day to make a living just to get by and never get recognized for their work. The goal with the current program and film is to provide a guiding light for others to follow down a pathway of redemption, out of the darkness, and to the pinnacle of the sport.

The Toledo Wrestling Foundation in association with LoudKid Films presents to you the RISE of Toledo Wrestling back to prominence.

Watch the trailer by clicking on Read more.. and while you're at it if so moved contribute to the resurgence: https://www.givecampus.com/schools/TheUniversityofToledo/support-utoledo-wrestling