Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez beat Iowa’s Kale Peterson 21-3 on senior night Feb. 6 at the Covelli Center. Credit: Dominic Ferraro | Lantern Photographer
Inside Ohio State’s wrestling room, the focus has shifted to the biggest stage of the season. This week, 10 Buckeyes head to Cleveland for the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships, chasing All-American honors and a national title.
Ohio State is one of six programs sending 10 qualifiers to the tournament at Rocket Arena, led by two-time defending champion Jesse Mendez and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Ben Davino, and the Buckeyes are aiming for their first team championship since 2015.
“The backbone of Ohio State wrestling has been the ones that get really tough when it matters the most and that’s this weekend,” head coach Tom Ryan said. “The reputation of Ohio State wrestling is on the very few that elevate when things get really hard.”
In order for a wrestler to earn All-American status, they must finish in the top eight in their respective weight class.
With all 10 weight classes qualifying at the 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, this is the 10th time coach Tom Ryan has sent nine or more wrestlers to the national tournament, all over his 20-year coaching career at Ohio State.
Both coming off Big Ten Championship titles, Davino will make his first appearance in the NCAA Championships, seeded No. 2 at the 133 weight class and Mendez will be chasing the third individual title of his career, seeded No. 1 at 141.
Davino said that despite it being his first time competing at this stage, he is looking to rise to the occasion.
“I truly can’t wait to represent Ohio State,” he said. “We’re a program built on champions, and I can’t wait to fill up those expectations.”
The Buckeyes also return six NCAA qualifiers from last season – Jesse Mendez, Nic Bouzakis (125), Brandon Cannon (157), Paddy Gallagher (165), Carson Kharchla (174) and Nick Feldman (HWT) – as the Buckeyes look to improve on last year’s fifth-place finish.
Ryan said having experienced leaders who have been in this position before will be key as the Buckeyes chase a national title.
“I think that’s helped us tremendously, having really good role models for the young guys to look at,” he said. “Sometimes being elite is just being a great follower and we’ve got a lot of great leaders for them to follow.”
Redshirt sophomore Luke Geog will make his second NCAA Championships appearance as the No. 12 seed at 197, after his season was cut short due to injury last year. Transfers, Ethan Stiles (149) and Dylan Fishback (184), will also compete in their second NCAA championships this weekend, their first as Buckeyes.
After finishing second at the Big Ten Championships, the Buckeyes now turn their attention to bringing home a national title.
While a title remains the main goal, Ryan said the main focus is for every wrestler to leave it all out on the mat.
“Success in Cleveland looks like 10 men leaving knowing that they gave everything they possibly could to help the team,” Ryan said. “I want every guy driving back down to Columbus thinking I gave it my all
