Men’s College Notebook: Week 2 Primer

The college wrestling season got underway last weekend with the NWCA All-Star Classic highlighting the action, in addition to a few tournaments and duals. This weekend is packed with even more action, a good variety for wrestling fans to enjoy.

We still must wait one week until the National Duals, but the matchups below could serve as a primer to get you excited.

Here is a look at a couple of duals each day through the weekend.

While this dual might not be close once it’s over, what wrestling fan doesn’t like to get the action started with a Thursday night dual? It’s also the Hawkeyes’ home opener, and all eyes are eager to see all the newcomers for Iowa.

Iowa added transfers that could be potential starters at 125 pounds (Dean Peterson), 141 pounds (Nasir Bailey), 157 pounds (Jordan Williams), and 197 pounds (Massoma Endene).

Will we see a ranked battle at heavyweight? Iowa’s Ben Kueter had hip surgery following his All-America finish. But when will he return full-time? Oh, and the much-hyped debut of redshirt freshman Angelo Ferrari at 184 pounds.

A pair of ranked battles, both hosted by top five schools, is set for your Friday night. Nebraska’s lineup features a pair of former national champions (Antrell Taylor last year at 157 pounds and AJ Ferrari making his Cornhuskers debut up at heavyweight) and a returning NCAA finalist (Brock Hardy last year at 141 pounds). Army constantly has one of the toughest schedules every season and is known for giving teams hard-fought duals.

Stanford suffered a dual loss to Utah Valley last weekend, but the Cardinal were down three top 10 starters. If the full lineups are thrown out on the mat by both squads, we could be in for a banger. At 125 pounds, returning NCAA finalist Troy Spratley is ready for another crack at the national title for the Cowboys, while Stanford’s Nico Provo was forced to redshirt last year but was ranked #1 in the weight class after winning the 2023 CKLV Invite. Next weight up we have former national champion Richard Figueroa, who won NCAAs at 125 pounds at Arizona State in 2024, not only debuting at a new school but also at a new weight. Uber recruit Ladarion Lockett could make his Cowboy debut against a top five foe in Hunter Garvin.

The Journeymen WrangleMania has always been a great day of duals in Bethlehem, Pa. These two battles will be ones to watch.

Leigh is coming off back-to-back 15th place finishes at the NCAAs and gets back four wrestlers that missed last year who all rank in the top 10. If duals start at 125 pounds for Lehigh, they will march out the #5, #2, and #3 ranked wrestlers in the first three bouts this one. Rutgers is primed for a big season; they reloaded at the upper weights in the portal, headlined by #8 Lenny Pinto transferring in from Nebraska.

Despite the #4 national ranking, Ohio State still has lineup questions to answer. At last week’s Clarion Open, the Buckeyes had three wrestlers in both the 125- and 197-pound brackets. A wrestler from Ohio State won each of those two brackets, but it wasn’t the wrestler most expected in both circumstances.

Nic Bouzakis was a two-time NCAA Qualifier at 133 pounds, including being the seventh seed last year, but is coming down to 125 pounds and was presumed to be the starter. However, last year’s starter, Brendan McCrone, is not ready to let go of that spot and scored a 5-4 win over Bouzakis in the final. Up at 197, Luke Geogg took a 10-4 win over Ryder Rogotzke (who has an available redshirt) in the final; this was after presumed starter Seth Shumate fell in his opening match.

The winner continues as the only ‘UNC’ – Northern Colorado and North Carolina will battle it out. Both are young squads, and both have a lot of lineup questions to start the season. Northern Colorado is under first-year head coach Teyon Ware and lost a pair of 2025 All-Americans to Iowa State in the offseason: Stevo Poulin at 125 pounds and Vinny Zerban at 157 pounds. The Tar Heels could feature as many as seven new starters this year and will rely on a deep redshirt freshman class. That said, it could be a pair of veteran transfers leading the charge for the Tar Heels this year: Ethan Oakley at 133 pounds and Bryce Hepner at 165 pounds.

Outside of the duals, a few tournaments to track (top programs registered are mentioned):

Cyclone Invite (Nov. 8)

Iowa State, Wisconsin, Utah Valley

Michigan State Open (Nov. 8)

Michigan, Indiana, Arizona State

Bison Open (Nov. 9)

Minnesota, South Dakota St., North Dakota St.

Tiger Style Invitational (Nov. 9)

Oklahoma, South Dakota St., Missouri, Purdue, Little Rock

Journeymen Collegiate Classic (Nov. 9)

Lehigh, Northern Iowa, Army, Indiana, Columbia, Navy, Virginia, Penn