Nebraska-Kearney leads narrow, five-horse team race after day one at the 2026 NCAA DII Championships
Share:
by Seth Duckworth
Joseph Airola (Neb.-Kearney) after winning in the 141-pound quarterfinals of the 2026 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships.
After one day of wrestling in Sioux Falls, there’s still a wide-open team race for the Division II national title, with five teams remaining in contention.
The defending champs, Nebraska-Kearney, currently lead with 48 points, but second through fifth aren’t far behind. The Lopers put four into the semifinals with Joseph Airola (141), Trenton Munoz (165), Otgonbayar Batsuuri (174), and Crew Howard (HWT) all wrestling tomorrow with a shot at the finals. Kaden Hart (184) and Jackson Kinsella (197) have both made the consolation quarterfinals and locked in All-America finishes.
Wisconsin Parkside trails Nebraska-Kearney by 1.5 points, but landed four in the semifinals, along with one additional All-American on the consolation side. Shane Corrigan (125), Jalen Spuhler (133), Easton Worachek (157), and Sullivan Ramos (184) are all in the semifinals, with Brody Hemauer (165) in the consolation quarterfinals.
Lander is 3.5 points out of first place and also has four semifinalists, with one in the consolation quarterfinals. James Joplin (133), Elijah Lusk (141), David Hunsberger (165), and Maxwell Kiel (174) are all into the semifinals, with Marvelous Rutledge (197) in the consolation quarters and their fifth All-American. Lusk so far has been their surprise performer who helped get them here. Unseeded coming in, he took out the #6 and #3 seeds to make the semifinals. He wrestles the #7 seed tomorrow with a shot at continuing his upset run.
McKendree entered the tournament with only five wrestlers, but they are just four points out of first and have all five still competing tomorrow, with four in the semifinals. Ronan Schuelke (141), Sam Richardson (165), Darion Johnson (184) and Logan Kvien (197) are all in the semifinals, with Thaddeus Long (133) still competing on the consolation side. Darion Johnson was trailing most of his match with UCO’s Branson Britten when, in a huge swing for the team race, Johnson put Britten on his back and got a fall.
The University of Central Oklahoma sits in fifth place but is still only 4.5 points out of first. They are in a unique position as they have fewer wrestlers left in the tournament but also have two #1 seeds left and are favored on paper in every opening match tomorrow. Jason Henschel, the #3 seed at 133, is also the highest-seed remaining on the championship side of his bracket. Henchel, Gabe Johnson (157), and Hunter Jump (174) are all in the semifinals, with Eli Kirk (125) still competing in the consolation bracket.
The semifinals and consolation rounds start at 11 a.m. (ET) tomorrow.
Complete brackets are available at FloWrestling.com.
1. Nebraska Kearney, 48
2. Wisconsin Parkside, 46.5
3. Lander, 44.5
4. McKendree, 44
5. Central Oklahoma, 43.5
6. St. Cloud State, 37
7. Grand Valley State, 33.5
8. Adams State, 32.5
T9. Gannon, 31
T9. Glenville State, 31
Anthony Aniciete (Tiffin) vs. Jack Parker (Grand Valley St.)
Shane Corrigan (Wis.-Parkside) vs. Isaiah Gamez (Adams St.)
James Joplin (Lander) vs. Dominic Ducato (St. Cloud St.)
Jason Henschel (Central Okla.) vs. Jacob Strausbaugh (Umary)
Elijah Lusk (Lander) vs. Khyvon Grace (West Liberty)
Ronan Schuelke (McKendree) vs. Joseph Airola (Neb.-Kearney)
Matthew Sarbo (Pitt-Johnstown) vs. Chris Donathan (Grand Valley St.)
Jalen Spuhler (Wis.-Parkside) vs. Cody Thompson (Colo. Sch. Of Mines)
Gabe Johnson (Central Okla.) vs. Easton Worachek (Wis.-Parkside)
Aaden Valdez (Adams St.) vs. Joel Jesuroga (St. Cloud St.)
David Hunsberger (Lander) vs. Sam Richardson (McKendree)
Trenton Munoz (Neb.-Kearney) vs. Nolan Gessler (Tiffin)
Maxwell Kiel (Lander) vs. Hunter Jump (Central Okla.)
Otgonbayar Batsuuri (Neb.-Kearney) vs. Kydyn Lima (San Fran. St.)
Darion Johnson (McKendree) vs. Keegan Gehlhausen (Chadron St.)
Damon Ashworth (Central Mo.) vs. Sullivan Ramos (Wis.-Parkside)
Nicholas Johnson (Glenville St.) vs. Mason Villwok (Chadron St.)
Logan Kvien (McKendree) vs. Max Ramberg (Augustana (SD))
Dorian Crosby (Gannon) vs. Carter Blough (Grand Valley St.)
Zach Glazier (St. Cloud St.) vs. Crew Howard (Neb.-Kearney)
Isaiah Gamez (Adams St.) maj. dec. Logan Sallot (Gannon), 11-2
Shane Corrigan (Wis.-Parkside) dec. Logan Davis (West Liberty), 10-3 (SV)
Jack Parker (Grand Valley St.) maj. dec. Nic Allison (Kutztown), 11-3
Anthony Aniciete (Tiffin) dec. Quade Smith (Chadron St.), 7-4
Dominic Ducato (St. Cloud St.) dec. Jacob Myers (CSU Pueblo), 3-0
James Joplin (Lander) fall Thaddeus Long (McKendree), 2:04
Jason Henschel (Central Okla.) dec. Jakob Romero (Adams St.), 10-6
Jacob Strausbaugh (UMary) dec. Jeremiah Echevarria (Gannon), 5-0
Ronan Schuelke (McKendree) dec. Kieran Thompson (Adams St.), 8-3
Joseph Airola (Neb.-Kearney) dec. Colton Stoneking (Fairmont St.), 5-2
Elijah Lusk (Lander) dec. Sean Solis (UMary), 8-6
Khyvon Grace (West Liberty) dec. Josh Taylor (Central Okla.), 4-3
Chris Donathan (Grand Valley St.) dec. Kenny Kiser (Gannon), 4-2
Matthew Sarbo (Pitt-Johnstown) dec. Rudy Lopez (Northern St.), 7-3
Cody Thompson (Colo. Sch. Of Mines) dec. Gabriel Onorato (Glenville St.), 8-5
Jalen Spuhler (Wis.-Parkside) fall Hayden Kuhn (Ashland), 6:16
Gabe Johnson (Central Okla.) fall Brent Nicolosi (Mount Olive), 1:17
Easton Worachek (Wis.-Parkside) dec. Nico Taddy (West Liberty), 4-1
Aaden Valdez (Adams St.) fall Owen Cline (Colorado Mesa), 4:40
Joel Jesuroga (St. Cloud St.) dec. Holden Huhn (Gannon), 8-3
Nolan Gessler (Tiffin) dec. Brody Hemauer (Wis.-Parkside), 5-3
Trenton Munoz (Neb.-Kearney) dec. Grant MacKay (Gannon), 4-1
Sam Richardson (McKendree) dec. Nate Barrett (Ashland), 1-0
David Hunsberger (Lander) dec. Gage Bernall (Central Mo.) 4-2
Hunter Jump (Central Okla.) tech. fall Anthony Erickson (Central Mo.), 17-1
Maxwell Kiel (Lander) maj. dec. Joshua Kenny (Grand Valley St.), 11-2
Otgonbayar Batsuuri (Neb.-Kearney) dec. Emilio Arellano (Tiffin), 14-10
Kydyn Lima (San Fran. St.) dec. Jakob Smith (Colo. Sch. Of Mines), 9-6
Sullivan Ramos (Wis.-Parkside) dec. Cole Glazier (St. Cloud St.), 9-5
Damon Ashworth (Central Mo.) dec. Kaden Hart (Neb.-Kearney), 4-1
Darion Johnson (McKendree) fall Branson Britten (Central Okla.), 6:18
Keegan Gehlhausen (Chadron St.) dec. Patrick Jackson (Gannon), 5-3
Max Ramberg (Augustana (SD)) maj. dec. Bradley Morrison (Pitt-Johnstown), 14-5
Logan Kvien (McKendree) dec. Jackson Kinsella (Neb.-Kearney), 1-0
Mason Villwok (Chadron St.) dec. Marvelous Rutledge (Lander), 8-2
Nicholas Johnson (Glenville St.) dec. Brayden Mirjavadi (Grand Valley St.), 5-2
Dorian Crosby (Gannon) dec. Tyler Doyle (Colorado Mesa), 4-1
Carter Blough (Grand Valley St.) maj. dec. Freddie Retter (Kutztown), 13-3
Zach Glazier (St. Cloud St.) dec. Isaiah Vance (Pitt-Johnstown), 5-0
Crew Howard (Neb.-Kearney) maj. dec. Luke Tweeton (UMary), 8-0
