West Virginia Wrestling Sends Six to NCAA Championships
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Six wrestlers from the West Virginia University (WVU) wrestling team are set to compete in the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships, taking place from March 19-21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.1
All sessions will be streamed on ESPN+. Select sessions will also be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU. Tickets are available for purchase here.
Mountaineer Representation
West Virginia will send its most wrestlers to the NCAA Championships since 2023, when six also qualified.1 Under head coach Tim Flynn, WVU has had at least one All-American at the championships in six of his seven seasons.1
The Mountaineers are aiming for their third consecutive top-20 finish at the NCAA Championships, following an 18th-place result in 2025 and a 17th-place finish in 2024.1 A three-year streak of top-20 finishes would be WVU’s longest since 2002-2005.
First Round Matchups
Here are the first-round matchups for the West Virginia wrestlers, including their seeds:
- 125: No. 17 Jett Strickenberger vs. No. 16 Ezekiel Witt (NDSU)
- 133: No. 18 Gunner Andrick vs. No. 15 Tyler Knox (Stanford)
- 141: No. 29 Jordan Titus vs. No. 4 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State)
- 157: No. 11 Ty Watters vs. No. 22 Colton Washleski (Virginia)
- 184: No. 17 Ian Bush vs. No. 16 Rylan Rogers (Lehigh)
- 197: No. 21 Rune Lawrence vs. No. 12 Luke Geog (Ohio State)
Returning and Debuting Wrestlers
Redshirt senior Jordan Titus is making his fourth career appearance at the NCAA Championships, becoming the 16th Mountaineer in program history to achieve this milestone.1 Redshirt sophomore Ty Watters returns after placing fourth at 149 pounds in 2024 to earn All-America honors as a freshman.
Graduate student Jett Strickenberger and redshirt junior Ian Bush are also returning competitors. Freshmen Gunner Andrick and redshirt freshman Rune Lawrence will be making their NCAA Championships debuts.
Championship Schedule
Thursday, March 19
- 12:00 p.m. ET: Session I (First Round) – ESPN2
- 7:00 p.m. ET: Session II (Second Round, Consolation Matches) – ESPN
Friday, March 20
- 12:00 p.m. ET: Session III (Quarterfinals, Consolation Matches) – ESPNU
- 8:00 p.m. ET: Session IV (Semifinals, Consolation Matches) – ESPN2
Saturday, March 21
- 11:00 a.m. ET: Session V (Medal Matches) – ESPNU
- 6:30 p.m. ET: Session VI (Finals) – ESPN