Women's College Notebook: Season Kicks Off With A Bang

Just like that, we’re officially back in the thick of women’s college wrestling season.

Last weekend, teams around the country made their 2026-27 debuts.

For some, big open tournaments served as the first foray in an all-new journey. Meanwhile, others dove into competition via what some would argue to be the purest form of this sport – the dual.

Whichever their fancy, it was just great to see and hear about teams from coast to coast getting back on the mat. And for myself here, doing the Women’s College Notebook, it’s fantastic to have real matches to discuss once again.

November 4 National Wrestling Coaches Association DI Men’s Coaches Poll

With just seven duals involving ranked teams during the opening week of the season, there was minimal movement in the first regular-season NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll presented by Theraworx, released on Wednesday. Sixteen of the 25 teams held their spots, and there were no upsets of ranked teams to shake things up.

Penn State remained No. 1 with 16 first-place votes, and the entire top eight was unchanged. Second-ranked Oklahoma State, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Iowa, No. 5 Virginia Tech, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Stanford and No. 8 Minnesota have yet to compete.

Distinguished Member Larry Kristoff Passes Away

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame was saddened to learn that Larry Kristoff, a Distinguished Member inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007, passed away on Saturday, at the age of 83. 

The family has announced arrangement to include a memorial service Dec. 4 at Hileman and Rendleman Funeral Home, 301 West Spring Street, Anna, Illinois 62906 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. with a post-service gathering from 12:30 to 4 p.m. at Giant City Lodge. Kristoff will be laid to rest at Zion Cemetery in Carbondale. 

One of America's all-time great heavyweight wrestlers, Larry Kristoff threw his weight around in the coaching arena as well.

Men’s College Notebook: Meet the New Head Coaches - Part 2

For the 2026-27 collegiate season, there are six new head coaches in DI men’s wrestling. Today we meet Lehigh’s Brad Dillon; Iowa State’s Brent Metcalf, who was the Michigan and Midwest Region winner of the DSHSEA in 2005; and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s (SIUE) Daryl Thomas.

In the first part of this series last week, we introduced Rider’s Nic Bedelyon; Air Force’s Joe Johnston, who was the Kansas winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2001; and The Citadel’s Tim McCall.

UWW Ranking Series Hosts for 2027: Zagreb, Coralville, Ulaanbaatar

United World Wrestling has announced the hosts for the Ranking Series 2027, part of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games qualification process.

The Ranking Series will have three stops in 2027, with points earned at these stops contributing to the qualification of the wrestlers for LA 2028.

The second stop of the Ranking Series will travel to Coralville, United States in late May.

Haines, Lee Capture World Gold, U.S. Wins Men’s Freestyle Team Title

ASTANA, Kazakhstan – The U.S. men’s freestyle team put the finishing touches on arguably the best World Championships performance in the nation’s history on Sunday night at Barys Arena.

Spencer Lee (57 kg), who was the Pennsylvania and Northeast Region winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2017, and Levi Haines (79 kg) topped the World podium for the first time in their careers, and Trent Hidlay (92 kg) earned silver, his second-straight World medal, to deliver Team USA its sixth men’s freestyle team title and its fourth in the last 10 years.

Leydecker’s Gold Cements Landmark World Team Title for U.S. Women

ASTANA, Kazakhstan – The U.S. women’s freestyle team rose to the top at the 2026 Senior World Championships on Friday night at Bary Arena, capping its first team title in the sport’s modern era as 19-year-old Everest Leydecker, who was the Arizona winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award in 2026, surged to gold at 55 kg.  

Team USA finished with two champions (Leydecker, Nwachukwu), a silver medalist (Nette), three bronze medalists (Helen Maroulis, Kennedy Blades, Dymond Guilford), and Top-10 placements in all but one weight class, totaling 137 team points. Perennial power Japan finished two points behind the U.S. in the standings, while China placed third.

This marks the second team title in U.S. women’s wrestling history, and the first in its Olympic era (2004-present). The previous title came in 1999 with gold medalists Tricia Saunders and Sandra Bacher, plus silver medalist Kristie Davis, leading the way. Saunders and Davis were the first and second females inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Men’s College Notebook: The 2026-27 Season is Underway

A new collegiate season starts this weekend, a bit of a warm-up weekend before a fuller schedule next weekend. Starting Saturday, Oct. 31, and continuing throughout the weekend, 11 duals and six tournaments will take place across the country.