Ohio State University had four wrestlers advance to the quarterfinals at the 2026 NCAA Championships after the first day of competition on March 19 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
The Buckeyes finished the opening day with 23 team points, placing them fifth overall. Jesse Mendez (141 pounds), Ben Davino (133), Brandon Cannon (157), and Carson Kharchla (174) each won both their matches to remain in contention for national titles. Quarterfinal matches are scheduled to begin at noon Friday and will be broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN. Six other Ohio State wrestlers continue to compete in the consolation bracket, also starting Friday at noon.
Ohio State advanced nine out of ten wrestlers to the second round after Thursday’s morning session, scoring 14.5 points—just half a point behind Iowa, which had 15 points. The Buckeyes are one of only six schools that qualified a wrestler in all ten weight classes for this year’s championships.
Head coach Tom Ryan has now qualified ten wrestlers for the NCAA championships for two consecutive years and five times during his tenure at Ohio State. Over his twenty years leading the program, Ryan has seen 167 Buckeyes qualify for nationals, with 75 earning All-America honors. Mendez is noted as the nineteenth qualifier at his weight class under Ryan’s leadership.
In recent competition, Ohio State scored 148.5 points at the Big Ten Championships, securing two individual champions and achieving its highest team finish since placing second in 2019. Four of this year’s NCAA qualifiers are Ohio natives among a total of twenty-eight from across the state participating in the tournament.
Looking ahead, Ohio State will aim to build on its strong start as quarterfinal and consolation rounds continue Friday, with hopes of advancing more athletes toward All-America status.