125 pounds: No. 8 Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) vs. No. 4 Vince Robinson (NC State) & No. 3 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 7 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State)
The headliner of this weight is No. 8 Sheldon Seymour of Lehigh, a first-time All-American, who took down No. 1 Luke Lilledahl of Penn State to earn his spot in the national semifinals. His opponent, freshman No. 4 Vince Robinson of NC State, is dangerous, with wins this weekend over No. 29 Joey Cruz of Iowa, No. 13 Marc-Anthony McGowan of Princeton and No. 12 Dean Peterson of Rutgers.
YES!
Sheldon is semifinals bound!#GoLehigh #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/3XKoIvOtoz
β Lehigh Wrestling (@LehighWrestling) March 21, 2025
In the second semifinal, first-time All-American Troy Spratley will look to be Oklahoma State head coach David Taylor’s first NCAA finalist, but, first, he’ll have to go through a scrappy, tough, fast Eddie Ventresca of Virginia Tech who earned his spot in the semifinals with a quarters win over No. 6 Big 12 champion Jett Strickenberger of West Virginia in sudden victory. Strickenberger was 2-0 against Spratley; against Ventresca, though, Spratley is 1-0 after majoring the Hokie earlier this year.
133 pounds: No. 1 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs. No. 4 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) & No. 14 Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) vs. No. 2 Drake Ayala (Iowa)
Much like 125 pounds, this weight has a singular shocking storyline, and this time, that storyline comes from No. 14 Zan Fugitt who has found his groove here in Philadelphia and knocked off All-American Nasir Bailey in the second round before topping Virginia Tech’s Connor McGonagle in the quarterfinals to pick up his first All-American honor. He’ll now face No. 2 Drake Ayala who finished second at NCAAs last year at 125 pounds.
“I just went out there and let it fly” π£οΈ
Zan Fugitt shares how he punched his ticket to the #NCAAWrestling Semis ποΈ#B1GWrestling x @BadgerWrestling pic.twitter.com/H5xeni3mwo
β Big Ten Wrestling (@B1GWrestling) March 21, 2025
Big Ten champion Lucas Byrd advanced to the semifinals on the opposite side of the bracket after a series of dominant performances including major decisions over No. 16 Ryan Miller of Penn and No. 8 Braeden Davis of Penn State. He’ll face No. 4 Zeth Romney, the 2024 Cliff Keen champion.
141 pounds: No. 1 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) vs. No. 5 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) & No. 3 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) vs. No. 2 Beau Bartlett (Penn State)
The 2024 NCAA finals matchup will repeat itself in the semifinals of the weight this year as reigning champion No. 3 Jesse Mendez dominated All-American Vance Vombaur of Minnesota to earn another trip the semifinals and No. 2 Beau Bartlett took care of business against All-American CJ Composto to set up the rematch. Mendez beat Bartlett 4-1 in last year’s final, but Bartlett is 2-0 against Mendez this year.
HARDYYYYYYY
Brock Hardy is a 3X All-American after a pin in the quarterfinals. pic.twitter.com/U0sUV4XrUA
β Nebraska Wrestling (@HuskerWrestling) March 21, 2025
On the opposite side of the bracket is the Big Ten champion, Brock Hardy who beat All-American Evan Frost to earn his trip to the semifinals. He’ll have Big 12 champion and first-time All-American Cael Happel in his semifinals match after Happel beat 2025 EIWA champion Josh Koderhandt of Navy in tie-breakers.
149 pounds: No. 1 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 13 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State) & No. 3 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska)
The returning champion Caleb Henson of Virginia is back in the 149-pound semifinals, but not before he had to survive a scare in the quarterfinals against No. 8 Jordan Williams of Little Rock who took the Hokie to overtime. Henson’s ability to survive earned him a match against No. 13 Dylan D’Emilio of Ohio State who is looking to return to the podium for the first time since 2023.
πππ πππ©π‘π πΏππππ£π¨π ππ£ ππͺπ‘π‘ ππππππ© π#ALLINALLTHETIME #Hokies π¦ pic.twitter.com/PDSUeNQt2V
β Virginia Tech Wrestling (@HokiesWrestling) March 21, 2025
No. 3 Shayne Van Ness and No. 3 Ridge Lovett, meanwhile, will rematch on their side of the bracket for a bid to the finals. In their lone meeting this year, Lovett majored Van Ness 10-2.
157 pounds: No. 8 Joey Blaze (Purdue) vs. No. 20 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) & No. 3 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) vs. No. 2 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell)
Chaos ensued at 157 pounds. This weight, coming into the quarterfinals, made headlines because it featured the highest number of pins (5) in the championship bracket across the first two sessions. Now it features the lowest seed to make a semifinal: No. 20 Trevor Chumbley. Northwestern’s Chumbley, a first-time All-American, upset Virginia Tech’s No. 4 Rafael Hipolito in the second round and then topped No. 12 Caleb Fish of Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals. His opponent in the semifinals, No. 8 Joey Blaze, had a similarly big day with his upset over No. 1 Big Ten champion Tyler Kasak of Penn State. Blaze is also a first-time All-American. The winner of this match will become a first-time finalist.
157 lbs | SEMIFINALS BOUND! π₯
Trevor Chumbley upsets No. 12 Caleb Fish (Oklahoma State) by 6-4 decision to secure his spot in the semis! #GoCats | #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/nV31URu7kQ
β Northwestern Wrestling (@NUWrestle) March 21, 2025
On the opposite side of the bracket are two athletes who have also never made a national final but have both earned All-American honors in the past: No. 3 Antrell Taylor of Nebraska vs. No. 2 Meyer Shapiro of Cornell. Taylor jumped out to a hot start in this tournament with a tech in the first round, a fall in the second and a 4-3 win over No. 11 Matty Binachi of Little Rock in the quarters. Shapiro, meanwhile, picked up a tech in the first round and then battled to 10-4 and 9-4 wins over No. 15 Johnny Lovett of Central Michigan and No. 7 Vinny Zerban of Northern Colorado, respectively.
165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) vs. No. 12 Chris Minto (Nebraska) & No. 3 Michael Caliendo (Iowa) vs. No. 2 Peyton Hall (West Virginia)
Penn State’s No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, West Virginia’s No. 2 Peyton Hall and Iowa’s No. 3 Michael Caliendo were as likely finalists as anyone in this bracket, but the surprise and intrigue comes in the fourth spot with No. 12 Chris Minto of Nebraska. The freshman All-American majored No. 21 Joey Bianchi to start his tournament and then kept rolling. He majored No. 5 Julian Ramirez, the Ivy League champ and then topped No. 4 Terrell Barraclough to lock up his spot on the podium. Now he gets a shot at the returning national finalist in Mesenbrink.
AT THE BUZZER π
(12) Christopher Minto of @HuskerWrestling defeats (4) Terrell Barraclough 8-7 for the last-second upset and a spot in the 165 semifinals. #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/f91y6mk8Gg
β NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) March 21, 2025
On the bottom side, Iowa’s Caliendo will take on West Virginia’s Hall for the first time in his collegiate career. Hall beat All-American Hunter Garvin 6-5 in a nail-bitter in the quarterfinals, whereas Caliendo survived Big Ten foe Beau Mantanona of Michigan 7-2. A bid to the finals is on the line in this next match.
174 pounds: No. 1 Keegan O‘Toole (Missouri) vs. No. 13 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) & No. 3 Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 2 Levi Haines (Penn State)
No. 1 Keegan O’Toole of Missouri looked every bit like a national champion on Friday morning as he dominated No. 24 Lennox Wolak of Virginia Tech 13-1 to advance to the semifinals once again. He’ll now face No. 13 All-American Cade DeVos of South Dakota State on his quest to a third NCAA title.
Five-time All-American, @KeeganOtoole!
OβToole will compete in the semifinals tonight in session IV. #TigerStyle pic.twitter.com/5GuTYvXztL
β Mizzou Wrestling (@MizzouWrestling) March 21, 2025
The bottom side of the bracket is where things get really interesting. The match fans have been circling for weeks is officially on: No. 2 Levi Haines of Penn State vs. No. 3 Dean Hamiti of Oklahoma State. Both of these multiple-time All-American athletes lost to O’Toole in sudden victory earlier this year, and they’ll now fight each other for the chance to compete in the finals against the winner of O’Toole and DeVos.
184 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. No. 4 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) & No. 2 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 3 Max McEnelly (Minnesota)
The 184-pound is the first weight to go chalk and the first of the last three weights to do so, with Penn State’s No. 1 Carter Starocci leading the way, followed by No. 2 2024 NCAA champion Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa. These two will be on opposite sides of the bracket tonight, with Starocci taking on Big 12 finalist Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State and Keckeisen taking on Big Ten finalist Max McEnelly of Minnesota.
Mr. All-American πΊπΈ#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/TF8kXjBBbm
β Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 21, 2025
Neither of these matches have been wrestled before, creating intrigue. McEnelly’s only loss on the year is to Starocci, while Plott’s only losses this year have been against Keckeisen. Both Starocci and Keckeisen are undefeated with the exception of Keckeisen’s sudden victory loss to Starocci in the pre-season All-Star exhibition match.
197 pounds: No. 1 Jacob Cardenas (Michigan) vs. No. 4 Josh Barr (Penn State) & No. 3 AJ Ferrari (CSU Bakersfield) vs. No. 2 Stephen Buchanan (Iowa)
This semifinal β the second of the afternoon to go chalk β will feature two sets of rematches. No. 1 Jacob Cardenas will have to face off against No. 4 Josh Barr, an athlete he’s split with this year. Meanwhile, No. 3 AJ Ferrari, who is back in the semifinals for the first time since 2021, will have a rematch with No. 2 Stephen Buchanan, an athlete he’s beaten twice already in his career.
The only athlete in this credentialed foursome to have made a final thus far in their career in Ferrari, back when he won the NCAA title at the weight in 2021. Cardenas and Buchanan have both finished on the podium while Barr, a freshman, will finish in the top for the first time in his career.
285 pounds: No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. No. 4 Owen Trephan (Lehigh) & No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 3 Greg Kekvliet
There’s so much dominance in these heavyweight semifinals. No. 1 Gable Steveson of Minnesota returns to the semifinals for the fourth time in his career as he chases his third NCAA title. His opponent in the semis this year will be first-time All-American Owen Trephan of Lehigh who started his career at NC State but has now found his footing as a Mountain Hawk in the postseason. Steveson has not lost a folkstyle match since 2019, but Trephan will try to stop the champ and make history.
The second semifinal is a rematch from 2023 in which returning NCAA champion No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet beat No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State 4-2. This version of Hendrickson and this version of Kerkvliet are both better than they were in 2023 β running back this rematch will bring out all of the intensity and excitement.
