CLEVELAND — Call it the calm before the storm.
The 330 college wrestlers who will be competing in the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship will get their chance to get a workout in March 18 inside of Cleveland’s Rocket Arena a day before the competition gets underway. The various teams will cycle through from 9 a.m. until late in the afternoon working out on the eight mats laid out on the floor of the arena.
This practice day allows them to get acquainted with their surroundings, not the on the mats but also the various workout areas as well. It’s also a chance for many of them to speak to the media ahead of the competition.
Follow along here throughout the day for updates on what those wrestlers and their coaches said ahead of the three-day tournament.
Iowa State legend, former Perry coach Nate Carr touts Ohio wrestling
Nate Carr’s name is synonymous with the sport of wrestling. He was a three-time NCAA champion at Iowa State and a bronze medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympic games.
Carr’s also quite familiar with the Northeast Ohio region. He spent 2015-18 as the head wrestling coach at Perry High School, as his son David won the final three of his four Oho state championships.
So, as the NCAA championships return to Cleveland for the first time since 2018, Carr understands the hotbed of the sport where it’s returning.
“I think when you have probably for sure the NCAAs, it has to be one of the largest,” Carr told the Beacon Journal. “When you talk about attendance, when you talk about that, it’s going to be record crowds, great wrestling and then future Olympians. I mean, my son David is now trying to make the Olympic team and one of the best in the world right now. But a lot of that came from here. Showing up tournaments. Here you’re going to see those future valves.”
Practice has begun for the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Princeton, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Indiana, Binghamton, Air Force and Maryland are currently on the floor.
Where can I watch the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships?
ESPN will have all six rounds on the ESPN App. Here’s where you can watch each session:
12 p.m. Thursday, March 19: Session I, ESPN2; 7:00 p.m., Session II, ESPN; 12 p.m. Friday, March 20: Session III, ESPNU; 8:00 p.m., Session IV, ESPN2; 11 a.m. Saturday, March 21: Medal rounds, ESPNU, 6:30 p.m.: Finals, ESPN
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships 2026 schedule
What Greater Akron/Canton wrestlers are in the tournament?
What other Ohioans are in the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships?
Who is the returning team champion? Are there any individual champions?
Penn State is the returning team champion.
Returning individual champs include: Vincent Robinson, NC State, 125; Lucas Byrd, Illinois, 133; **Jesse Mendez, Ohio State. 141; Antrall Taylor, Nebraska, 157; **Levi Haines, Penn State, 174; A.J. Ferrari, Nebraska, 285
Menedez and Haines are two-time champions.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships practice day live updates
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Brad Bournival and Michael Leonard, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
