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- Thread starter LitlBuck
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez, Ben Davino Will Wrestle for National Titles at 2026 NCAA Championships
Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez and Ben Davino will wrestle for national championships on Saturday, with Mendez going for his third straight national title.
Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez, Ben Davino Will Wrestle for National Titles at 2026 NCAA Championships
Two Buckeyes will wrestle for national championships on Saturday night.Jesse Mendez will wrestle for his third straight national championship at 141 pounds. He’ll battle Oklahoma State’s Sergio Vega for the title after a dramatic victory in Friday night’s semifinals, where he took down Lehigh’s Luke Stanich for a 4-1 win in sudden victory.
The No. 1 seed, Mendez looks to become the third wrestler in Ohio State history – joining Logan Stieber (a four-time champion) and Kyle Snyder – to win three NCAA championships. With a win on Saturday, Mendez would also complete an undefeated season; he’d become the fifth Buckeye to achieve that feat, joining Stieber (who did it twice), Snyder (who did it twice), Kollin Moore and Rex Holman.
Ben Davino, a redshirt freshman, looks to win his first national championship Saturday night when he will battle No. 1 seed Jax Forrest, also of Oklahoma State, for the 133-pound title. Davino, the No. 2 seed in the weight class, defeated No. 3 seed Marcus Blaze of Penn State – just as he did to win the Big Ten championship – in Friday’s semifinals.
Collectively, Davino and Mendez look to become the first pair of Ohio State wrestlers to win national championships in the same season since Logan Stieber and Nathan Tomasello in 2015, when the Buckeyes also won their first and only team championship in program history. Penn State is a near-lock to win this year’s national championship, however, as the Nittany Lions held a decisive lead in the team standings as of Friday
Saturday night’s NCAA championship finals begin at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.
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My DVR glitched or something, I had it on record and it just didn't record. So pissed off to have missed both of Davino and Mendez matches. Really glad they could pull off wins in dramatic fashion, hopefully they can both bring it home tomorrow...really tough opponents in both weights.
As far as the team overall...not a great showing. Looking like 4th is the best we can do. Some of it is health it seems with injuries on the guys already mentioned, so its hard to be too upset. We weren't placing in the top two anyways, so the team race is kind of an afterthought this year. Just hoping for the best individual outcomes. Glad to have 2 in the finals.
As far as the team overall...not a great showing. Looking like 4th is the best we can do. Some of it is health it seems with injuries on the guys already mentioned, so its hard to be too upset. We weren't placing in the top two anyways, so the team race is kind of an afterthought this year. Just hoping for the best individual outcomes. Glad to have 2 in the finals.
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BuckBackHome
Wolverine is largest member of weasel family
Interesting article on Mendez's mental approach.
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Kharchia is up now on Mat 2 if you have ESPN +. Cannon just came back to win his match and will be wrestling for bronze, but I missed it, not knowing it was already on.
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Just heard the announcers say PJ Duke advanced. Cannon will have to face him again.
Apparently, Duke got screwed over the refs in his match yesterday.
Apparently, Duke got screwed over the refs in his match yesterday.
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Kharchla advances to go for bronze. He looked utterly exhausted. I can't imagine what it's like to be in a tournament like this.
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Jesse Mendez is leading off the coverage, which is beginning now. Everyone tune in to ESPN to watch. Davino is the last match on tonight.
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