Big Ten Wrestling Championships 2026: Finals Today at 4:30 p.m. ET — Penn State Leading the Pack
Day two of the 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships is underway at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania. Consolation semifinals and 7th-place matches are running now at noon ET on B1G+, with the championship finals airing at 4:30 p.m. ET live on Big Ten Network. Penn State entered the finals round as the heavy team score leader.
Championship Finals Schedule — Sunday, March 8
Championship finals begin at 4:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network today, with third and fifth-place bouts airing simultaneously on B1G+. A B1G Live: Wrestling Pregame special airs at 4:00 p.m. ET ahead of the championship session, with Rick Pizzo and Malik Amine previewing all the final-round action.
Saturday Semifinal Results — All Ten Weight Classes
Here are the semifinal matchups that set the championship finals bracket:
| Weight | Semifinal Winners Advancing to Finals |
|---|---|
| 125 | Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State), Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) |
| 133 | Marcus Blaze (Penn State), Andrew Barbosa (Rutgers) |
| 141 | Taye Ghadiali (Michigan), Jesse Mendez (Penn State) |
| 149 | Shayne Van Ness (Penn State), Christopher Minto (Nebraska) |
| 157 | Cole Mirasola (Penn State), Nick Feldman (Ohio State) |
| 165 | Kannon Webster (Illinois), Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) |
| 174 | PJ Duke (Penn State), Brock Mantanona (Michigan) |
| 184 | Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) |
| 197 | Jacob Moran (Indiana), Jore Volk (Minnesota) |
| HWT | Brock Hardy (Nebraska), TBD |
Penn State Dominant — Nittany Lions in Six of Ten Finals
Penn State entered the tournament with seven No. 1 seeds and delivered on that status in a major way. The Nittany Lions closed out the regular season 15-0 overall and 8-0 in the Big Ten as regular-season champions, giving them enormous structural momentum heading into the championship round.
After Saturday's quarterfinals and semifinals, Penn State led the Big Ten team score heading into Sunday's finals, with nine wrestlers advancing through the semifinals — the most of any program in the field.
Biggest Storylines Heading into the Finals
Jesse Mendez of Penn State is one of the biggest favorites of any wrestler to win Big Tens this weekend. Mitchell Mesenbrink enters at 19-0 with a 100% bonus rate, making him one of the most dominant forces in the entire field. Shayne Van Ness is another huge favorite to win his bracket after a dominant regular season.
The biggest upset of the tournament came when Purdue's Blake Boarman snapped Lucas Byrd's 29-match win streak, one of the most surprising results in recent Big Ten Championship memory.
Iowa's Drake Ayala faces Penn State's Marcus Blaze in what is one of the most anticipated semifinals rematches — Ayala's final chance to show he has returned to full form after a difficult stretch.
How to Watch Big Ten Wrestling Championships Finals Today
The championship finals air live at 4:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network and can be streamed on the FOX Sports App. Consolation matches running right now are on B1G+. The NCAA Wrestling Championships are two weeks away, and today's finals will heavily influence national seeding and expectations heading into that event.
