Ben Davino at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships: Quarterfinal Spotlight as Friday’s Session Begins (ET)
ben davino is on the quarterfinal slate at 141 pounds at the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championships, with Friday’s session three action beginning at noon (ET) as the tournament’s team race and bracket picture sharpen after Thursday’s opening day.
What Happens When Ben Davino hits the mat at 141 pounds?
Ben Davino (Ohio State) is listed in the 141-pound quarterfinal round against Lucas Byrd (Illinois). The matchup appears on the posted slate for Friday’s session three action, which begins at noon (ET). With the quarterfinals set after Thursday’s two sessions, this bout sits inside a day of competition that also features multiple top-seed matchups across weights.
The quarterfinal board for session three includes contests such as Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) vs. Dean Peterson (Iowa) and Jax Forrest (Oklahoma State) vs. Markel Baker (Northern Ill. ), underscoring that Friday’s start will move several brackets deeper toward championship weekend outcomes.
What If Thursday’s upset pattern continues into Friday’s quarterfinals?
Thursday’s action produced notable seed volatility, including two losses by No. 2 seeds. At 174 pounds, Navy’s No. 15 seed Danny Wask defeated No. 2 seed Simon Ruiz of Cornell, 9-5. At 197 pounds, No. 15 seed Remy Cotton earned a 12-4 major decision over four-time All-American Rocky Elam of Iowa State.
Beyond those two results, there were six wrestlers seeded 20th or higher who advanced to the quarterfinals, with the upper weights accounting for four of the six. Heavyweight featured No. 21 Juan Mora (Oklahoma) and No. 27 Hunter Catka (Rutgers) advancing, while 197 pounds included Arizona State’s No. 29 Colton Hawks, the lowest seed noted to reach the quarterfinal round, along with Stanford’s No. 27 seed EJ Parco at 165 pounds.
Only 133 and 141 pounds saw each of the top eight seeds advance to the quarterfinals, signaling relative bracket stability at those weights even as other divisions absorbed multiple surprises. That context frames the 141-pound quarterfinals—including the scheduled Ben Davino bout—as part of one of the weights that held to seeding expectations through Thursday.
What Happens When the team race tightens after Penn State’s first-day surge?
Penn State exits the first day leading the team race with 40. 5 points and a tournament-high eight quarterfinalists. The eight Nittany Lions on the front side combined to go 16-0 with 15 bonus point wins on Thursday, recorded as four falls, seven tech falls, and four major decisions.
In the chase group, Nebraska sits second with 27 points, Iowa is third with 25. 5 points, and Oklahoma State is fourth with 25 points. All three schools have seven into the quarterfinals. Penn State, Nebraska, and Oklahoma State are also noted as still having all 10 wrestlers advance to the second day of action, keeping their team-scoring potential intact as the tournament moves into Friday’s noon (ET) session.
Friday’s session three schedule sets the stage for those standings to shift, with quarterfinal results and bonus-point pathways continuing to matter. TV coverage for the session is listed for ESPNU.
