Michigan
NCAA Championships
Wolverines to Send Six Qualifiers to 2026 NCAA Championships in Cleveland
3/16/2026 11:47:00 AM | Wrestling
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan wrestling team will send six individual wrestlers to Cleveland, Ohio, to compete in the 2026 NCAA Championships, scheduled for Thursday through Saturday (March 19-21) at Rocket Arena. The NCAA Championships will air on the ESPN family of networks.
The NCAAs will take place in six sessions over three days, starting at noon on Thursday (March 19) with pigtail matches and the first round. The second session will resume later that day at 7 p.m. and feature continued preliminary matches as well as the first round of wrestlebacks.
On Friday (March 20), wrestling again starts at noon with the quarterfinal round and continued wrestlebacks. The fourth session is slated for 8 p.m. and will feature semifinals and wrestlebacks. On Saturday (March 21), the fifth session is slated for 11 a.m. and will wrap up the consolation bracket, featuring seventh-, fifth- and third-place matches at all weights. The finals are slated for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The Wolverines have finished runner-up at the NCAA Championships on five occasions (1928, '29, '67, '74, 2005, '22) and placed top 10 in eight of the last nine NCAAs, including six in the top five over the stretch (2018-19, '21-22, '23-24). Michigan took 12th place last season with two NCAA All-Americans.
Individually, U-M has produced 24 NCAA champions and 214 All-Americans. The Wolverines have boasted at least one All-American in 28 of the last 30 tournaments, including multiple honorees in each of the last 11 tournaments.
Notes
• Michigan will send six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, including two returning NCAA All-Americans in graduate students Lachlan McNeil (149 pounds) and Taye Ghadiali (Hwt). McNeil is a three-time All-American, placing fourth (2023) and sixth (2024) at 141 pounds and fifth last season (2025) at 149 for North Carolina. Ghadiali placed eighth at heavyweight in 2024 before missing last season with an injury. He was a four-time NCAA qualifier while competing for Campbell. Graduate student Diego Sotelo and redshirt sophomore Beau Mantanona will both make their second NCAA appearances this week.
• Two Wolverines are set to make their NCAA Championships debut this week in Cleveland: redshirt freshmen Cameron Catrabone (149) and Brock Mantanona (184). Mantanona is the third member of his family to qualify for NCAAs. In addition to Beau, his oldest brother, Anthony, was a three-time qualifier for Oklahoma (2020-22) and was the No. 9 seed at 174 pounds for the canceled 2020 tournament. Catrabone's father, Jeff, was a three-time All-American for Michigan (1995-98) at 158 and 167 pounds and placed third in both his junior and senior seasons.
• With 214 NCAA All-America certificates in program history, the Wolverines rank sixth among the leading programs in the nation, trailing only Oklahoma State, Iowa, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Penn State. Michigan has produced at least one All-American in 28 of the last 30 seasons. The Wolverines also share the 11th spot among the national elite with 24 NCAA individual titles in program history.
• All four members of the Michigan coaching staff garnered NCAA All-America honors during their respective collegiate careers. Head coach Sean Bormet was a two-time NCAA All-American at 158 pounds, after seeing his sophomore season cut short due to injury, and reached the final as a senior (1994). Assistant coach Josh Churella was a three-time All-American at 141 and 149 pounds and reached the final as a junior (2007), while Kevin Jackson was a four-time All-American at LSU and Iowa State. Volunteer coach David Bolyard claimed All-America honors at 165 pounds (2004) at Central Michigan.
• Michigan earned three top-10 NCAA seeds, most notably No. 3 Ghadiali at heavyweight. Brock Mantanona is the No. 5 seed at 184 pounds, and Beau Mantanona is No. 9 at 174 pounds. McNeil is just outside the top 10 with the No. 11 seed at 149 pounds, Catrabone is No. 15 at 149 and Sotelo is No. 20 at 125 pounds.
• The Wolverines took fifth place in the Big Ten Championships with 86.5 points and six total placewinners, including three in the top three at their respective weights. Ghadiali captured the heavyweight title to become Michigan's 133rd Big Ten champion and sixth since 2021. McNeil and Brock Mantanona both bounced back from semifinal losses to claim third place at 149 and 184 pounds, respectively.
• Ghadiali used a takedown with just 25 seconds left in the third period to defeat Nebraska's A.J. Ferrari, 5-2, in the Big Ten championship match and avenge one of his two losses this season. He previously lost to Ferrari, 11-3, at the National Duals in November. Ghadiali is now a four-time conference champion, previously capturing three SoCon heavyweight titles while at Campbell.
• Ghadiali enters the NCAA Championships with a 23-2 record and has defeated wrestlers currently ranked in the nation's top 10 in six of his last eight matches. In addition to his Big Ten finals win over No. 3 Ferrari, Ghadiali also earned a 5-2 semifinal decision against Penn State's No. 5 Cole Mirasola. He went 8-0 in Big Ten duals and closed his conference slate with consecutive wins over Ohio State's No. 3 Nick Feldman (4-1 SV, Feb. 1), Mirasola (5-1, Feb. 6), Iowa's No. 8 Ben Kueter (10-0, Feb. 13) and Wisconsin's No. 9 Braxton Amos (2-1 SV, Feb. 15).
• McNeil is just one win shy of hitting 100 in his career. He enters his final NCAA Championships with a 99-31 career record, including a 17-6 mark this season at Michigan.
• Brock Mantanona owns a 19-6 record and earned two 4-1 wins over Illinois' Chris Moore at Big Tens to avenge one of his losses this season. He dropped a close 8-5 overtime decision to Penn State's top-ranked and undefeated Rocco Welsh in the semifinals, narrowly the gap from an 8-1 defeat in the dual meet.
• Beau Mantanona is 21-7 this season and is 3-5 against top-10 opponents -- with three of those five losses coming in overtime, including a 4-1 SV decision to Ohio State's No. 5 Carson Kharchla and 1-1 TB decision to Iowa's No. 3 Patrick Kennedy at Big Tens last weekend.
• The Mantanona brothers have combined for a 40-13 record and 24 bonus wins -- 12 apiece -- at back-to-back weights in the Wolverine lineup.
• Catrabone claimed fifth place in his Big Ten Championships debut at 157 pounds with his losses coming against Nebraska's defending NCAA champion Antrell Taylor, 7-1, in the semifinals and the nation's then-No. 1 wrestler in Ohio State Brandon Cannon, 4-0, in the consolation semis. Catrabone leads the Wolverines with six pins this season and has scored bonus points in 12 of his 18 total wins. His father, Jeff, graduated with U-M's career pins record -- and now ranks second -- with 55.
Players Mentioned
