Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez, Ben Davino Will Wrestle for National Titles at 2026 NCAA Championships

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 BADDEST MAN ALIVE

(1) Jesse Mendez (141) of @wrestlingbucks defeats (5) Luke Stanich of Lehigh with a 4-1 decision to book his trip to the finals. #NCAAWrestling x ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/cZ4ZbBMFCW

— NCAA Men’s Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) March 21, 2026

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.

At 133, No. 2 Ben Davino (Ohio State) wins in TB over No. 3 Marcus Blaze (Penn State), rides him out for 30 seconds to punch his ticket to the NCAA finals.

A Cael Sanderson challenge led to a lengthy delay post-match before the result was finalized. pic.twitter.com/v4FSgVWRrD

— Saturday Night Lights (@WrestlingSNL) March 21, 2026

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 team title, however, as the Nittany Lions hold a decisive lead in the team standings after qualifying a record-tying six wrestlers for the championship finals. Ohio State is fifth in the team standings with 69.5 points entering the final day of competition.

Saturday night’s NCAA championship finals begin at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Mendez and Davino lead five Ohio State wrestlers who earned All-American honors at this year’s NCAA championships. Brandon Cannon (157), Paddy Gallagher (165) and Carson Kharchla (174) all earned All-American status with wins in the consolation quarterfinals on Friday. Cannon and Kharchla will wrestle in the consolation semifinals on Saturday with the chance to finish as high as third in their weight classes, while Gallagher will wrestle North Carolina’s Bryce Hepner – an Ohio State transfer – for seventh place at 165 pounds.