What to watch: Week 15 of the college wrestling season

Week fifteen of the season is here! For college wrestling fans, there’s plenty of action to keep you connected this week. Here’s a look at a few events coming up this weekend.

Date: Friday, February 7

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Location: Covelli Center/Columbus, Ohio

Where to watch: B1G+

The No. 7 Minnesota Gophers face off against the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday night. Minnesota, 8-1 overall and 4-1 in conference action, most recently secured a 28-9 victory over No. 12 Rutgers. The Gophers are led by No. 1 Gable Steveson at 285 pounds, and have a lineup of ranked wrestlers, including No. 7 Cooper Flynn (125), No. 12 Tyler Wells (133), No. 8 Vance VomBaur (141), No. 26 Drew Roberts (149), No. 9 Tommy Askey (157), No. 15 Andrew Sparks (165), No. 21 Clay Whiting (174), No. 4 Max McEnelly (184), and No. 10 Isaiah Salazar (197). Ohio State, ranked at No. 4, holds a 12-1 overall record and is 4-1 in Big Ten action, with their lone loss coming against No. 3 Iowa. The Buckeyes also feature a full lineup of ranked wrestlers, led by No. 1 Jesse Mendez at 149 pounds, the 2024 NCAA National Champion at the weight. Ranked wrestlers for the Buckeyes include No. 16 Brendan McCrone (125), No. 10 Nic Bouzakis (133), No. 8 Dylan D'Emilio (149), No. 19 Sammy Sasso (157), No. 12 Paddy Gallagher (165), No. 5 Carson Kharchla (174), No. 17 Ryder Rogotzke (184), No. 18 Seth Shumate (197), and No. 8 Nick Feldman (285). The dual is set to begin at 7 p.m. ET inside the Covelli Center.

Date: Friday, February 7

Time: 7 p.m. CT

Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena/Iowa City, Iowa

Where to watch: B1G Network

Another highly anticipated Big Ten matchup takes place on Friday night as No. 3 Iowa hosts No. 6 Nebraska. The Huskers are 9-2 overall and 4-1 in conference action. Ranked wrestlers in the lineup for Nebraska include No. 6 Caleb Smith (125), No. 16 Jacob Van Dee (133), No. 4 Brock Hardy (141), No. 2 Ridge Lovett (149), No. 4 Antrell Taylor (157), No. 13 Christopher Minto (165), No. 14 Lenny Pinto (174), No. 7 Silas Allred (184), No. 22 Camden McDanel (197) and No. 21 Harley Andrews (285). The Hawkeyes are 10-1 overall and have a 4-1 Big Ten record. Nine athletes in the Iowa lineup are ranked, including No. 23 Joey Cruz (125), No. 2 Drake Ayala (133), No. 4 Kyle Parco (149), No. 2 Jacori Teemer (157), No. 2 Mikey Caliendo (165), No. 6 Patrick Kennedy (174), No. 5 Gabe Arnold (184), No. 1 Stephen Buchanan (197) and No. 11 Ben Kueter (285). Fans can expect top matchups at quite a few weights in this dual.

Date: Friday, February 7

Time: 7 p.m. PT

Location: Maples Pavilion/Stanford, Calif.

Where to watch: ACC Network on ESPN

This Friday, No. 18 Stanford hosts No. 10 Virginia Tech on the ACC Network. Virginia Tech, currently 6-2 overall and 2-1 in ACC action, is coming off of a 36-3 win over Virginia. The Hokies are led by No. 1 Caleb Henson (149), and all ten wrestlers are ranked in the latest FloWrestling rankings. Ranked wrestlers include No. 5 Eddie Ventresca (125), No. 13 Connor McGonagle (133), No. 10 Sam Latona (141), No. 11 Rafael Hipolito (157), No. 23 Mac Church (165), No. 30 Lennox Wolak (174), No. 23 TJ Stewart (184), No. 9 Andy Smith (197), and No. 14 Jim Mullen (285). Stanford, with an 8-2 overall record and 1-1 in the ACC, has an undefeated 4-0 home record this season. Their ranked wrestlers include No. 6 Tyler Knox (133), No. 29 Jason Miranda (141), No. 9 Jaden Abas (149), No. 26 Grigor Cholakyan (157), No. 8 Hunter Garvin (165), No. 4 Lorenzo Norman (174), No. 21 Nick Stemmet (197), and No. 23 Peter Ming (285). The dual begins at 7 p.m. on the West Coast.

Date: Saturday, February 8/Sunday, February 9

Time: 2 p.m. CT

Location: Roy J. Carver Center/Rock Island, Ill.

Where to watch: YouTube

Thirty-one teams will head to Rock Island, Illinois, this weekend for the Quad Cities D3 Invitational. The event will feature impressive athletes from top women’s wrestling teams, including Adrian, Albion, Alma, Augsburg, Augustana, No. 12 Aurora, Baldwin Wallace, Buena Vista, Carthage, Central, Cornell College, Dubuque, Elmhurst, Eureka, Fontbonne, Greensboro, Illinois Wesleyan, Lakeland, Loras, Manchester, Marymount, New Jersey City, No. 2 North Central, Otterbein, Randolph, Schreiner, Simpson, Utica, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stevens Point, and Wartburg. Fans can watch the tournament on the Augie Athletics YouTube page, linked above.