What to watch: Week 17 of the college wrestling season

As the postseason nears, it’s time for some of the best rivalries in college wrestling. In women’s wrestling, the NCWWC qualifiers for all eight regions will begin this weekend. Meanwhile, many teams close out their regular season schedules. Here are a few events college wrestling fans should check out in week 17 of the season.

Date: Friday, February 21

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Location: Cassell Coliseum/Blacksburg, Va.

Where to watch: ACC Network

No. 10 Virginia Tech (8-2 overall, 4-1 ACC) hosts No. 7 NC State (11-1 overall, 5-0 ACC) in the dual season finale at Cassell Coliseum on Friday night. Action begins at 7 p.m. ET in Blacksburg. The Hokies are on a five-dual win streak, and are coming off of victories over No. 17 Stanford and Pitt. The Wolfpack enter the matchup after a pair of ranked wins over No. 18 North Carolina and No. 17 Stanford.

Four wrestlers are ranked in the top ten for the Hokies: No. 5 Eddie Ventresca (125), No. 10 Connor McGonagle (133), No. 10 Sam Latona (141) and No. 1 Caleb Henson (149). For the Wolfpack, No. 3 Vincent Robinson (125) and No. 4 Isaac Trumble (285) lead the lineup in the rankings. In last season’s matchup between the two, NC State won 20-12. Virginia Tech leads the series 12-9 since February of 2005.

Date: Sunday, February 23

Time: 7:30 p.m. CT

Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena/Iowa City, Iowa

Where to watch: Big Ten Network

It’s time for one of the most storied rivalries in college wrestling. The No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes (13-1 overall, 7-1 Big Ten) host the No. 2 Oklahoma State Cowboys (13-0 overall, 9-0 Big 12) on Sunday night. The series began in 1954, and OSU holds the edge, 29-26-2. Iowa leads the series 15-10 in Iowa City, and have won the past four matchups. Since 2000, Oklahoma State holds a 13-11-1 record over Iowa.

Oklahoma State's lineup features seven ranked in the top ten: No. 4 Troy Spratley (125), No. 6 Tagen Jamison (141), No. 6 Cameron Amine (165), No. 3 Dean Hamiti (174), No. 3 Dustin Plott (184), No. 5 Luke Surber (197), and No. 3 Wyatt Hendrickson (285). Iowa’s lineup sees seven in the top ten also, in No. 1 Drake Ayala (133), No. 3 Kyle Parco (149), No. 2 Jacori Teemer (157), No. 2 Michael Caliendo (165), No. 7 Patrick Kennedy (174), No. 7 Gabe Arnold (184) and No. 1 Stephen Buchanan (197). The battle at heavyweight is set to feature No. 3 Hendrickson, leading the NCAA Most Dominant category, and No. 11 Ben Kueter (Iowa). Both are past age-group World Champions, with Hendrickson winning gold at the 2023 U23 World Championships and Kueter winning gold at the 2022 U20 World Championships.

Date: Saturday, February 22

Time: Noon CT

Location: Mizzou Arena/Columbia, Mo.

Where to watch: UFC Fight Pass

No. 25 Missouri (5-9 overall, 4-3 Big 12) plays host to No. 12 Iowa State (11-5 overall, 5-2 Big 12) on Saturday. The dual will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass, and has a Noon CT start time. Missouri is coming off of a 36-3 loss to Oklahoma State at the beginning of the month, and looks to bounce back and finish the season strong against the Cyclones. Iowa State fell to No. 4 Northern Iowa, 26-10, last Sunday. In the all-time series since 1927, Iowa State leads 46-12. In the last matchup between the two teams, the Cyclones defeated the Tigers 41-2 in Ames, Iowa.

Iowa State's lineup features No. 3 Evan Frost (133), No. 9 Jacob Frost (141), No. 8 Paniro Johnson (149), and No. 6 Cody Chittum (157) all ranked inside the top ten. Missouri's standouts include No. 9 Cameron Steed (165), No. 1 Keegan O’Toole (174), and No. 9 Colton Hawks (184). The dual beings at Noon inside Mizzou Arena.

This weekend, the eight Regional events that serve as the qualifiers for the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) will take place. The championships are set for March 7-8 at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. See below for the full list of the eight Regional qualifiers and the host sites.

The venue, host institution and competition date for the 2025 NCWWC Regionals are:

Region I – Buffalo State University Arena, Buffalo State University, Buffalo, New York, Saturday, February 22

Region II – Koehler Fieldhouse, East Stroudsburg University, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Sunday, February 23

Region III – Shaw Athletic Center, Emmanuel University, Franklin Springs, Georgia, Saturday, February 22

Region IV – Heminger Center, Tiffin University, Tiffin, Ohio, Saturday, February 22

Region V – Merillat Sport and Fitness Center, Adrian College, Adrian, Michigan, Saturday, February 22

Region VI – Hyland Arena, Lindenwood University, St. Charles, Missouri, Sunday, February 23

Region VII – Cowles Fieldhouse, Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa, Saturday, February 22

Region VIII – Kitty Magee Arena, Texas Woman's University, Denton, Texas, Saturday, February 22