2026 NCAA Division II Championships [Live Video] [Live Results] 
Friday-Saturday - Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D.

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MINES SENDS TRIO TO NATIONALS
The wrestling season comes to a climax this weekend as three Colorado School of Mines grapplers head to Sioux Falls, S.D. for the 2026 NCAA Division II Championships at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. A veteran group of Cody Thompson (149 pounds), Jakob Smith (174 pounds), and Wyatt Reisz (184 pounds) will aim for podium spots with top-eight finishes. Thompson was a 2024 all-American, while Reisz makes his second consecutive nationals appearance and Smith his first.

FAN INFO & LIVE COVERAGE
All mats will stream live and for free on ncaa.com. Brackets and mat assignments are available on FloSports. Wrestling begins Friday with Session I at 10 a.m. Central made up of preliminaries and the first round; Session II at 5 p.m. will have the quarterfinals plus the first two rounds of consolations. On Saturday, Session III at 10 a.m. will have the championship semifinals and the remainder of wrestlebacks, with championship finals starting in Session IV at 7 p.m.

BRACKET BREAKDOWN - 149 POUNDS
Super Region VI champion Cody Thompson (15-1) makes his return to the NCAA Championships for the second time after an unseeded run to the national final in 2024 before missing last year's tournament due to injury. Thompson has earned the #3 seed in the 149-pound bracket, and will take on a first-time opponent in Bam West of Central Oklahoma to start. Potential second opponents are #6 seed Gabriel Onorato of Glenville State or Colorado Mesa's Alex Castaneda, who has wrestled Thompson twice this season with a 1-1 mark, although Thompson won their most recent meeting by fall in the super regional quarterfinals. The other wrestlers on Thompson's side of the bracket include #7 seed Hayden Kuhn of Ashland, #2 seed Jalen Spuhler of Wisconsin-Parkside, Ty Linsenbigler of Seton Hill, Angel Flores of Adams State, and Isham Peace of Lander; Thompson was set to face Onorato in last season's Midwest Classic but injury defaulted, while he beat Spuhler 13-11 in the 2024 NCAA quarterfinals. Thompson and Flores have wrestled twice this season as Thompson won 8-2 in their dual meeting and then beat him 14-5 in the super regional final. 

BRACKET BREAKDOWN - 174 POUNDS
Jakob Smith (14-3) qualified for his first NCAA Championships via a runner-up finish at the Super Region VI Championships, but ends up with a very tough opening-round draw against second-seeded Coy Gunderson of Augustana. Potential second opponents include seventh-seeded Tyler Morrison of Pitt-Johnstown, Minnesota State's Drake Hayward, or San Francisco State's Kydyn Lima. Smith lost a narrow 4-2 decision to Hayward at the Jack Hancock Duals in December, and did not end up meeting Lima in the Super Region VI bracket. Other wrestlers on Smith's side of the bracket include third-seeded Otgonbayer Batsuuri of Nebraska-Kearney, who beat Smith by decision in the SR6 final, Maryville's Cole Ritter, Belmont Abbey's Christian Arrington, and Tiffin's Emilio Arellano.

BRACKET BREAKDOWN - 184 POUNDS
Wyatt Reisz (13-4) qualifies for his second consecutive national tournament after appearing at 174 a year ago; he does so thanks to a third-place super regional finish. Reisz will start off against a familiar opponent in Central Missouri's fourth-seeded Damon Ashworth in a rematch from the Jack Hancock Duals, where Ashworth - then ranked #1 - won a 4-2 battle in Reisz's first match at 184 after moving up a weight. Potential second opponents are fifth-seeded Kaden Hart of UNK, who beat Reisz 4-3 in the SR6 semifinals, or West Liberty's Oliver Byerly. The rest of his half of the bracket are unfamiliar opponents including #1-seed Cole Glazier of St. Cloud State, East Stroudsburg's Luke Ciampa, Lander's Dylan Kohn, Kutztown's Cole Casilio, and Wisconsin-Parkside's Sullivan Ramos.

NOTING MINES AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Mines is making its 56th NCAA championship appearance since 1958 … Mines' best team finish at the NCAA Division II meet was seventh in 1996 ... The Orediggers were also the national runner-up in 1964 before there were divisions, and have been top-10 four times overall at NCAA meets ... The Orediggers have seven individual national champions, the last coming in 1998 when John Simpson won at 184 ... Cody Thompson made a run to the 149-pound national final in 2024, one of two national finalists under Austin DeVoe along with heavyweight Weston Hunt in 2021 … The program has had 56 all-Americans since 1960 … Smith is the 49th different Oredigger to make the nationals field in the qualification era dating back to 1975 … Reisz and Thompson are the 20th and 21st multi-time qualifiers in program history … Reisz is the first two-weight qualifier since Anderson Salisbury in 2023 (at 197 after previously going at 184), and only the seventh in program history.

PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE
As mentioned, Mines' nationals squad is a veteran group led by Thompson, a redshirt senior with a 63-18 career record; he is Mines' active leader in wins. Reisz, a junior, is second with a 56-18 record, while Smith, a redshirt junior, holds a career record of 40-16.

THE CHAMPS ARE HERE
Mines won a share of their second consecutive RMAC title in February, beating CSU Pueblo 42-3 to improve to 5-1 in the league. The Orediggers ultimately split the championship with Adams State (who they beat 26-20) after the Grizzlies also finished 5-1 with a win on Feb. 11. It marks the fourth RMAC championship for Mines since 2019, all coming under Head Coach Austin DeVoe. 

FIVE OREDIGGERS EARN ALL-RMAC
Five members of the conference-champion Mines team earned all-RMAC honors on Feb. 19 in the annual year-end awards from the league. Cody Thompson (149 pounds), Jakob Smith (174 pounds), and Laith Ibrahim (285 pounds) were voted First-Team All-RMAC by the league's coaches, while Wyatt Reisz (184 pounds) and Mason Diel (197 pounds) earned spots on the second team.

AT THE HELM
Head Coach Austin DeVoe is in his 12th season in charge of the Mines Wrestling program, having rebuilt the Orediggers into a national contender with three RMAC titles, eight all-Americans, and eight Academic All-Americans in his tenure. With 96 dual wins under his belt, Mines has had seven consecutive winning dual seasons including the only three double-digit win seasons in program history, including tying the program wins record in 2022-23 with an 11-2 record and surpassing it with 13 in 2024-25. On the national stage, Mines has had team success as well including an 11th-place finish in 2022 which was the program's best finish since the 1990s.