Wrestling notes: National Duals Invitational sets 16-team field with Thursday’s lottery drawing

The field for a new college wrestling dual showcase was set Thursday.

The possibly ground-breaking event took another step forward to being a reality.

Five final programs and two alternates for the 16-team National Duals Invitational tournament were revealed during a live selection show Flowrestling.com. University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa were one of 11 programs that accepted berths extended to top-12 finishers at the 2025 NCAA Championships.

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“Wrestling fans have been asking for this for so long,” BTN and NCAA TV wrestling analyst Shane Sparks said during the selection show. “A dual meet format. You have 16 of the best teams in the country and think about what’s at state – a total purse of a million dollars.”

Wyoming, University of Arkansas-Little Rock, Arizona State, Lehigh and Missouri were the at-large teams picked in a lottery-style process that included teams that finished 13 th through 24 th at the national tournament.

West Virginia and South Dakota State were named alternate teams for the competition set for Nov. 15-16 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

“I love the timing of it…” Sparks said. “This really sets the tone for what is going to be a phenomenal season.

The field includes Iowa, UNI, host Oklahoma State, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Cornell University and Virginia Tech. NCAA champion Penn State is the only team that didn’t accept an automatic invite.

The plans for the tournament were first announced in January, coming on the heels of the National Wrestling Coaches Association brought back the NCAA Division I bracket to the Multi-Division National Duals tournament. UNI won that event held at the UNI-Dome.

At the time, Iowa Coach Tom Brands confirmed interest in the event and officially accepted an invitation on April 15.

“I think there are other opportunities there as well,” Brands said in January. “That’s exciting for a program, especially a program like the University of Iowa wrestling.”

The champion will earn $200,000, while the second- and third-place teams will claim $150,000 apiece. Fourth-place receives home $75,000 and teams that come in fifth through eighth get between $20,000-$50,000. Each participating program collects $20,000.

“I think when you throw that kind of money, I think it makes people look and captures their imagination,” Brands said. “They want to do it. This is something that’s a little bit different. It’s been talked about a lot.”

WELKER, DEEDE COLLIDE IN U.S. OPEN SEMIFINAL

Former Iowa teammates Kylie Welker and Marlynne Deede advanced to a semifinal against each other at 76 kilograms in the women’s freestyle division at the U.S. Open Thursday in Las Vegas. Both dominated their way to the all-Hawkeye showdown, recording 10-0 technical superiority victories in their first two bouts.

Welker wrestled a total of 2:16 in her two match terminations, while Deede only needed 1:18 to advance.

Welker is a two-time national champion for the Hawkeyes and Deede transferred to Iowa from Augsburg to close her career with her second national crown.

Three more Hawkeyes reached the semifinals. Former South Winneshiek prep Felicity Taylor is the top seed at 53 kg. She posted wins of 10-0 and 8-2 to reach the semifinals. Iowa’s Brianna Gonzalez is on the opposite side of the bracket, reaching the semifinals with 11-2 and 3-0 decisions.

Kennedy Blades was dominant in her first bout. The 2024 Olympic silver medalist thumped Menlo Wrestling Club’s Alexandra Lopez, 13-0, in just 1:12 at 68 kg.

Former William Penn and Iowa Wesleyan NAIA champion Adaugo Nwachukwu recorded consecutive technical superiority decisions (10-0, 13-2) to move into the 62 kg semifinals.

MOCCO COMMITS TO IOWA, RATHJEN TO UNI

Iowa added a big, and familiar, name to its list of recruits, while former Hawkeye Caleb Rathjen announced he will transfer to UNI.

Michael Mocco, a three-time Florida state champion and 2024 U17 World champion, committed to the Hawkeyes. He is the son of former Iowa NCAA champion Steve Mocco. The younger Mocco is ranked No. 15 in the Class of 2026 by Flowrestling and will wrestle heavyweight at Iowa. He joins 2026 No. 1 prospect Bo Bassett, who committed to Iowa in February.

Rathjen has been in an out of the lineup during his Iowa career. He has competed at 149 and 157 pounds, compiling a career record of 32-13. Rathjen placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships and qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2024, finishing with a 20-7 mark. Rathjen could fill a hole for the Panthers caused by the graduation of 149-pounder Colin Realbuto.

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