Wrestling Heads to the Davidson Duals Tomorrow

Bucknell (3-6) vs. North Dakota State (1-6) | Davidson (3-7) | Brown (2-1)
When: Friday, Jan. 16 – 10 a.m. | Noon | 4:30 p.m.
Where: Baker Sports Complex – Davidson, N.C.
Watch: FloCollege
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WRST

Projected Bucknell Lineup:

125 - Kade Davidheiser
133 - Bryce Manera
141 - #31 Dylan Chappell or Braden Bower
149 - Riley Bower
157 - Cade Wirnsberger or Aiden Davis
165 - #22 Noah Mulvaney
174 - #21 Myles Takats
184 - Tyler Bienus or Mikey Bartush
197 - #10 Dillon Bechtold
285 - #30 Lucas Lawler

Projected North Dakota State Lineup

125 - #17 Ezekiel Witt or Kody Tanimoto

133 - #31 Tristan Daugherty

141 - Michael Olson or Aidan Wells

149 - #24 Max Petersen

157 - Gavin Drexler

165 - Boeden Greenley or Tyler Secoy

174 - Max Magayna

184 - #27 Aidan Brenot or Andrew McMonagle

197 - Devin Wasley

285 - Shilo Jones

Projected Davidson Lineup

125 - Brady Joling
133 - Luke Passerelli
141 - Marley Washington
149 - Anderson Heap
157 - Tanner Peake
165 - Christian Rutherford
174 - Marc Koch or Tyson Sherlock
184 - Cody Kirk
197 - Dylan Smith or Daniel Elyash
285 - DJ Spring II

Projected Brown Lineup

125: Chase Yasutake
133: Douglas Shipers
141: Khimari Manns or Kai Tengco
149: Austin McBurney or Eli Carr or Abraham Pomeroy
157: Ethan Mojena
165: Max Norman or Nicholas Romero
174: Drew Clearie or Connor O'Donnell
184: Preston Marchesseault
197: #26 Andrew Reall
285: #29 Alex Semenenko or Riley McPherson

Rankings Intermat

Bucknell at a Glance

• Bucknell hits the road again this Friday when the Bison travel south of the Mason-Dixon Line to the Davidson Duals. The Orange & Blue will face three potent opponents in its second quad format of the season.
• Half of the Bison starting lineup remains ranked by Intermat. Dillon Bechtold (197) leads the group at #10. Noah Mulvaney (165) and Myles Takats (174) remains steady at #22 and #21. Lucas Lawler (285) moved up a slot to #31 after his recent run of success. Dylan Chappell (141) slipped from #30 to #31 after missing the Cornell dual due to injury.
• Dylan Chappell (141) entered 2025-26 with 88 career wins and the fifth-year senior added three to his ledger at the Navy Classic, picked up a victory in the Wisconsin dual, added three more at the Bucknell Quad, and notched four victories at the Midlands Championships. He reached 100 on Jan. 4 against LIU, scoring a pin against Carter Pack. Chappell became the first Bison grappler to reach the 100-win milestone since Kurt Phipps (133) earned number 100 against No. 16 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) on Jan. 30, 2025.
• Bucknell posted its third straight top 25 recruiting class, providing an even greater pool of talent for the program. The depth has been on display with the Bison taking nearly every ranked foe to the bitter end, routing Hofstra, LIU, and Morgan State, and performing well at the Navy Classic. At the Midlands Championships, the team finished third for its highest finish in program history at the competition.
• The Bison have needed every drop of depth with injuries preventing the full lineup from competing together more than once.
• The first NCAA Top 33 Coaches Ranking will be released on Jan. 29. The Bison should have five wrestlers in its lists along with several other grapplers having an outside chance for entry.
• Head coach Dan Wirnsberger is in his 20th season with the Bison and his 21th year leading the program since its revival in 2005.

A Look Back at the Cornell Dual

• #20 Cornell had its full lineup of seven ranked wrestlers back in operation and rolled to the 26-9 victory.
• The Big Red built a 20-0 lead and coasted to the eventual victory.
• No. 22 Noah Mulvaney (165) broke Cornell's winning streak with a 4-1 decision over Louie Cerchio.
• No. 21 Myles Takats (174) faced No. 2 Simon Ruiz in the dual's only ranked matchip and nearly tied his national contender foe. Ruiz escaped with the 5-2 win when Takats' apparent takedown in the final seconds was not given.
• No. 10 Dillon Bechtold (197) handled Aiden Hanning for a 4-0 decision.
• No. 31 Lucas Lawler (285) finished the dual on a positive note for the Bison, defeating Ashton Davis in a 5-1 decision.

Scouting Opponents/Series History

• NDSU is 1-6 on the season but has competed against a brutal schedule featuring #1 Penn State, #3 Iowa State, #11 Minnesota, #15 Northern Iowa, #23 Stanford, and then unranked Wisconsin.
• Intermat ranks four NDSU wrestlers in weight classes that do not overlap with Bucknell's ranked grapplers.
• This is the first meeting in the Battle of the Bison.
• Davidson sits at 3-7 on the season. The Wildcats have faced three ranked foes: #13 Rutgers, #21 North Carolina, and #21 Purdue and lost by a combined 134-7.
• Intermat doesn't rank any Wildcat grapplers.
• Bucknell leads the all-time series 1-0. The Bison won 33-6 in 2014.
• Brown is 2-1 overall and has mostly competed in open competitions. The Bears clawed Davidson and LIU but were throttled 44-3 by #6 Nebraska.
• Intermat lists two Brown wrestlers in its rankings at 197 and 285, giving Bechtold (197) and Lawler (285) the opportunity for two ranked wins.
• Bucknell leads the all-time series with its former conference foes 12-4 and has won the last three duals.

A Look Ahead

• Bucknell returns to EIWA play on Jan. 25 when the Bison travel to Army West Point to joust the Black Knights of the Hudson.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mikey Bartush

Dillon Bechtold

Tyler Bienus

Braden Bower

Riley Bower

Dylan Chappell

Kade Davidheiser

Aiden Davis

Lucas Lawler

Bryce Manera

Noah Mulvaney

Kurt Phipps

Myles Takats

Cade Wirnsberger