From staff reports

CLEVELAND — The Lock Haven men’s wrestling team opened the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championship today (Thursday, March 19) and Wyatt Henson led the way with a victory in round one.

Henson (141) was one of four Bald Eagles to compete in Session 1 as Gable Strickland (133), Lucas Kapusta (149) and Avery Bassett (174) also kicked off their journeys at the National Championship.

Henson, the No. 13 seed at 141 pounds, opened the tournament with an 11-2 major decision over No. 20 Julian Tagg (South Dakota State).

Henson earned his second straight opening-round victory in back-to-back seasons and improves to 2-2 in his NCAA Championship career.

Avery Bassett, seeded 29th at 174, dropped an 8-3 decision to No. 4 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State).

Gable Strickland, seeded 31st at 133, fell to No. 2 Ben Davino (Ohio State) via tech fall (17-2, 5:07).

Lucas Kapusta, seeded 17th at 149, was pinned by No. 16 Jacob Frost (Iowa State).

Thursday was the first of three days of competition at the 2026 NCAA Championship as the national tournament.