Williams’ All-American Peter Kane (Fairfield) is one of several state wrestlers competing at the NCAA Division III national championships in Iowa this weekend.
Several wrestlers with Connecticut ties have advanced to their respective NCAA national championship tournaments beginning this weekend.
North Carolina State’s Ryan Jack (Danbury) and Stanford’s Nico Provo (Stratford) are the two Connecticut natives who have qualified for the NCAA Division I championships in Cleveland on March 19-21.
Eighteen state wrestlers have earned a spot in the NCAA Division III championships that begin Friday at the Alliant Energy Power House in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. No state wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Division II championships, which is also being held this weekend.
Coast Guard has six wrestlers in the Division III nationals while Trinity College and Wesleyan College each have one qualifier.
State natives who have qualified for the Division III nationals include New York University’s Ty Finn (Simsbury) and Nicky Bell (Greenwich), Oneonta State’s Jack Ryan (Trumbull) and Carson LiCastri (Easton and Joel Barlow), Penn College’s Kaden Ware (Brooklyn and Killingly), Williams College’s Peter Kane (Fairfield and GFA) and Caleb Seyfried (Westport and GFA), Johnson & Wales’ Jack Richardson (Killingly) and Washington and Lee’s Evan Linder (New Milford).
Jack, who earned All-American honors in 2024, is wrestling in the NCAA tournament for the fourth time. He finished third at the ACC Tournament at 141 pounds and is 15-7. Only five Connecticut wrestlers have earned All-American honors at the NCAA Division I tournament and Jack is the most recent honoree.
Provo (125) is making his third NCAA tournament appearance. He went 2-2 in 2024 and is currently 13-5 this season. He finished second at the ACC Tournament.
Ryan (184) is a two-time All-American for Oneonta State with a seventh place finish in 2024 and a third place finish in 2025. Ryan is 15-2 this season and is four wins shy of 100 in his career. LiCastri, a junior, is 25-6, for Oneonta State at 197.
Kane (157) is a three-time All-American for Williams. He was seventh in 2023, second in 2024 and fifth a year ago in 2025. He is undefeated at 24-0. Seyfried, a senior, is 20-2 on the year at 149 pounds.
Finn (174) is 24-1 at NYU while Bell, who went to school at Brunswick, is 23-7 at 165 pounds. Ware (141) is 14-2 at 141 for Penn College of Technology. After losing in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Region II tournament, Ware won four straight matches to earn a spot in the national tournament with a pin, win by tech fall and an OT decision.
Linder (149) is a senior at Washington & Lee with a record of 21-9. He is one of a record five Washington & Lee wrestlers to qualify at the NCAA Region IV tournament.
Richardson – who placed second at last year’s Northeast regional – hit a seven-point move in the final 38 seconds of his championship final at the Region I tournament to down No. 3 seed Jashon Holmes (VTSU Castleton), 11-2, and improve to 27-2. For his efforts, Richardson was named co-Most Outstanding Wrestler and the No. 8 seed at nationals.
Wesleyan junior Hayden Meyers (141) is 22-1 on the season while Trinity sophomore Ty Trickle (141) is 21-7.
All-American Carl DiGiorgio (285), who was second at 285 a year ago, leads the Coast Guard. He is 25-0 on the year, including a 4-0 run at the NCAA Region I tournament.
Other Coast Guard wrestlers in the nationals include Nikko Beato (125, 15-5), Marvin Armsted (133, 18-4), Nate Fitt (149, 23-1), Caden Stout (184, 11-5) and Gabe Monroe (197, 19-6). Fitt is making his third trip to the nationals.
Three state wrestlers earned All-American honors at the Division III tournament a year ago including Kane and Ryan. The most recent Division III national champion from Connecticut was Trumbull’s Cross Cannone of Wartburg College at 149 pounds in 2018.
The official 2026 DIII wrestling brackets were released Wednesday, March 11. Click here to see every bracket weight-by-weight.
NCAA qualifiers
State wrestlers at 2026 national championship tournaments. No state wrestler qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament.
| NCAA Division I national championship qualifiers | ||||
| Wrestler | Rec. | School | Wt. | Hometown |
| Ryan Jack | 15-7 | North Carolina State | 141 | Danbury |
| Nico Provo | 13-5 | Stanford | 125 | Stratford |
| NCAA Division III national championship qualifiers | ||||
| Wrestler | Rec. | School | Wt. | Hometown |
| Marvin Armstead | 18-4 | Coast Guard | 133 | |
| Nikko Beato | 15-5 | Coast Guard | 125 | |
| Nicky Bell | 23-7 | NYU | 165 | Greenwich/Brunswick |
| Carl DiGiorgio | 25-0 | Coast Guard | 285 | |
| Ty Finn | 24-1 | NYU | 174 | Simsbury |
| Nate Fitt | 23-1 | Coast Guard | 149 | |
| Peter Kane | 24-0 | Williams College | 157 | Fairfield/GFA |
| Carson LiCastri | 25-6 | Oneonta State | 197 | Easton/Joel Barlow |
| Evan Linder | 21-9 | Washington & Lee | 149 | New Milford |
| Hayden Meyers | 22-1 | Wesleyan | 141 | |
| Gabe Monroe | 19-6 | Coast Guard | 197 | |
| Caleb Seyfried | 20-2 | Williams College | 149 | Westport/GFA |
| Caden Stout | 11-5 | Coast Guard | 184 | |
| Ty Trickle | 21-7 | Trinity College | 141 | |
| Jack Richardson | 24-2 | Johnson & Wales | 165 | Killingly |
| Jack Ryan | 15-2 | Oneonta State | 184 | Trumbull |
| Kaden Ware | 14-2 | Penn College | 141 | Brooklyn/Killingly |
