Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Ghadiali Captures Big Ten Heavyweight Title; U-M Takes Fifth Place
3/8/2026 8:53:00 PM | Wrestling
» Taye Ghadiali rallied past Nebraska's A.J. Ferrari, 5-2, with a late third-period takedown to capture the Big Ten heavyweight title.
» Lachlan McNeil (149) and Brock Mantanona (184) both claimed third place, Cameron Catrabone (157) and Beau Mantanona (174) placed fifth, and Diego Sotelo (125) took sixth.
» Michigan placed fifth in the team standings (86.5 points) with six placewinners and six NCAA automatic qualifiers.
Site: State College, Pa. (Bryce Jordan Center)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Day 2 of 2)
U-M Standing: 5th Place of 14 Teams (86.5 points)
Next U-M Event: Thu-Sat., March 19-21 -- at NCAA Championships (Cleveland, Ohio)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- University of Michigan graduate student Taye Ghadiali used a late third-period takedown to rally past Nebraska's A.J. Ferrari, 5-2, and capture the heavyweight title at the 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Sunday (March 8) at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center. U-M placed fifth in the final team standings with 86.5 points -- just a half point behind fourth-place Iowa.
Ghadiali, the top seed and ranked fourth nationally, trailed by two points late in the third after third-ranked Ferrari rode out the second period and earned a quick escape in the third. Ferrari dropped down on a single leg with Ghadiali pushing action toward the edge, but the Wolverine broke the lock and spun behind to earn the takedown with just 25 seconds left in the match.
Ghadiali tacked on two more points -- first on a stall when Ferrari deliberately reached out and touched off the mat, then an escape after the Husker took injury time to give Ghadiali choice on the restart. Ferrari did not get a shot off for the final 18 seconds, and the Penn State crowd erupted when the final whistle sounded.
With the victory, Ghadiali avenged one of his two losses on the season. He previously lost to Ferrari, 11-3, at the National Duals in November. Ghadiali became Michigan's 133rd Big Ten champion and sixth since 2021 -- and second heavyweight since 2023, joining Mason Parris. He is now a four-time conference champion, previously capturing three SoCon heavyweight titles while at Campbell University. He improved to 23-2 on the season and has defeated wrestlers currently ranked in the nation's top 10 in six of his last eight matches.
Graduate student Lachlan McNeil, ranked 16th at 149 pounds, finished third in his Big Ten Championships debut with a 4-1 record. He earned his second win this weekend against Maryland's fourth-ranked Carter Young, 1-0, in the third-place match. His second-period escape proved decisive as Young opted for a neutral start in the third, then took just one shot in the final period.
McNeil also earned a comfortable 8-3 decision against Illinois' 29th-ranked Michael Gioffre in the consolation semifinals, earning single-leg takedowns in the first and third periods while riding for 1:39 of advantage time.
Redshirt freshman Brock Mantanona, ranked seventh at 184 pounds, also claimed third place in his Big Ten tournament debut after earning a 4-1 overtime decision against Illinois' 17th-ranked Chris Moore in his medal match -- the season rubber match between the two. Mantanona scored the winning takedown out of a scramble midway through the extra frame; Moore shot in deep on a single out of a flurry and appeared to have the Wolverine in trouble for a couple of beats before Mantanona scrambled out of it to secure the score on the edge.
Mantanona went 4-1 in the tournament with a pair of bonus wins, including a 10-2 major decision over Rutgers' 18th-ranked Shane Cartagena-Walsh in the consolation semifinals. Mantanona scored twice out of extended scrambles -- on his shot in the second with a takedown and a three-point leg turk, then off Rutgers' shot in the third before riding out the bout for 1:16 of advantage time.
Redshirt freshman Cameron Catrabone, ranked 13th at 157 pounds, claimed fifth place in his Big Ten tournament debut with a medical forfeit win in the finals -- his third bonus win of the weekend. Catrabone fell to Ohio State's top-ranked Brandon Cannon, 4-0, in the consolation semifinals. Cannon rode out the second period before starting the third on his feet. Catrabone was in deep on a single leg in the final 35 seconds of the bout and came close to scoring, but it was the Buckeye who came out on top of the ensuing scramble to ice the match.
Catrabone went 3-2 in the tournament. His losses came against the nation's current No. 1 wrestler in Cannon and Nebraska's defending NCAA champion Antrell Taylor, 7-1, in last night's semifinals.
Redshirt sophomore Beau Mantanona, ranked 10th at 174 pounds, claimed fifth place with a 7-5 decision against Rutgers' 20th-ranked Lenny Pinto in the medal round. He countered a single leg and locked up a cradle out of an early first-period scramble, earning the takedown but no back points. He added a reversal and an escape in the second period and accumulated 2:18 of riding-time advantage.
Mantanona dropped a 1-1 tiebreaker decision on riding time to Iowa's third-ranked Patrick Kennedy in the consolation semifinals. Kennedy rode out the first 30 seconds of the tiebreak before selecting a neutral start for the second. Mantanona shot in on a last-second single and nearly scored it on the edge but ran out of time.
Graduate student Diego Sotelo, ranked 30th at 125 pounds, dropped a pair of close decision losses in today's wrestleback rounds to place sixth in his first Big Ten tournament appearance. Despite scoring a third-period takedown, he could not overcome a late deficit in a 9-7 defeat to Indiana's 17th-ranked Jacob Moran in the consolation semifinals. He then suffered a 5-2 loss -- on a first-period takedown -- to Iowa's seventh-ranked Dean Peterson in his medal match.
The Wolverines' six NCAA qualifiers will take a two-week break before heading to the NCAA Championships, scheduled for March 19-21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NCAA at-large selections will be announced on Tuesday (March 10), with seeds and full brackets released at 8 p.m. on Wednesday (March 11).
Team Standings (Final)
1. Penn State 184 2. Ohio State 148.5 3. Nebraska 116.5 4. Iowa 87 5. Michigan 86.5 6. Illinois 78 7. Minnesota 76.5 8. Rutgers 63.5 9. Wisconsin 55 10. Indiana 40 11. Maryland 35.5 12. Purdue 29.5 13. Northwestern 14.5 14. Michigan State 10.5
Michigan Results (Day 2)
Numbers listed are tournament seeds
125 Pounds -- #9 Diego Sotelo
Consolations - dec. by #4 Jacob Moran (Indiana), 9-7
Fifth Place -- dec. by #8 Dean Peterson (Iowa), 5-2
Finished in sixth place with a 2-3 record
133 Pounds -- #13 Gauge Botero
Ninth Place Semifinals* -- dec. by #9 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers), 9-4
149 Pounds -- #4 Lachlan McNeil
Consolations - dec. #9 Michael Gioffre (Illinois), 8-3
Third Place - dec. #5 Carter Young (Maryland), 1-0
Finished in third place with a 4-1 record
157 Pounds -- #4 Cameron Catrabone
Consolations - dec. by #7 Brandon Cannon (Ohio State), 4-0
Fifth Place - won by forfeit over #11 Bryce Lowery (Indiana)
Finished in fifth place with a 3-2 record
165 Pounds -- #12 Justin Gates
Ninth Place Semifinals* -- dec. by #10 Cody Goebel (Wisconsin), 4-2
174 Pounds -- #5 Beau Mantanona
Consolations - dec. by #3 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa), 1-1 TB
Fifth Place - dec. #11 Lenny Pinto (Rutgers), 7-5
Finished in fifth place with a 3-2 record
184 Pounds -- #4 Brock Mantanona
Consolations - major dec. #7 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers), 10-2
Third Place - dec. #5 Chris Moore (Illinois), 4-1 SV
Finished in third place with a 4-1 record
197 Pounds -- #10 Hayden Walters
Ninth Place Semifinals* -- dec. by #13 Gabe Arnold (Iowa), 4-2
Heavyweight -- #1 Taye Ghadiali
Final -- dec. #2 A.J. Ferrari (Nebraska), 5-2
Finished as the heavyweight champion with a 3-0 record
* extra matches for NCAA qualification, do not count toward team score
Players Mentioned
