McGowan Advances To Quarterfinals, Whalen in Wrestlebacks After Day One of NCAAs

Thursday, March 19

Cleveland, Ohio

Princeton University

NCAA Championships

Marc-Anthony McGowan Advances To Quarterfinals NCAAs 2026

Photo by: Lisa Elfstrum

McGowan Advances To Quarterfinals, Whalen in Wrestlebacks After Day One of NCAAs

March 19, 2026 | Wrestling

CLEVELAND, OHIO – Marc-Anthony McGowan will advance to the 125 quarterfinals after the Tigers began competition at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland on Thursday.

Ty Whalen is also set to compete on day two in the consolation bracket after going 1-1 on day one.

No. 10 McGowan started his NCAA campaign with a fall over No. 23 Nicolar Rivera. After working to a 16-2 lead with two near-falls on the way, McGowan finally got Rivera pinned on his back to secure the fall at 5:35.

In session two, McGowan took the mat again for a bout with No. 7 Nick Provo of Stanford. After getting a takedown 90 seconds in, McGowan continued to look clinical as he took shots and stayed solid on defense, only conceding two escape points. With a 4-2 final, McGowan secured his spot in tomorrow's quarterfinals. It will mark his first quarterfinal appearance.

No. 20 Whalen is still alive in consolation after falling in the first round to Minnesota's No. 13 Andrew Sparks, 10-1.

Coming back for session two, Whalen took a major decision over Ryan Burgos of Edinboro. Making an early takedown, Whalen looked dominant, but Burgos was able to score points on a reversal-near fall play. Shaking it off and staying in the zone, Whalen was relentless on offense, scoring a total of four takedowns while picking up riding time to win 18-9.

While McGowan and Whalen will continue their NCAA campaigns tomorrow, Eligh Rivera, Holden Garcia and Matthew Martino saw their seasons come to a close today, losing two matches.

First-year Martino, seeded 32nd, had a solid performance as he made his NCAA Championship debut. In the pigtail match against redshirt sophomore, No. 33 Aldo Hernandez, Martino conceded early and fell one takedown short of a first-round win despite finding some good shots late in the match.

Getting to work in wrestlebacks, Martino faced off with Terrapin #30 Dario Lemus. With the match close and physical, the pair were tied at 1-1 as the regulation time expired. Going into sudden victory, Martino was hungry for a takedown and found it, earning his first career NCAA win. In the next round, however, Martino fell after a hard-fought battle to redshirt senior Haiden Drury of Utah Valley.

No. 22 Rivera fell by MD to No. 11 Lachlan McNeil in the first round. In round two, he took on Cal Poly's Andre Gonzales. Trailing in the second period, Rivera came up with a big takedown to regain the lead. However, with 11 seconds remaining, Gonzales found another takedown to win it and eliminate.

Garcia's bracket began with a match against Iowa's #5 Pat Kennedy. Keeping it close, Garcia took some solid shots and found some good opportunities, but Kennedy was able to defend and avoid conceding the points. With bookend takedowns, Kennedy took the 8-2 decision.

In consolation, Garcia faced Rutgers' Lenny Pinto. Again in a razor thin match, Garcia found himself down 10-4 before climbing back with a takedown and two back points. Taking shots as he sought a winning takedown, Garcia was on the attack, but Pinto capitalized and found three more points of his own. In the end, sophomore Garcia was just a takedown short of advancing on to day two.

Up Next
McGowan and Whalen will continue competition at the NCAA Championships. McGowan is set for a quarterfinal bout against the No. 2 seed, Virginia Tech's Eddie Ventresca. Whalen will resume competition in the wrestlebacks with a bout against No. 19 Noah Mulvaney of Bucknell.