Johnson clinches All-America honors, advances to semifinals on Day 1 of 2026 NCAAA III Wrestling Championships
March 13, 2026
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Sophomore Myles Johnson (Springboro) clinched a top-6 finish and All-America honors to lead the Ohio Northern wrestling team on the first day day of the 2026 NCAAA III Wrestling Championships on Friday.
| NCAA III Championships Site |
The Basics
- Records: Ohio Northern (14-4 Overall)
- Venue: Alliant Energy Power House – Cedar Rapids, IA.
- Friday's sessions were one and two of four during the championships. Session three will be Saturday morning at 11 am EST, and the final session will be Saturday evening at 8 pm EST.
- The top 8 placers in each weight class earn All-American honors.
ONU Individuals
- Johnson went 2-0 to advance to the semifinals of the 197-pound weight class, clinching All-American honors.
- He won by major decision 15-6 over No. 11-seedeIan Pepple of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the first round.
- Johnson then won by decision 8-6 over No. 3-seed Lorenzo Pellot-Vazguez of Roanoke (Va.) in the second round.
- He continues Saturday morning against second-seeded Josh Stahl York (Pa.) in the semifinals.
- Freshman Londen Murphy (Moscow/Moeller) finished 2-2 in the tournament at 157.
- He won in the championship preliminary round by decision 7-4 over Joe Penchi of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
- Murphy then fell in the first round of the championship bracket to No. 4 seed Eric Kinkaid Loras (Iowa) by decision 10-4.
- He then won in the consolation preliminary over Thomas Wagner of Case Western Reserve by decision 7-3.
- He won again in the in the consolation second round by pin over Thomas DiResta of Johnson and Wales (R.I.)
- Murphy then fell in the third round of the consolation bracket against No. 3 seed Charlie Dojan of Wartburg (Iowa) by technical fall 16-0, 2:36.
- He finishes his outstanding freshman season with a 33-8 record.
- Sophomore Jovanni Greco (Ross) finished 2-2 in the tournament at 149.
- He won in the championship preliminary round by decision 12-5 over Adam Whittier of Wisconsin-Platteville.
- Greco then fell by major decision 12-0 against No. 2 seeded Matt Randolph of Augsburg (Minn.) in first round of the Championship bracket.
- He won in the consolation preliminary by decision 8-5 over Ty Stewart of Springfield (Ill.).
- He then fell in the first round of the consolation bracket to No. 10 seed Chase Fiser of Loras by major decision 11-3.
- Greco finishes his outstanding sophomore season with a 34-10 record and has a career record of 56-14.
- Freshman Ben Hegler (Brecksville/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) finished 1-2 in the tournament at 165.
- He fell in the championship preliminary round against Brian Petry of Cornell (Iowa) by decsion 7-6.
- Hegler then won in the consolation preliminary round by decision 8-3 over No. 10 seed Kaiden Wagner of Lycoming (Pa).
- He then fell in the consolation second round by pin against Peyton Brooks of Albion (Mich.)
- Hegler finishes his outstanding freshman season with a 31-11 record.
- Freshman Jack Hoffman (Springboro) finished 1-2 in the tournament at 174.
- He fell in the championship preliminary round by decision 4-1 against Jaylen Young of Wabash (Ind.)
- Hoffman then won in the consolation preliminary over Jake Luce of North Central (Ill.) by decision 2-1.
- He then fell in the consolation second round against No. 9 seed Konrad Parker of Ithaca (N.Y.) by decision 10-4.
- Hoffman finished his outstanding freshman season with a record of 20-12.
- Freshman Kurt Mokros (Lewis CenterOlentangy) finished 1-2 in the tournament at 125 pounds.
- Mokros won in the championship preliminary round by decision 10-7 over Aidan Gruenenfelder of Loras.
- He then fell in first round of the championship bracket to No. 5 seed Nico Rivera of Johnson and Wales by major decision 15-3.
- He fell in the consolation second round to Matthew Barlay of Chicago (Ill.) by decision 3-2.
- Mokros finishes his outstanding freshman season with a 37-11 record.
Notables
- Johnson is making his second NCAA Championships appearance.
- Greco, Mokros, Murphy, Hegler, and Hoffman all made their first NCAA Championships appearance.
- Johnson is 37-4 on the season with 9 pins and 9 tech falls.
- Johnson was also named 2026 Ohio Athletic Conference Wrestler of the Year.
- Ohio Northern head coach Ron Beaschler is in his 38th season and has a 421-268-4 dual meet record, a winning percentage of .607.
Up Next
- The Polar Bears will return to action Saturday at the second day of 2026 NCAAA III Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
