Thursday, March 19
Cleveland, Ohio
All Day
Columbia
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NCAA Championships
Photo by: Scott Pilutik
Alvan’s Thrilling Win By Fall Highlights Columbia’s Opening Day at NCAAs
3/19/2026 11:44:00 PM | Wrestling
Senior upsets No. 5 LaDarion Lockett with a win by fall in overtime
CLEVELAND – Twelfth-seeded Cesar Alvan made a splash with a thrilling win by fall in overtime over No. 5 LaDarion Lockett of Oklahoma State in the Championship Second Round. Alvan went 2-0 on the day. He was one of four Columbia wrestlers to advance to the second day of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Joining Alvan will be Kai Owen (157), Nick Fine (174), and Vincent Mueller (285). Sulayman Bah (125), Lorenzo Frezza (141), and Joe Curtis (184) saw their tournament runs come to an end with two losses each.
Alvan's day began with a win via a 12-2 major decision over SIUE's Brock Woodcock. Alvan led 6-2 heading into the third period thanks to a pair of takedowns. He put the match away, with just over a minute to go in regulation, with another takedown.
In the second round, he faced Lockett, who entered the match as the No. 5 seed at 165 and was the runner-up at the Big 12 Championship. Locket scored the first point of the bout midway through the second period with an escape. That held until Alvan escaped with just over 1:30 left in regulation. The bout ended in regulation tied 1-1, setting up the drama in overtime. Lockett appeared to get the winning takedown, but during the fall, Alvan continued to roll; his momentum carried him on top of Lockett, where Alvan finished securing the win by fall.
Alvan will face Arizona State's Nice Ruiz tomorrow. It will be the second time these two have squared off, with Alvan defeating Ruiz in overtime in the dual meet hosted by Cornell on January 31.
Owen opened the day, falling 1-0 to No. 14 Ethen Miller of Virginia Tech. The two wrestlers could not break through for a point, but Miller won the match thanks to riding time. In his second bout of the day, Owen defeated No. 30 Laird Root of North Carolina. Owen took control of the bout early with a 3-point takedown. Root made it 3-1 with an escape and scored two more points on stall penalties, but Owen sealed the bout with another takedown and riding time to win 7-4.
Fine began his second NCAA Championship appearance with a 3-2 win over UNI's Jared Simma. Simma took an early 2-0 lead late in the second period, but 10 seconds later, Fine tied the bout up with a reversal of his own. An escape by Fine late in the third period was the difference. In the championship second round, Fine was defeated via a 21-5 tech fall by Penn State's Levi Haines, the top seed in the 174 bracket. Fine will face Illinois' Colin Kelly on Friday.
After falling 13-10 in a tight decision to Virginia Tech's Jimmy Mullen in the first bout of the day. Mueller rebounded with a stellar showing in the consolation first round, with a win by fall over American Emmanuel Ulrich. Mueller will face the Army's Brady Colbert on Friday. Colbert got the better of Mueller, 8-4, earlier this year at the Black Knight Invitational on Nov. 23.
Bah's day started with a bout against #3 Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State. Trailing 4-0 midway through the first period, Bah scored a 3-point takedown to make it 4-3. Bouzakis took control of the bout with a reversal and a takedown of his own midway through the third period to win 9-5.
In the consolation prelims, Bah dominated Jace Schafer of Bloomsburg. Bah jumped out to an early lead with a pair of takedowns in the first period. Leading 6-1, he put the match out of reach with a trio of takedowns to secure a 17-4 major decision. In the consolation first round, he squared off against North Carolina's Kysen Terukina, where he lost 7-2.
Frezza squared off against a familiar foe to open the tournament, squaring off against Penn's CJ Composto. Composto held off Frezza and secured a 2-0 win thanks to an escape in the third period and ride time.
In the consolation round, Frezza took on No. 27 Gable Porter of Virginia. Frezza scored the first points of the bout with a takedown early in the first. But a pair of escapes and a take down in the second had Porter out front 5-3. In the closing seconds, Frezza cut the deficit in half with an escape but could not get any closer, falling 5-4.
Curtis made his debut at the NCAA Championships against Illinois' Chris Moore. Moore took control of the bout early, going up 6-1 after the first period. Curtis scored a point on an escape midway through the second period, but Moore put the bout away with five points in the third to win by an 11-2 major decision. In the consolation first round, Curtis squared off against George Mason's Malachi DuVall. Curtis scored the opening points with a takedown in the first. Moments later, DuVall scored a point off an escape and quickly took the lead 4-3 with a takedown before winning the bout via fall at 1:50.
After the opening day, the Lions are tied for 18th with 10.5 total points.
Day 1 Results:
125: Sulayman Bah
Champ. Round 1: #3 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) def. #30 Sulayman Bah (COL) Dec., 9-5
Cons. Prelim: #30 Sulayman Bah (COL) def. #33 Jace Schafer (Bloomsburg) MD, 17-4
Conso. Round 1: #19 Kysen Terukina (North Carolina) def. #30 Sulayman Bah (COL), Dec., 7-2
141: Lorenzo Frezza
Champ. Round 1: #11 CJ Composto (Penn) def. #22 Lorenzo Frezza (COL) Dec., 2-0
Cons. Round 1: #27 Gable Porter (UVA) def. #22 Lorenzo Frezza (COL) Dec., 5-4
157: Kai Owen
Champ. Round 1: #14 Ethen Miller (Virginia Tech) def. #19 Kai Owen (COL) Dec., 1-0
Cons. Round 1: #19 Kai Owen (COL) def. #30 Laird Root (UNC), Dec. 7-4
165: Cesar Alvan
Champ. Round 1: #12 Cesar Alvan (COL) def. #21 Brock Woodcock (SIUE) Major Dec., 12-2
Champ. Round 2: #12 Cesar Alvan (COL) def. #5 LaDarion Lockett (OKST), F (7:05)
174: Nick Fine
Champ. Round 1: #16 Nick Fine (COL) def. #17 Jared Simma (UNI), Dec., 3-2
Champ. Round 2: #1 Levi Haines (PSU) def. #16 Nick Fine (COL), Tech Fall, 21-5
184: Joe Curtis
Champ. Round 1: #9 Chris Moore (Illinois) def. #24 Joe Curtis (COL), Dec., 11-2
Cons. Round 1: #25 Malachi DuVall (George Mason) def. #24 Joe Curtis (COL), F (1:50)
285: Vincent Mueller
Champ. Round 1: #16 Jimmy Mullen (Virginia Tech) def. #17 Vincent Mueller (COL), Dec, 13-10
Cons. Round 1: #17 Vincent Mueller (COL) def. #32 Emmanuel Ulrich (American), F (6:52)
FOLLOWING THE ACTION
Each session of the 2026 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships will air nationally through ESPN+. ESPN+ will also have coverage throughout the tournament with streams of individual mats to follow along with the Lions.
Updates will also be provided through the Columbia Wrestling Twitter account (CULionsWR). Fans can follow the action online through live results at FloWrestling.com.
FOLLOWING THE LIONS
Stay up to date on all things Columbia Wrestling by following the Lions on X (@CULionsWR), Instagram (@culionswr) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).
Joining Alvan will be Kai Owen (157), Nick Fine (174), and Vincent Mueller (285). Sulayman Bah (125), Lorenzo Frezza (141), and Joe Curtis (184) saw their tournament runs come to an end with two losses each.
Alvan's day began with a win via a 12-2 major decision over SIUE's Brock Woodcock. Alvan led 6-2 heading into the third period thanks to a pair of takedowns. He put the match away, with just over a minute to go in regulation, with another takedown.
In the second round, he faced Lockett, who entered the match as the No. 5 seed at 165 and was the runner-up at the Big 12 Championship. Locket scored the first point of the bout midway through the second period with an escape. That held until Alvan escaped with just over 1:30 left in regulation. The bout ended in regulation tied 1-1, setting up the drama in overtime. Lockett appeared to get the winning takedown, but during the fall, Alvan continued to roll; his momentum carried him on top of Lockett, where Alvan finished securing the win by fall.
Alvan will face Arizona State's Nice Ruiz tomorrow. It will be the second time these two have squared off, with Alvan defeating Ruiz in overtime in the dual meet hosted by Cornell on January 31.
Owen opened the day, falling 1-0 to No. 14 Ethen Miller of Virginia Tech. The two wrestlers could not break through for a point, but Miller won the match thanks to riding time. In his second bout of the day, Owen defeated No. 30 Laird Root of North Carolina. Owen took control of the bout early with a 3-point takedown. Root made it 3-1 with an escape and scored two more points on stall penalties, but Owen sealed the bout with another takedown and riding time to win 7-4.
Fine began his second NCAA Championship appearance with a 3-2 win over UNI's Jared Simma. Simma took an early 2-0 lead late in the second period, but 10 seconds later, Fine tied the bout up with a reversal of his own. An escape by Fine late in the third period was the difference. In the championship second round, Fine was defeated via a 21-5 tech fall by Penn State's Levi Haines, the top seed in the 174 bracket. Fine will face Illinois' Colin Kelly on Friday.
After falling 13-10 in a tight decision to Virginia Tech's Jimmy Mullen in the first bout of the day. Mueller rebounded with a stellar showing in the consolation first round, with a win by fall over American Emmanuel Ulrich. Mueller will face the Army's Brady Colbert on Friday. Colbert got the better of Mueller, 8-4, earlier this year at the Black Knight Invitational on Nov. 23.
Bah's day started with a bout against #3 Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State. Trailing 4-0 midway through the first period, Bah scored a 3-point takedown to make it 4-3. Bouzakis took control of the bout with a reversal and a takedown of his own midway through the third period to win 9-5.
In the consolation prelims, Bah dominated Jace Schafer of Bloomsburg. Bah jumped out to an early lead with a pair of takedowns in the first period. Leading 6-1, he put the match out of reach with a trio of takedowns to secure a 17-4 major decision. In the consolation first round, he squared off against North Carolina's Kysen Terukina, where he lost 7-2.
Frezza squared off against a familiar foe to open the tournament, squaring off against Penn's CJ Composto. Composto held off Frezza and secured a 2-0 win thanks to an escape in the third period and ride time.
In the consolation round, Frezza took on No. 27 Gable Porter of Virginia. Frezza scored the first points of the bout with a takedown early in the first. But a pair of escapes and a take down in the second had Porter out front 5-3. In the closing seconds, Frezza cut the deficit in half with an escape but could not get any closer, falling 5-4.
Curtis made his debut at the NCAA Championships against Illinois' Chris Moore. Moore took control of the bout early, going up 6-1 after the first period. Curtis scored a point on an escape midway through the second period, but Moore put the bout away with five points in the third to win by an 11-2 major decision. In the consolation first round, Curtis squared off against George Mason's Malachi DuVall. Curtis scored the opening points with a takedown in the first. Moments later, DuVall scored a point off an escape and quickly took the lead 4-3 with a takedown before winning the bout via fall at 1:50.
After the opening day, the Lions are tied for 18th with 10.5 total points.
Day 1 Results:
125: Sulayman Bah
Champ. Round 1: #3 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) def. #30 Sulayman Bah (COL) Dec., 9-5
Cons. Prelim: #30 Sulayman Bah (COL) def. #33 Jace Schafer (Bloomsburg) MD, 17-4
Conso. Round 1: #19 Kysen Terukina (North Carolina) def. #30 Sulayman Bah (COL), Dec., 7-2
141: Lorenzo Frezza
Champ. Round 1: #11 CJ Composto (Penn) def. #22 Lorenzo Frezza (COL) Dec., 2-0
Cons. Round 1: #27 Gable Porter (UVA) def. #22 Lorenzo Frezza (COL) Dec., 5-4
157: Kai Owen
Champ. Round 1: #14 Ethen Miller (Virginia Tech) def. #19 Kai Owen (COL) Dec., 1-0
Cons. Round 1: #19 Kai Owen (COL) def. #30 Laird Root (UNC), Dec. 7-4
165: Cesar Alvan
Champ. Round 1: #12 Cesar Alvan (COL) def. #21 Brock Woodcock (SIUE) Major Dec., 12-2
Champ. Round 2: #12 Cesar Alvan (COL) def. #5 LaDarion Lockett (OKST), F (7:05)
174: Nick Fine
Champ. Round 1: #16 Nick Fine (COL) def. #17 Jared Simma (UNI), Dec., 3-2
Champ. Round 2: #1 Levi Haines (PSU) def. #16 Nick Fine (COL), Tech Fall, 21-5
184: Joe Curtis
Champ. Round 1: #9 Chris Moore (Illinois) def. #24 Joe Curtis (COL), Dec., 11-2
Cons. Round 1: #25 Malachi DuVall (George Mason) def. #24 Joe Curtis (COL), F (1:50)
285: Vincent Mueller
Champ. Round 1: #16 Jimmy Mullen (Virginia Tech) def. #17 Vincent Mueller (COL), Dec, 13-10
Cons. Round 1: #17 Vincent Mueller (COL) def. #32 Emmanuel Ulrich (American), F (6:52)
FOLLOWING THE ACTION
Each session of the 2026 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships will air nationally through ESPN+. ESPN+ will also have coverage throughout the tournament with streams of individual mats to follow along with the Lions.
Updates will also be provided through the Columbia Wrestling Twitter account (CULionsWR). Fans can follow the action online through live results at FloWrestling.com.
FOLLOWING THE LIONS
Stay up to date on all things Columbia Wrestling by following the Lions on X (@CULionsWR), Instagram (@culionswr) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).
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