Kent State University
NCAA Championships
Schaffer Gets A Win At Nationals As He And Earnest Represent Kent State Wrestling In Cleveland
3/20/2026 12:01:00 AM | Wrestling
Cleveland- Chris Earnest and Blake Schaffer wrestled in Day one of the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena on Thursday with tough competition between both sessions. Blake Schaffer came away with his first NCAA tournament win in his final season, but both were eliminated in session two.
Blake Schaffer(197)
Schaffer got started early in the pig-tail rounds as the No. 32 seed and he took down No. 33 Karson Tompkins(Air Force) in his first match of the day by a score of 4-2. Schaffer used an early take down in round one to propel him into a defensive effort the rest of the way for a win.
After the win, he then matched up with the national champion favorite at 197 pounds in Josh Barr(Penn State) in the same session. Barr was able to get the takedowns he needed to win by a 20-4 Technical Fall in the third round over the Kent State senior.
In match number three of day one for Schaffer, he wrestled against Branson John of Maryland. The Louisville, Ohio native wrestled a defensive match and gave up just one takedown, but fell by a score of 5-0; ending a fantastic four-year career at Kent State.
Chris Earnest(165)
Earnest matched up with Will Denny of North Carolina State in the first round. The Wadsworth, Ohio native was able to keep it close in the first two rounds, but Denny pulled away in the end to win a 13-1 Major Decision over Earnest.
In his second match of the day, Earnest hit the mat with Tyler Lillard(Indiana) as Lillard was able to secure three takedowns before pinning Earnest in the third period. That ended Earnest's journey through the NCAA Championships after a great first season with the Flashes.
Laying The Foundation For The Golden Era
The 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships were the first for Josh Moore and his staff and the first for the program in three years. The season also ends with the most dual wins for the team in eight years, and the first conference champion in four years.
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