Thursday, March 19
Cleveland, Ohio
All Day
Davidson College Athletics
vs
NCAA Championships
Heap Set for 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships
3/18/2026 11:32:00 AM | Wrestling
CLEVELAND — Southern Conference champion Anderson Heap will become the first Davidson wrestler to compete at the NCAA Championships in over a decade when he takes the mat Thursday at Rocket Mortgage Arena against No. 7 seed Ethan Stiles of Ohio State.
The sophomore 149-pounder, who secured his spot by winning the SoCon title in a sudden-victory overtime thriller, is the first Wildcat to qualify for the national tournament since 2015.
Match Details: NCAA Wrestling Championships
Weight Class: 149 lbs
Opening Opponent: #7 Ethan Stiles (Ohio State)
Date & Time: Thursday, March 19, 2026, at Noon ET
Location: Rocket Mortgage Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
CLAW MARKS
- Davidson's Anderson Heap punched his ticket to the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships by capturing the Southern Conference title at 149 pounds.
- Heap, ranked 25th by FloWrestling and 31st by Intermat, enters as the 26 seed and will face Ohio State's Ethan Stiles in the opening round.
- A sophomore from St. Cloud, Fla., Heap is the first Wildcat to advance to Nationals in 11 years - Scott Patrick (2015).
- Heap is also the first Davidson wrestler to earn all-conference honors since Patrick.
- In addition to being just the seventh SoCon Champion in program history, Heap is just the 10th Davidson wrestler to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 1938.
- Highlighted by five wins over nationally-ranked foes this season, Heap enters 20-9 overall, which includes a current 10-match winning streak.
- In league duals, Heap went a perfect 8-0 to earn the top-seed at the SoCon Championships, where he posted wins over Charlie Sly (Gardner-Webb), Nathan Higley (Bellarmine) and Carson DesRosier (The Citadel).
- As a team, Davidson recorded its best SoCon finish (runner-up) in program history behind a school record four dual victories.
- Its 42.5 points at the league championships was the 'Cats' highest total since the 1967 season.
- The Wildcats finished fifth as a team at the SoCon Championships.
Players Mentioned
149
/ Wrestling2025-26 Wrestling - Anderson Heap (SoCon Champion)
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