CLEVELAND, Ohio (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference delivered under the brightest lights Saturday night, going a perfect 2-for-2 in the finals as Stanford’s Aden Valencia and NC State’s Isaac Trumble each captured NCAA titles at the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Both champions knocked off undefeated No. 1 seeds to win their first NCAA titles.
No. 10-seeded Valencia (22-7) made history at 149 pounds, outlasting top-seeded Shayne Van Ness of Penn State in a thrilling 8-5 sudden victory. The freshman standout became the first rookie in Stanford history to win an NCAA title – and the program’s first champion since 2021 – delivering the only loss of the season to Van Ness (25-1).
No. 2-seeded Trumble (21-0) was dominant at heavyweight, controlling top-seeded Yonger Bastida (29-1) of Iowa State from start to finish in a 5-0 decision. The win secured his first national title and marked back-to-back years with a champion for NC State, as he became the 10th NCAA champion in program history.
The victories push the ACC to 26 all-time NCAA individual wrestling titles, including seven since 2021.
The conference’s depth was equally impressive. Stanford’s Nico Provo (125) and Virginia Tech’s Aaron Seidel (133) joined the champions on the podium with third-place finishes, while a total of nine ACC wrestlers earned All-America honors with top-eight finishes.
Penn State won its fifth-straight NCAA team championship with an NCAA record 181.5 points. The Nittany Lions finished ahead of Oklahoma State in second with 131.0 points and Nebraska in third with 100.5 points.
Stanford led all ACC schools with 67.5 points, good enough for sixth overall, while NC State (44.5 points) and Virginia Tech (41.5) finished 10th and 11th, respectively.
ACC in the Team Rankings
6. Stanford – 67.5 points
10. NC State – 44.5
11. Virginia Tech – 41.5
26. Pitt – 13.0
T31. North Carolina – 9.5
T52. Duke – 1.5
T62. Virginia – 0.5
ACC 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling All-Americans (Finish)
125 pounds
No. 7 Nico Provo, Stanford (3rd)
No. 12 Vincent Robinson, NC State (4th) ^
133 pounds
No. 4 Aaron Seidel, Virginia Tech (3rd)
No. 15 Tyler Knox, Stanford (6th) ^
149 pounds
No. 4 Collin Gaj, Virginia Tech (5th)
No. 10 Aden Valencia, Stanford (Champion)
165 pounds
No. 9 Bryce Hepner, North Carolina (7th)
197 pounds
No. 9 Angelo Posada, Stanford (6th)
285 pounds
No. 2 Isaac Trumble, NC State (Champion) ^
^ - two-time All-American