The Penn State Altoona men's and women's wrestling teams begin their 2025-26 schedules this upcoming weekend, as the Lions head into their second year as an NCAA program at Ivyside.

Penn State Altoona's squads will feature some new faces, as the men's team welcomes a pair of newcomers to its ranks while the women's team consists of four newcomers. The Lions will also be guided by first-year head coach Brinton Simington, who is looking forward to getting the season underway on Sunday, November 2 in the East Stroudsburg Open.

"I'm excited to see our guys and girls compete for the first time," Simington said. "They have been working hard and getting better. The ESU Open is a good tournament, so it will be a good measuring stick to see where we are at."

On the men's side, the Lions' five-athlete roster includes three returners: sophomores Evan Davis (Clearfield, PA/Clearfield), Tammar Reza (Montgomery, NJ/Montgomery), and Andrew Weaver (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone). Weaver, 184, led Penn State Altoona in overall wins last season with five, including four victories coming in duals. Davis, a midseason addition to the roster last year at 125, posted three wins. Reza, 133, went 1-1 in duals last season.

The Lions' roster is rounded out by two first-year members of the team, freshman 141/149 Oliver Garcia (Bridgeport, CT/Great Oaks Charter) and freshman 174 Gonzalo Santana Hernandez (Short Hills, NJ/Millburn).

Penn State Altoona's women's team presents a clean slate in 2025-26, as the roster is comprised of four first-year team members: Naomi Nachmias, 124 Richele Reyes (Buckingham, UK/Alconbury), 145 Aliana Romero (Bridgeport, CT/Warren Harding), and Gianna Slusser.

Both teams start their schedules on the road at the ESU Open on Sunday before getting into the meat of their seasons, which includes multiple dual meets and tournaments. The men's schedule is highlighted by its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference dates, consisting of the regular-season AMCC Duals on Saturday, January 10 at Alfred State College and the conference championships on Saturday, February 14 at Penn College. The women's AMCC dates are Saturday, December 6 for the regular-season conference duals, which Penn State Altoona is hosting in the Adler Athletic Complex, and the AMCC Championships at Alfred State on Saturday, February 7.

Full team schedules are available to view on the homepages at www.psaltoonalions.com.