| 1961 NCAA Wrestling Championships | |
| Sport: | College wrestling |
| Location: | Corvallis, Oregon |
| Host: | Oregon State University |
| Champions: | Oklahoma State (22nd title) |
| 2Nd Place: | Oklahoma |
| 3Rd Place: | Iowa State |
| Start Date: | March 23rd, 1961 |
| End Date: | March 25th, 1961 |
| Mvp: | Gray Simons (Lock Haven University) |
| Previous: | 1960 |
| Next: | 1962 |
The 1961 NCAA Wrestling Championships were the 31st NCAA wrestling championships to be held. Oregon State University hosted the tournament in Corvallis, Oregon.
Oklahoma State took home the team championship with 82 points and having two individual champions.
Gray Simons of Lock Haven University was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler.[1]
| 1 | Oklahoma State | 82 | |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 63 | |
| 3 | Iowa State | 29 | |
| 4 | Oregon State | 28 | |
| 5 | Pittsburgh | 26 | |
| 6 | Lehigh | 24 | |
| T-7 | Penn State | 20 | |
| T-7 | Michigan State | 20 | |
| 9 | Northern Iowa | 19 | |
| 10 | Michigan | 18 |
| Weight class | Championship match (champion in boldface) | |
|---|---|---|
| 115 lbs | Gray Simons, Lock Haven DEC Dick Wilson, Toledo, 7-3 | |
| 123 lbs | DuWayne Mille, Oklahoma DEC Masaaki Hatta, Oklahoma State, 6-5 | |
| 130 lbs | Larry Lauchle, Pittsburgh DEC Dave Jensen, Northern Iowa, 7-0 | |
| 137 lbs | Norm Young, Michigan State DEC Ron Finley, Oregon State, 5-2 | |
| 147 lbs | Larry Hayes, Iowa State DEC Ron Pifer, Penn State, 4-0 | |
| 157 lbs | Phil Kinyon, Oklahoma State DEC Kirk Pendleton, Lehigh, 3-0 | |
| 167 lbs | Don Conway, Oregon State DEC Bruce Campbell, Oklahoma State 7-4 | |
| 177 lbs | Bob Johnson, Oklahoma State DEC Wayne Baughman, Oklahoma, 9-5 | |
| 191 lbs | Lenard Lordino, Northern Colorado DEC Nick Kohls, Colorado State, 4-0 | |
| UNL | Dale Lewis, Oklahoma DEC Ted Ellis, Oklahoma State, 3-2 | |
| Reference: | ||