Wrestling Captures Thirteenth Title Under Sanderson

The Penn State Nittany Lions traveled to Cleveland for the NCAA Wrestling Championships exceeded expectations from last year's NCAA Championships. The Blue and White dominated the field during all three sessions, breaking multiple records throughout the weekend. 

Some Nittany Lions won their second national titles with others winning their first of their careers. Almost every wrestler for Penn State made the podium which led to yet another National Championship. 

Here are some key takeaways from the NCAA Wrestling Championships:

1. Four Perfect Nittany Lions

Four wrestlers for Penn State finished their undefeated seasons in style with some individual titles. Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink and Levi Haines won their second national titles as well as Josh Barr and Luke Lilledahl winning their first. 

It is the first time in NCAA history that a school has had four unbeaten NCAA champions with all four Nittany Lions favorites to win the Dan Hodge trophy which is given to the most dominant college wrestler. 

2. Eight All Americans On The Podium

The Nittany Lions had eight wrestlers make the podium with all eight finishing in the top four. Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness and Rocco Welsh both placed second, PJ Duke secured third place and Marcus Blazed placed fourth at 133 pounds.

While it might not be all ten Nittany Lions on the podium like last season, having all 10 wrestlers at the tournament is already impressive and to have 80 percent of them finish in the top eight is extremely hard to do for any school in the NCAA. 

3. Team Record Broken Once Again

Last season, Penn State broke their own team score record with 177 points at the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Nothing changed this year with the Nittany Lions breaking their own record yet again. 

Penn State scored 181.5 points after a win from Lilledahl over Princeton’s Marc-Anthony McGowan. Fans are already discussing that the team score record has the chance to be broken yet again with not much changing next season. 

4. Not Much Different in 2027

The Penn State Nittany Lions are only graduating one senior in the starting lineup: Haines. All nine other wrestlers will still be in college next season as well as multiple backups who can make their case to be a starter. 

Penn State will have Masanosuke Ono and Tyler Kasak back after redshirting this past season as well as some incoming freshmen who could make an instant impact. The college wrestling transfer portal also opens on April 1 and Penn State could lose some current wrestlers and go get others from different programs.

5. What Comes Next?

Even though the college season has come to an end, the preparation for world championships is just getting started. Many Nittany Lions will represent the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club for their countries in freestyle and compete against some of the best wrestlers in the world. 

Some Penn State wrestlers have already won world titles at the U20 and U23 world championships with many of them setting their focus on the Senior World Championships. Duke and Haines both competed for the Senior team last year with many others with a big chance to make their first Senior team.