Penn State wrestlers Carter Starocci, Mitchell Mesenbrink win NCAA championships. What to know
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2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships
The Penn State Nittany Lions won their 13th national title and made some history at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia. Read all of our coverage here.
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The 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships have ended, and Penn State has once again made history.
The Nittany Lions won the national team title by setting a new scoring mark with 179 points, surpassing the previous record of 172.5 points they set last year in Kansas City. And PSU also crowned two individual champions in Mitchell Mesenbrink (165 pounds) and Carter Starocci (184), who claimed an unprecedented fifth straight title.
Penn State had one runner-up in addition to five others finishing third, another finishing fifth and one more finishing sixth. All 10 wrestlers earned All-America status.
“This was a really fun year with some new faces, like a Luke Lilledahl and (Josh) Barr. And then you’ve got a guy like Carter, who wins his fifth national title,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “All the way up and down the lineup, everyone gave a great effort. And it was a lot of fun.”
Here’s a look at how each Penn State wrestler finished:
125 pounds: Luke Lilledahl
Record for tournament: 6-1
Finish: 3rd
Recap: Lilledahl’s first appearance at the NCAA championships came to an emphatic close against a familiar foe.
After falling into the consolation bracket on Friday night, the true freshman battled his way into the consolation finals against Purdue’s Matt Ramos. Ramos came out and tallied a takedown right away, but Lilledahl wouldn’t be deterred.
He got an escape and a takedown of his own to lead after one period. In the third period, Ramos had a quick escape, but the pair got into a scramble situation that saw Lilledahl throw the Boilermaker to his back for a fall in 6:18.
The Nittany Lion made the consolation finals by earlier securing a takedown in sudden victory to top Virginia Tech’s Eddie Ventresca, 4-1.
“It feels great, obviously. Not the result I was hoping for in this tournament, but I got to get the next best thing,” Lilledahl said. “That’s how I was raised. I’m really proud of myself for coming back and getting third.”
133 pounds: Braeden Davis
Record for tournament: 5-2
Finish: 5th
Recap: Davis’ day didn’t start off like he would’ve liked, but it sure did end well.
The Nittany Lion opened the final day of competition by suffering an 8-5 defeat to Wisconsin’s Zan Fugitt, who made an improbable run to the semifinals before dropping into the consolation bracket. That sent Davis to the fifth-place match, where he took on Virginia Tech’s Connor McGonagle.
In the fifth-place match, Davis got an initial takedown of McGonagle. He went for another takedown on the Hokies wrestler and stuck him on his back in 2:33.
141 pounds: Beau Bartlett
Record for tournament: 5-1
Finish: 3rd
Recap: Bartlett didn’t have the finish he would’ve liked to have in his final NCAA championships, but he went out on a high note, with a wide smile that fans have been accustomed to seeing the last four years.
He took on Penn’s CJ Composto in the consolation finals and tallied the first points of the bout with a first-period takedown. Late in the second period, Bartlett looked like he was going to pin the Quaker, but couldn’t finish it off.
In the third period, the senior added an escape and riding time for an 11-2 major decision. It was his 100th career victory.
“That’s pretty cool. I got third and finished fighting,” Bartlett said. “I’ve said different things on what it takes to be a national champion, and it’s wrestling the entire time. It’s not just wrestling those seven minutes, but it’s the support you get from your coaches, parents, fiance, best friend, all these people. And it’s putting it all together.
“With all that help, you got to close matches out, and three seconds of riding time cost me the semifinals match. Honestly, I’m really glad folkstyle is done. I love freestyle, Greco, beach wrestling, all that stuff.”
Bartlett made the consolation finals by getting a takedown and nearfall points in sudden victory to top Navy’s Josh Koderhandt, 11-6.
149 pounds: Shayne Van Ness
Record for tournament: 5-1
Finish: 3rd
Recap: Van Ness has the privilege of saying he clinched Penn State’s 12th team title in the last 14 years.
When he pinned Oregon State’s Ethan Stiles in 1:06 of their consolation semifinals bout, it sealed the four-peat for the Nittany Lions.
Van Ness didn’t stop there, though, with the bonus points. During his consolation finals bout with Ohio State’s Dylan D’Emilio, the Penn State wrestler scored takedowns at will to the tune of a 15-4 major decision.
Van Ness had a total of four takedowns — two in the second, and one in both the first and third periods.
157 pounds: Tyler Kasak
Record for tournament: 6-1
Finish: 3rd
Recap: A year ago, Kasak took an unconventional way to a third-place finish by winning seven straight matches in the consolation bracket.
This year, his result was the same — but not as grueling.
The No. 1 seed opened his day by facing off with the No. 2 seed in Cornell’s Meyer Shapiro. It was a matchup college wrestling fans wanted to see, and it lived up to the hype.
Kasak snapped off a first-period takedown to the oohs and aahs of the crowd. He had an escape in the second period, but the third period saw him get called for a couple of stalls in a 4-2 win.
In the consolation finals, the two-time All-American had no problems with Northwestern’s Trevor Chumbley, who made an improbable run to the championship semifinals as a No. 20 seed.
Kasak used takedowns in the first and third periods to rack up an 8-0 major decision.
“I mean, a great deal of gratitude and a great deal of dissatisfaction comes with taking third again. It’s not something that you want to get,” Kasak said. “... I think there’s always things to improve upon. It’s up to me to figure those things out and ultimately get those things done.”
165 pounds: Mitchell Mesenbrink
Record for tournament: 5-0
Finish: 1st
Recap: A year ago, Mesenbrink was in his first NCAA finals and suffered a one-point heartbreaking loss to Iowa State’s David Carr.
The Nittany Lion made the finals again, but this time was a little different. He faced a familiar foe in Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo, whom he had met five previous times.
Just like the other five times, Mesenbrink came out on top — in an 8-2 win.
The newly crowned champ scored first with an escape in the first period as he had position choice after Caliendo called for injury time. The Hawkeye tied it up early in the second with an escape of his own.
However, Mesenbrink got a takedown with 48 seconds left to take a 4-2 lead to the third period. In the third period, it was all Mesenbrink to the tune of an escape and a takedown for the final score.
“When I lost last year, Aaron Brooks really helped me. I went in the back and I said, ‘Dude, I can’t believe it,’” Mesenbrink said. “Sometimes you get to this — I don’t want to say this arrogantly — but you get to a level like this and it’s almost like you feel like you were tricked when you lose. That was what I felt like in that moment (last year). I was like, shoot, dude, this doesn’t even feel real. I felt like I was tricked.
“But what has happened is needed to be where I am today.”
174 pounds: Levi Haines
Record for tournament: 5-1
Finish: 3rd
Recap: Haines saw his hopes of being an NCAA champion for a second consecutive year ended on Friday night, but it didn’t stop him from wrestling back for the next-best thing.
After dropping into the consolation bracket, the two-time NCAA champion needed a late third-period takedown to edge Cornell’s Simon Ruiz, 4-1, to make the consolation finals.
Haines faced off with Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy for a chance at that third-place finish. The two squared off twice this year with the Nittany Lion winning both by the same exact score, 10-3.
Saturday’s result was almost the same, as Haines snapped off takedowns in each period of an 11-3 major decision.
184 pounds: Carter Starocci
Record for tournament: 5-0
Finish: 1st
Recap: After Starocci won his fourth title last season, questions swirled if he’d come back and try to become the first and only five-time NCAA champion.
In May, he broke his silence and said he’d be back for a fifth and final year.
On Saturday night, Starocci took on Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen in a battle of NCAA champions. Starocci came in as a four-time 174-pound champion and Keckeisen returned as the defending 184-pound champion. But Starocci left as the 4-3 winner.
After a scoreless first period, Starocci notched the bout’s first points with an escape in the second period. The third period saw Keckeisen escape just two seconds into the frame.
With 46 seconds left, the Nittany Lion came out on top of a scramble situation with a double-leg takedown. It was challenged by the Panthers’ coaches, but the call was confirmed.
Keckeisen got an escape with 24 seconds left, and was given a stall point late, but Starocci had a big enough lead for a 4-3 title-clinching victory.
“It means a lot to me. I never want to downplay the moment, but I mean it’s always cool,” Starocci said. “One thing that Coach Cael (Sanderson) really instills in us is this is all just preparation for the next thing. It’s important because obviously I’m here doing it, and I love to do it, but I think it ends at that. I don’t think it’s anything more or anything less.”
197 pounds: Josh Barr
Record for tournament: 4-1
Finish: 2nd
Recap: Barr started the year as a backup. However, after winning the Black Knight Invite in November, he secured his starting spot and never looked back.
He worked his way into the NCAA finals in his first tournament appearance to take on Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan.
Barr held a two-point advantage late in the second period, but there was still enough time for Buchanan to get a takedown before the period ended.
In the third period, the Hawkeye got an escape and had solid defense to keep Barr from being able to get a winning score in the Iowa wrestler’s 5-2 victory.
285 pounds: Greg Kerkvliet
Record for tournament: 3-2
Finish: 6th
Recap: Kerkvliet was sporting a brace on his left leg to start the NCAA championships. He didn’t look like his usual self the past two days but competed until his hopes at a national title ended.
The Nittany Lion did not appear for Saturday morning’s consolation semifinal match because he was unable to compete, which resulted in him medically defaulting. Then, he medically forfeited out of the tournament for his finish.
NCAA Championships
Saturday at Philadelphia
Team key: Appalachian State (APP), Arizona State (ASU), Army West Point (A), Bellarmine (BM), Binghamton (BG), Brown (B), Bucknell (BN), Cal State Bakersfield (CSB), Cal Poly (CP), Cal Baptist (CB), Campbell (C), Central Michigan (CM), Chattanooga (CT), Cleveland State (CS), Columbia (CL), Cornell (CN), Drexel (DX), Duke (D), Edinboro (E), Gardner-Webb (GW), George Mason (GM), Harvard (H), Hofstra (HF), Illinois (ILL), Indiana (IN), Iowa (I), Iowa State (ISU), Lehigh (L), Little Rock (LR), Lock Haven (LH), Maryland (MD), Michigan (M), Michigan State (MSU), Minnesota (MN), Missouri (MS), Morgan State (MST), Navy (NY), Nebraska (N), North Carolina (NC), North Carolina State (NCS), North Dakota State (ND), Northern Colorado (NCO), Northern Illinois (NIU), Northern Iowa (NI), Northwestern (NW), Ohio (O), Ohio State (OSU), Oklahoma (OK), Oklahoma State (OKS), Oregon State (ORS), Penn State (PSU), Penn (PN), Pittsburgh (PITT), Princeton (PT), Purdue (P), Rider (RD), Rutgers (R), South Dakota State (SD), Stanford (S), The Citadel (TC), Utah Valley (U), Virginia (V), Virginia Tech (VT), West Virginia (WVU), Wisconsin (W), Wyoming (WY)
Team scores: 1. Penn State 177, 2. Nebraska 117, 3. Oklahoma State 102.5, 4. Iowa 81, T5. Minnesota 51.5, T5. Ohio State 51.5, 7. Cornell 50, 8. North Carolina State 46.5, 9. Northern Iowa 45.5, 10. Illinois 44.5
Finals
125: Vincent Robinson, NCS, dec. Troy Spratley, OKS, 2-1 (UTB2); 133: Lucas Byrd, ILL, dec. Drake Ayala, I, 3-2 (UTB2); 141: Jesse Mendez, OSU, dec. Brock Hardy, N, 12-9; 149: Ridge Lovett, N, dec. Caleb Henson, VT, 1-0; 157: Antrell Taylor, N, dec. Joey Blaze, P, 4-2; 165: Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, dec. Mikey Caliendo, I, 8-2; 174: Dean Hamiti, OKS, dec. Keegan O’Toole, MS, 4-1 (SV); 184: Carter Starocci, PSU, dec. Parker Keckeisen, NI, 4-3; 197: Stephen Buchanan, I, dec. Josh Barr, PSU, 5-2; 285: Wyatt Hendrickson, OKS, dec. Gable Steveson, MN, 5-4
Consolation Finals
125: Luke Lilledahl, PSU, pinned Matt Ramos, P, 6:18; 141: Beau Bartlett, PSU, major dec. CJ Composto, PN, 11-2; 149: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, major dec. Dylan D’Emilio, OSU, 15-4; 157: Tyler Kasak, PSU, major dec. Trevor Chumbley, NW, 8-0; 174: Levi Haines, PSU, major dec. Patrick Kennedy, I, 11-3
5th Place Match
133: Braeden Davis, PSU, pinned Connor McGonagle, VT, 2:33; 285: Owen Trephan, Lehigh, medical forfeit Greg Kerkvliet, PSU
Consolation Semifinals
125: Lilledahl, PSU, dec. Eddie Ventresca, VT, 4-1 (SV); 133: Zan Fugitt, W, dec. Davis, PSU, 8-5; 141: Bartlett, PSU, dec. Josh Koderhandt, NY, 11-6 (SV); 149: Van Ness, PSU, pinned Ethan Stiles, ORS, 1:06; 157: Kasak, PSU, dec. Meyer Shapiro, CN, 4-2; 174: Haines, PSU, dec. Simon Ruiz, CN, 4-1; 285: Cohlton Schultz, ASU, medical def. Kerkvliet, PSU
This story was originally published March 22, 2025 at 7:21 PM.
