The 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships are over. Here are Penn State’s match-by-match results
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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 NCAA Wrestling Championships ended Saturday night, which means Penn State’s season is now complete.
The Nittany Lions crowned two champions in historic five-timer Carter Starocci and first-timer Mitchell Mesenbrink. They also set a new scoring mark with 177 points.
Penn State clinched the team title Saturday morning, and had all 10 wrestlers earn All-America status. Also during the Saturday morning session, five Penn State wrestlers earned third-place finishes, while another placed fifth and one came in sixth.
When it came to high school alumni from Centre County, Penns Valley grad Malachi DuVall (George Mason, 184) and Bellefonte graduate Jude Swisher (Penn, 157) were eliminated on Friday. Swisher came up one win shy of becoming an All-American.
Session 6 (Recap)
The Nittany Lions ended the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships with a pair of champions in Carter Starocci, who made history by winning his fifth, and Mitchell Mesenbrink.
Penn State amassed 179 points as a team to break the record it set last year with 172.5 points.
Here are Penn State’s bout-by-bout results:
197 pounds, finals: Stephen Buchanan, Iowa, dec. Josh Barr, PSU, 5-2
165 pounds, finals: Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, dec. Mikey Caliendo, Iowa, 8-2
184 pounds, finals: Carter Starocci, PSU, dec. Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa, 4-3
Session 5 (Recap)
Penn State had quite the impressive session after the previous few sessions weren’t the greatest.
The Nittany Lions went a combined 11-2, while collecting seven bonus-point victories.
The Nittany Lions had four major decisions and three pins. They are up to 169 team points, which means they need just four more points to set a new scoring mark.
Here are Penn State’s bout-by-bout results:
174 pounds, third-place match: Levi Haines, PSU, major dec. Patrick Kennedy, Iowa, 11-3
157 pounds, third-place match: Tyler Kasak, PSU, major dec. Trevor Chumbley, Northwestern, 8-0
149 pounds, third-place match: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, major dec. Dylan D’Emilio, Ohio State, 15-4
125 pounds, third-place match: Luke Lilledahl, PSU, pinned Matt Ramos, Purdue, 6:18
141 pounds, third-place match: Beau Bartlett, PSU, major dec. CJ Composoto, Penn, 11-2. The victory gives Bartlett the 100th win to close out his career.
285 pounds, fifth-place match: Owen Trephan, Lehigh, medical forfeit Greg Kerkvliet, PSU
133 pounds, fifth-place match: Braeden Davis, PSU, pinned Connor McGonagle, VT, 2:33
285 pounds, consolation semifinals: Cohlton Schultz, Arizona State, medical def. Greg Kerkvliet, PSU. Kerkvliet is unable to compete, forcing him to medically forfeit out of the tournament. He’ll finish sixth in his final NCAA championships.
174 pounds, consolation semifinals: Levi Haines, PSU, dec. Simon Ruiz, Cornell, 4-1
157 pounds, consolation semifinals: Tyler Kasak, PSU, dec. Meyer Shapiro, Cornell, 4-2
141 pounds, consolation semifinals: Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Josh Koderhandt, Navy, 11-6 (SV)
149 pounds, consolation semifinals: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, pinned Ethan Stiles, Oregon State, 1:06. Van Ness’ fall clinched the Nittany Lions 12th team title in the last 14 NCAA championships.
125 pounds, consolation semifinals: Luke Lilledahl, PSU, dec. Eddie Ventresca, Virginia Tech, 4-1 (SV)
133 pounds, consolation semifinals: Zan Fugitt, Wisconsin, dec. Braeden Davis, PSU, 8-5
Session 4 (Recap)
The semifinals have been rather good to Penn State in past years.
Friday night wasn’t so friendly for the Nittany Lions as they were only able to push three of their seven semifinalists into the finals. However, those that dropped into the consolation bracket Friday afternoon all battled their ways to the consolation semifinals, which are set for Saturday morning.
When it comes to the team race, Penn State has 135.5 points, which is 34 points better than Nebraska.
Here are Penn State’s and local wrestlers’ bout-by-bout results:
285 pounds, semifinals: Wyatt Hendrickson, Oklahoma State, dec. Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, 8-2
197 pounds, semifinals: Josh Barr, PSU, dec. Jacob Cardenas, Michigan, 5-3
184 pounds, semifinals: Carter Starocci, PSU, dec. Dustin Plott, Oklahoma State, 9-3. Starocci now one victory away from becoming the NCAA’s first and only five-time national champion wrestler.
157 pounds, consolation quarterfinals: Tyler Kasak, PSU, pinned Caleb Fish, Oklahoma State, 4:19
133 pounds, consolation quarterfinals: Braeden Davis, PSU, dec. Jacob Van Dee, Nebraska, 4-2
125 pounds, consolation quarterfinals: Luke Lilledahl, PSU, dec. Stevo Poulin, Northern Colorado, 3-0
174 pounds, semifinals: Dean Hamiti, Oklahoma State, dec. Levi Haines, PSU, 4-2
165 pounds, semifinals: Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, major dec. Chris Minto, Nebraska, 13-2. He’s Penn State’s first finalist of the night.
149 pounds, semifinals: Ridge Lovett, Nebraska, dec. Shayne Van Ness, PSU, 14-8
141 pounds, semifinals: Jesse Mendez, Ohio State, dec. Beau Bartlett, PSU, 2-1 (UTB2)
157 pounds, consolation fourth round: Tyler Kasak, PSU, dec. Jude Swisher, Penn, 5-4. Kasak becomes a two-time All-American. Kasak’s victory also gave Penn State 10 All-Americans, making it just the second team in NCAA history to accomplish the feat. Minnesota was the first team in 2001.
133 pounds, consolation fourth round: Braeden Davis, PSU, dec. Evan Frost, Iowa State, 4-2. Davis becomes All-American for first time.
125 pounds, consolation fourth round: Luke Lilledahl, PSU, dec. Nicolar Rivera, Wisconsin, 7-3. Lilledahl becomes All-American for first time.
Session 3 (Recap)
After not losing a bout on Thursday, Penn State suffered two straight losses to open its day.
It saw three total losses with a pair of No. 1 seeds getting upset.
The Nittany Lions ended the session by sending seven into Friday night’s semifinals. Here are Penn State’s and local wrestlers’ bout-by-bout results:
157 pounds, consolation third round: Jude Swisher, Penn, dec. Ryder Downey, Northern Iowa, 4-2
285 pounds, quarterfinals: Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, dec. Joshua Heindselman, Michigan, 5-0. Kerkvliet’s win makes him Penn State’s fifth 5-time All-American. He accomplished the feat while not competing in the 2020 NCAA championships that were canceled.
197 pounds, quarterfinals: Josh Barr, PSU, major dec. Michael Beard, Lehigh, 14-3
184 pounds, consolation second round: Gabe Arnold, Iowa, dec. Malachi DuVall, George Mason, 8-4
184 pounds, quarterfinals: Carter Starocci, PSU, major dec. Jaxon Smith, Maryland, 9-1. Starocci becomes just fourth 5-time All-American for PSU, and did it while not competing in the 2020 NCAA championships that were canceled.
174 pounds, quarterfinals: Levi Haines, PSU, dec. Danny Wask, Navy, 7-2
165 pounds, quarterfinals: Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, dec. Cameron Amine, Oklahoma State, 5-0
157 pounds, consolation second round: Jude Swisher, Penn, tech. fall James Harrington, Harvard, 19-4 (5:08)
157 pounds, quarterfinals: Joey Blaze, Purdue, dec. Tyler Kasak, PSU, 5-4
149 pounds, quarterfinals: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, dec. Lachlan McNeil, North Carolina, 7-2
141 pounds, quarterfinals: Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. CJ Composto, Penn, 5-0
133 pounds, quarterfinals: Lucas Byrd, Illinois, major dec. Braeden Davis, PSU, 12-1
125 pounds, quarterfinals: Sheldon Seymour, Lehigh, dec. Luke Lilledahl, PSU, 3-2, ultimate tiebreaker No. 2. The first loss for the Nittany Lions in the tournament.
Session 2 (Recap)
After going 10-0 in the first session, the Nittany Lions remained perfect by going 10-0 in Thursday’s second session.
That means each and every one of Penn State’s 10 wrestlers has officially punched his ticket to Friday’s quarterfinals. With tougher competition in Session 2, Penn State didn’t come away with as many bonus-point victories — but still managed three technical falls and a major decision.
Here are Penn State’s and local wrestlers’ bout-by-bout results:
285 pounds, second round: Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, dec. Gavin Hoffman, Lock Haven, 4-0
197 pounds, second round: Josh Barr, PSU, dec. Trey Munoz, Oregon State, 5-2 (SV)
184 pounds, consolation first round: Malachi DuVall, George Mason, major dec. Dennis Robin, West Virginia, 13-0
174 pounds, second round: Levi Haines, PSU, dec. Gaven Sax, Oklahoma, 4-0
184 pounds, second round: Carter Starocci, PSU, tech. fall Shane Cartagena-Walsh, Rutgers, 15-0 (4:23)
165 pounds, second round: Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, tech. fall Kyle Mosher, Hofstra, 22-6 (4:15)
157 pounds, second round: Antrell Taylor, Nebraska, pinned Jude Swisher, Penn, 2:16
157 pounds, second round: Tyler Kasak, PSU, dec. Cody Chittum, Iowa State, 8-3
149 pounds, second round: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, major dec. Andrew Clark, Rutgers, 11-1
141 pounds, second round: Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Julian Tagg, South Dakota State, 4-1
133 pounds, second round: Braeden Davis, PSU, dec. Braxton Brown, Maryland, 5-3
125 pounds, second round: Luke Lilledahl, PSU, tech. fall Blake West, Northern Illinois, 19-3 (6:52)
Session 1 (Recap)
The Nittany Lions went a perfect 10-0 in the first session of the NCAA championships.
They collected bonus points in nine of the 10 victories with three pins, four technical falls and a pair of major decisions.
Penn State leads the team race with 24 points after the first session. It holds an 8.5-point lead over Oklahoma State (15.5 points).
Here are Penn State’s and local wrestlers’ bout-by-bout results:
285 pounds, first round: Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, tech. fall Sam Mitchell, Wyoming, 15-0 (5:31)
197 pounds, first round: Josh Barr, PSU, major dec. Tucker Hogan, Lock Haven, 9-1
184 pounds, first round: Silas Allred, Nebraska, pinned Malachi DuVall, George Mason, 6:37
184 pounds, first round: Carter Starocci, PSU, tech. fall Caden Rogers, Lehigh, 18-2 (6:19). It was Starocci’s 100th career win.
174 pounds, first round: Levi Haines, PSU, pinned Branson John, Maryland, 2:46
165 pounds, first round: Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, tech. fall Chandler Amaker, Central Michigan, 16-0 (3:32)
149 pounds, first round: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, pinned Gabe Willochell, Wyoming, 4:11
157 pounds, first round: Jude Swisher, Penn, pinned Cobe Siebrecht, South Dakota State, 1:55
157 pounds, first round: Tyler Kasak, PSU, pinned Landen Johnson, Northern Illinois, 1:38
125 pounds, first round: Luke Lilledahl, PSU, tech. fall Marcello Milani, Cornell, 19-4 (4:24)
141 pounds, first round: Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Jordan Titus, West Virginia, 4-2
133 pounds, first round: Braeden Davis, PSU, major dec. Kurt Phipps, Bucknell, 12-4
This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 12:02 PM.
