Penn State fans flock to 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships, creating ‘wonderful’ atmosphere

They came sporting white Penn State hoodies and blue Nittany Lion T-shirts. They came both near and far, young and old, converging in force for one reason — to catch a glimpse of one of the greatest dynasties in the history of college sports.

For the first time since 2019, the NCAA Wrestling Championships are being held in the Keystone State. And numerous Penn State fans across Pennsylvania (and beyond) have entered Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Arena in hopes to see coach Cael Sanderson’s crew win its 12th national title since 2011.

Some fans simply hopped in their cars Thursday or Friday and drove a few hours to the City of Brotherly Love to catch nationals, a convenience rarer than a Leap Year for most Pennsylvanians. (Pennsylvania last hosted the championships in 2019 with Pittsburgh and 2011 with Philadelphia.) Other PSU families have treated Philadelphia hosting the nationals like a holiday, an excuse to get together no matter the distance apart.

Greg Parsons and his brother Keith Parsons — no relation to the former Penn State linebacker (“Unfortunately, financially,” Greg laughed) — normally only see each other on important dates like Christmas. With Greg in Texas and Keith in Indiana, getting together isn’t easy.

But they couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see more fellow Penn State fans in Philadelphia.

“Where we’re sitting, we have all Penn State people around us — well, some stray Ohio State and Iowa guys — but we’ve been screaming loud and proud,” Keith said. “It’s been great.”

Several “We are ...” chants pierced the air on the first two days of competition and, overall, it’s been virtually impossible to turn a corner in Wells Fargo Arena without bumping into someone wearing a Penn State shirt or hat. Although there’s no official count on the number of Nittany Lions fans on hand, every session so far has sold out with an attendance of more than 18,000.

A handful of young Penn State fans slapped hands with wrestler Carter Starocci following his Day 1 performance, after their shouts of “Carter!” echoed through the event floor. And several longtime attendees of the NCAA Wrestling Championships have said, unsurprisingly, more Penn State fans are here this year than maybe ever before — but Sanderson’s squad always attracts a hearty contingent.

“It feels great,” Sanderson said Thursday when asked about the Penn State support inside the arena. “Obviously we love Pa., and we got a great representation out there, a lot of Penn Staters scattered around and everything. So, yeah, we’re happy to be here.”

Some Penn State fans were more fortunate than others. Philipsburg-Osceola wrestling coach Justin Fye, who is also the district’s elementary principal, was able to snag a suite thanks to a connection involving his wife’s uncle.

Fye came with about 10 friends and family members, and he’s made it a point to attend as many of these NCAA championships as he can. (For the last four years, that means flying and renting a place through Vrbo with 6-8 people.) But it felt a little surreal this week as he walked the concourse and kept bumping into acquaintances from Centre County and others he recognized from nearby high school tournaments.

“You’re always going to have a lot of Penn State fans at these,” Fye said. “Penn State with wrestling is kind of like the Pittsburgh Steelers with football, right? I mean, everywhere you go, you’re going to have a large contingent of Penn State fans. That’s kind of what it is. I think there’s probably just more this year because it’s closer to home.”

“As far as the atmosphere here, it’s been wonderful so far.”

One of the familiar faces Fye bumped into was Bald Eagle Area wrestling coach Ron Guenot, whose daughter is engaged to Penn State wrestler Levi Haines. But the engagement is only a few months old — and Guenot acknowledged he wanted to attend well before.

He was joined by his wife, two daughters and Haines’ family.

“The girls are getting older and they’re getting ready to start their own lives, so this is pretty neat to be able to experience this with them and the Haines family too,” he added.

Different Penn State fans came for different reasons. But all were at least partially motivated at the chance to see Pennsylvania’s sole land-grant university win the national title less than 200 miles from campus. The last time Philadelphia hosted nationals, in 2011, Sanderson was just in his second year in Happy Valley — and few, if any, fans expected that year to mark the start of an unprecedented era of blue-and-white dominance. At least to this degree.

Sanderson has already produced more than 100 All-Americans and three dozen national champs.

“You know you’re going to do well every year and it’s not just if you’re going to win, it’s by how much,” said Wes Winters, a fan who drove from Hanover with his father. “Will we break last year’s team points record? Will we have 10 All-Americans? They’re chasing greatness.”

And many Penn State fans are only too happy they don’t have to chase their favorite team across the country. For this year, at least, wrestling history appears to be staying home.

CDT reporter Nate Cobler contributed to this report

This story was originally published March 22, 2025 at 5:45 AM.

Josh Moyer

Centre Daily Times

Josh Moyer earned his B.A. in journalism from Penn State and his M.S. from Columbia. He’s been involved in sports and news writing for more than 20 years. He counts the best athlete he’s ever seen as Tecmo Super Bowl’s Bo Jackson.