‘Special thing going here.’ Penn State wrestling’s team chemistry key to dominance
On the heels of Penn State wrestling’s 80th straight victory, the team’s chemistry has come into focus — a closeness that wrestler PJ Duke said is unlike a lot of other teams.
“ Everyone’s successful, and everyone wants each other to get better,” Duke said Tuesday during media availability. “Most of the time when people are successful, it can get you down, but not here — it’s way different.
“Everyone wants you to get better, to do better, so it’s just amazing what’s going on.”
Nittany Lions coach Cael Sanderson agreed with his true freshman 157-pound starter, saying that “the chemistry is really incredible right now in the program.” The closeness of his squad and the individuals’ team mentality is just a recipe for success, he said.
“Like I said before, a lot of good kids are here for the right reasons. Kids that could have named their price and gone to other schools are here because of what the program represents and stands for,” Sanderson said. “Those are the kids that are going to care about one another and about the team. When you do that, you’re going to get your best selves and best individual results because that’s just how it goes.
“These guys want to win as individuals, but they’re team guys. If it wasn’t like that, it just wouldn’t be fun. It’s got to be bigger than yourself or you’re just going to be miserable.”
Clearly, Penn State’s wrestlers are having fun. It’s showing with how dominant they’ve been this year, but in previous years too.
The Nittany Lions are currently riding an 80-match winning streak, and have won 12 of the last 14 NCAA championships. They are coming off their third four-peat of NCAA team titles in the program’s history, and are the odds on favorite to accomplish a five-peat.
Penn State has set the team scoring record at the NCAA championships the previous two years, and became just the second team to have 10 All-Americans in a season last year. It holds the highest margin of victory of 100 in the NCAA Championships, too.
“We have a special thing going here. The kids know that. They see that. We’re getting into this NIL era,” Sanderson said, “all the different motivations to go to different programs. Our kids know that they’re coming here because they want to be the best wrestler they can possibly be.
“When we look back, we’ll see that this era has been good to us because we do our best to follow the rules. We’re going to get the kids that are coming here for the right reasons. It seems like it’ll be an advantage to us because these kids are coming here with very high character and wanting to be the best wrestlers in the world.”
This season, the Nittany Lions have been extremely dominant as they’ve notched five shutouts — four out of their last five matches. It’s quite possible they could get a sixth this weekend when they host Indiana (7 p.m. Friday) and travel to Maryland (5 p.m. Saturday).
Penn State’s average margin of victory this year is 40.2 points, and is averaging 42.3 points per dual. It is outscoring its opponents, 381-19, in dual points.
The Nittany Lions’ individual records in duals is 84-6 with 64 of those 84 victories coming with bonus points — 18 pins, 25 technical falls, 19 major decisions and two forfeits. They’ve recorded a 266-22 takedown advantage too.
“I don’t think there’s any secret sauce or anything. It’s just keep doing the same things,” Mitchell Mesenbrink said Tuesday when asked about the gap between Penn State and other teams. “Focusing on the bigger picture of things in terms of getting ready for the next match or preparing for things later in life, not just wrestling.”
No. 25 Indiana (6-2, 1-1 Big Ten) at No. 1 Penn State (9-0, 3-0 Big Ten)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Rec Hall
Radio: Big Foot Legends (103.7 & 104.3 FM)
TV: None
Online: Streaming, Big Ten+; Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com
X: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest
Projected lineups: Nittany Lions — No. 2 Luke Lilledahl (125 pounds), No. 4 Marcus Blaze (133), No. 7 Braeden Davis (141), No. 1 Shayne Van Ness (149), No. 3 PJ Duke (157), No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), No. 1 Levi Haines (174), No. 4 Rocco Welsh (184), No. 1 Josh Barr (197), No. 13 Cole Mirasola (285); Hoosiers — No. 11 Jacob Moran (125), Logan Frazier Jr. (133), No. 25 Henry Porter (141), Joey Butler (149), Bryce Lowery (157), No. 19 Tyler Lillard (165), No. 29 Derek Gilcher (174), No. 15 Sam Goin (184), No. 14 Gabe Sollars (197), Caleb Marzolino (285)
No. 1 Penn State (9-0, 3-0 Big Ten) at Maryland (4-5, 0-4 Big Ten)
When: 5 p.m. Saturday (date changed from Sunday due to predicted snowstorm)
Where: Xfinity Center, College Park, Md.
Radio: Big Foot Legends (103.7 & 104.3 FM)
TV: Big Ten Network
Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com
X: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest
Projected lineups: Nittany Lions — No. 2 Luke Lilledahl (125 pounds), No. 4 Marcus Blaze (133), No. 7 Braeden Davis (141), No. 1 Shayne Van Ness (149), No. 3 PJ Duke (157), No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), No. 1 Levi Haines (174), No. 4 Rocco Welsh (184), No. 1 Josh Barr (197), No. 13 Cole Mirasola (285); Terrapins — Abram Cline (125), No. 15 Braxton Brown (133), Dario Lemus (141), No. 7 Carter Young (149), Mekhi Neal (157), AJ Rodrigues (165), Dominic Solis (174), Sepanta Ahanj (184), No. 13 Branson John (197), Oscar Williams (285)
This story was originally published January 22, 2026 at 10:30 AM.
