Penn State sends 8 wrestlers into the NCAA Wrestling Championships quarterfinals
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2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships
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After the first day of the NCAA Wrestling Championships came to a close Thursday night inside Rocket Arena, Penn State saw eight of their wrestlers reach the quarterfinals as they went a combined 18-2 — collecting bonus points in 15 of the victories.
Thanks to four major decisions, seven technical falls and four pins, the Nittany Lions were able to score 40.5 points as a team. They lead the team race over Nebraska by 13.5 points.
“Overall, a good day. Guys are wrestling hard, tough, and a lot of good enthusiasm,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “Obviously, tomorrow’s the big day, big point day, and then it gets bigger on Saturday. Guys are doing fine, just got to keep rolling.”
Here’s how each Penn State wrestler fared:
125 pounds: Luke Lilledahl
Current round: Quarterfinals
Record for day: 2-0
Recap: Lilledahl had an easy opener on Thursday morning, but sneaked his way into the quarterfinals on Thursday night.
The No. 1 seed cruised in an 11-2 major decision over Missouri’s Mack Mauger. In the second round, the Nittany Lions wrestler used a second-period takedown to edge West Virginia’s Jett Strickenberger, 4-2.
Lilledahl takes on Iowa’s Dean Peterson in Friday afternoon’s quarterfinals.
133 pounds: Marcus Blaze
Current round: Quarterfinals
Record for day: 2-0
Recap: Blaze made quite the impression in his NCAA debut — collecting a pair of technical falls with identical winning scores.
The true freshman opened by rattling off four takedowns in a 17-2 technical fall over Oregon State’s Gabe Whisenhunt in 5:30. Blaze used an eight-point first period, which included a late takedown and nearfall points, for another 17-2 technical fall in 6:10 over Missouri’s Gage Walker.
The Penn State wrestler faces Iowa’s Drake Ayala in the quarterfinals.
141 pounds: Braeden Davis
Current round: Consolation Second Round
Record for day: 1-1
Recap: Davis had a tough draw by finishing seventh in the Big Ten, but he nearly made the quarterfinals.
The All-American at 133 pounds last season opened by edging Utah Valley’s Haiden Drury, 2-0, which set him up for a rematch with Nebraska’s Brock Hardy.
Just like in the January dual, Davis came out and took Hardy down first. After that point, it was all the Cornhuskers wrestler. Hardy got an escape and takedown in the second period. In the third period, he tacked on another takedown to send Davis to the consolation bracket with a 9-4 defeat.
The Penn State wrestler faces West Virginia’s Jordan Titus to stay alive in the tournament.
149 pounds: Shayne Van Ness
Current round: Quarterfinals
Record for day: 2-0
Recap: Van Ness came into the NCAA championships riding the momentum of winning his first Big Ten title.
The champ opened by using four second-period takedowns to cruise past Brown’s Austin McBurney, 19-4, in 5:34. In the second round, Van Ness recorded a pair of takedowns before sticking Iowa State’s Jacob Frost in 2:23.
The Nittany Lions wrestler takes on Oklahoma State’s Casey Swiderski in the quarterfinals.
“Shane’s wrestling with good energy. Just like any of our guys, (they just need to) be themselves, use the talents and technique they’ve developed over their lifetime,” Sanderson said. “They’ve worked hard. Now, it’s time to go do it.”
157 pounds: PJ Duke
Current round: Quarterfinals
Record for day: 2-0
Recap: Just like fellow true freshman Blaze, Duke made an emphatic debut at the NCAA championships by pinning his way to the quarterfinals.
The Big Ten champ opened by sticking Morgan State’s Yannis Charles in 1:55. Duke’s second round match was finished quicker as he put Wisconsin’s Luke Mechler on his back in 1:38.
The Penn State wrestler faces Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon in Friday afternoon’s quarterfinals.
165 pounds: Mitchell Mesenbrink
Current round: Quarterfinals
Record for day: 2-0
Recap: Mesenbrink looks pretty much unstoppable in defending his crown.
He opened by snapping off five first-period takedowns in a 21-5 technical fall of Drexel’s Cody Walsh in 3:45. In the second round, Mesenbrink took on Ohio State’s Paddy Gallagher and nearly stalled him out of the match, but instead came away with a 12-0 major decision.
The champs takes on North Carolina’s Bryce Hepner on Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals.
174 pounds: Levi Haines
Current round: Quarterfinals
Record for day: 2-0
Recap: Haines is well on his way to becoming a three-time NCAA finalist.
He opened by pinning Bellarmine’s Grant O’Dell in 1:33. In the second round, Haines scored at will on Columbia’s Nick Fine in a 21-5 technical fall in 5:26.
The Penn State wrestler faces fellow Big Ten wrestler in Michigan’s Beau Mantanona in the quarterfinals.
184 pounds: Rocco Welsh
Current round: Quarterfinals
Record for day: 2-0
Recap: Welsh couldn’t seem to find his offense during his Big Ten title run, but it came out on the first day of the NCAA championships.
The Penn State wrestler tallied two takedowns in each of the three periods of wrestling in a 19-4 technical fall over Utah Valley’s Caleb Uhlenhopp in 6:31 of the first round. The second round saw Welsh tally two takedowns in the first and third period of a 13-4 major decision over Lehigh’s Rylan Rogers.
Welsh looks for a semifinals spot against Nebraska’s Silas Allred.
“If you want to win, you got to score points. We’ll just keep that rolling through tomorrow and Saturday,” Sanderson said. “This is the nationals, so you got to go do what you do, go score points and find a way to win the match.”
197 pounds: Josh Barr
Current round: Quarterfinals
Record for day: 2-0
Recap: Barr made a run to the finals last year with an injured leg. This year, he’s healthy as can be, and it’s showing.
The sophomore used an 11-point first period in a 20-4 rout of Kent State’s Blake Schaffer in 5:43 of their first round match. In the second round, Barr’s third period takedown allowed him to secure an 11-3 major decision over Bucknell’s Dillon Bechtold to remain perfect on bonus point victories for the season.
The Nittany Lions wrestler takes on Stanford’s Angelo Posada for a spot in the semifinals.
285 pounds: Cole Mirasola
Current round: Consolation Second Round
Record for day: 1-1
Recap: Mirasola’s NCAA debut started out well, but ended with a sour taste.
The redshirt freshman had no problems in his opener topping Duke’s Connor Barket, but he did give up a late takedown in a 13-7 win. In the second round, Mirasola faced off with Iowa’s Ben Kueter, who he beat in a January dual, but Kueter got revenge at the Big Ten championships.
Thursday night, the Hawkeyes wrestler kept his winning ways up against the Penn State wrestler by using a third period takedown to earn a 4-0 win.
Mirasola faces Appalachian State’s Stephan Monchery to stay alive in the tournament.
NCAA Championships
Thursday at Cleveland
Team key: Air Force (AF), American (A), Appalachian State (AS), Arizona State (ASU), Army West Point (AWP), Bellarmine (BM), Binghamton (BH), Bloomsburg (BB), Brown (B), Bucknell (BN), Buffalo (BF), Cal Poly (CP), Central Michigan (CM), Chattanooga (CT), Columbia (CB), Cornell (C), Davidson (DS), Drexel (DX), Duke (D), Edinboro (E), Franklin & Marshall (FM), Gardner-Webb (GW), George Mason (GM), Harvard (H), Illinois (IL), Indiana (ID), Iowa (I), Iowa State (ISU), Kent State (KS), Lehigh (L), Little Rock (LR), Lock Haven (LH), Maryland (MD), Michigan (M), Michigan State (MSU), Minnesota (MN), Missouri (Miss.), Morgan State (MS), Navy (N), Nebraska (Neb.), 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 (P), Penn State (PSU), Pittsburgh (Pitt.), Princeton (PT), Purdue (PD), Rider (RD), Rutgers (R), SIU Edwardsville (SIE), South Dakota State (SD), Stanford (S), The Citadel (TC), Utah Valley (UV), Virginia (V), Virginia Tech (VT), VMI (VMI), West Virginia (WV), Wisconsin (W), Wyoming (WY)
Team scores: 1. Penn State 40.5, 2. Nebraska 27, 3. Iowa 25.5, 4. Oklahoma State 25, 5. Ohio State 23, 6. Iowa State 21.5, 7. Arizona State 17, 8. Stanford 15, T9. Cornell 14, T9. Michigan 14, T9. Virginia Tech 14
Second Round
125: Luke Lilledahl, PSU, dec. Jett Strickenberger, WV, 4-2; 133: Marcus Blaze, PSU, tech. fall Gage Walker, Miss., 17-2 (6:10); 141: Brock Hardy, Neb., dec. Braeden Davis, PSU, 9-4; 149: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, pinned Jacob Frost, ISU, 2:23; 157: PJ Duke, PSU, pinned Luke Mechler, W, 1:38; Ty Watters, WV, dec. Jude Swisher, P, 7-1; 165: Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, major dec. Paddy Gallagher, OSU, 12-0; 174: Levi Haines, PSU, tech. fall Nick Fine, CB, 21-5 (5:26); 184: Rocco Welsh, PSU, major dec. Rylan Rogers, L, 13-4; 197: Josh Barr, PSU, major dec. Dillon Bechtold, BN, 11-3; 285: Ben Kueter, I, dec. Cole Mirasola, PSU, 4-0
Consolation First Round
141: Luke Simcox, NC, dec. Pierson Manville, ASU, 5-4; 184: Malachi Duvall, GM, pinned Joe Curtis, CB, 1:50
First Round
125: Lilledahl, PSU, major dec. Mack Mauger, Miss., 11-2; 133: Blaze, PSU, tech. fall Gabe Whisenhunt, ORS, 17-2 (5:30); 141: Davis, PSU, dec. Haiden Drury, UV, 2-0; Luke Stanich, L, tech. fall Manville, ASU, 21-6 (7:00); 149: Van Ness, PSU, tech. fall Austin McBurney, B, 19-4 (5:34); 157: Duke, PSU, pinned Yannis Charles, MS, 1:55; Swisher, P, dec. Dylan Evans, Pitt., 8-2; 165: Mesenbrink, PSU, tech. fall Cody Walsh, DX, 21-5 (3:45); 174: Haines, PSU, pinned Grant O’Dell, BM, 1:33; 184: Welsh, PSU, tech. fall Caleb Uhlenhopp, UV, 19-4 (6:31); Allred, Neb., dec. Duvall, GM, 3-1; 197: Barr, PSU, tech. fall Blake Schaffer, KS, 20-4 (5:43); 285: Mirasola, PSU, dec. Connor Barket, D, 13-7
