Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink wins Hodge Trophy as nation’s top wrestler
Penn State has its eighth Hodge Trophy in program history.
Mitchell Mesenbrink was announced as this year’s winner Monday afternoon, making him the second Penn State winner in the last three years, joining 2024 winner Aaron Brooks.
The Hodge Trophy has been awarded annually to the best collegiate wrestler since its inception in 1995.
Mesenbrink joins Brooks, Bo Nickal, Zain Retherford (who won it twice), David Taylor (also won it twice) and Kerry McCoy as Nittany Lions to take home the trophy. Only McCoy, who won it in 1997, won it prior to head coach Cael Sanderson’s tenure as Penn State’s head coach.
The newest Nittany Lion winner was a finalist last year, and was joined by teammates Luke Lilledahl, Levi Haines and Josh Barr as four of the seven finalists this season. Mesenbrink won this year’s award with 66 first-place votes. Barr picked up one first-place vote, while Oklahoma State’s Jax Forrest had the remaining four.
Mesenbrink ran away with the award after going 27-0 with a 96.3% bonus rate this season, dominating the 165-pound weight class. He’s now 80-1 in his college career, with two NCAA titles and three Big Ten titles, with the lone blemish on his record coming from a loss to Iowa State’s David Carr in the finals at the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships. He lost that bout by decision, 9-8.
The Penn State 165-pounder is expected to headline another national championship favorite lineup next season as the program chases its fifth consecutive NCAA title.
