For the first time in program history, Penn State has won five consecutive NCAA wrestling championships after a commanding performance in Cleveland in March. Mitchell Mesenbrink, Levi Haines, Josh Barr, and Luke Lilledahl won individual titles, bringing the program’s all-time tally to 65. Penn State reset its own national record for team points with 181.5, 4.5 points ahead of last year’s mark and 50.5 points clear of second-place Oklahoma State.
nation’s best collegiate wrestler.
Mesenbrink defeated Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo 20-4 at 165 pounds to clinch his second straight title and finish his season 26-0. He was named the NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler, a season-long award. Haines also earned his second national crown, defeating Nebraska’s Christopher Minto 2-1 in the 174-pound final to cap a 26-0 season and a 99-4 career. Barr, a sophomore, won his first NCAA title by defeating Oklahoma State’s Cody Merrill 6-3 at 197 pounds, and finished his season at 24-0. Lilledahl topped Marc-Anthony McGowan of Princeton 2-1 at 125 pounds to claim his first national title and conclude a 25-0 season.
The Nittany Lions sent six wrestlers to the finals, tying a tournament record. Rocco Welsh fell 4-3 to Minnesota’s Max McEnelly in the final to end his season at 24-1, while Shayne Van Ness lost 8-5 to Aden Valencia of Stanford in the 149-pound final to finish at 25-1 on the season.
Mesenbrink, Haines, Barr, Lilledahl, Welsh, Van Ness, and true freshmen Marcus Blaze (133 pounds) and PJ Duke (157 pounds) were named All-Americans. Head coach Cael Sanderson has directed the Lions to 13 team championships in 15 seasons and is now two short of the all-time coaching mark held by Iowa’s Dan Gable.
