Penn State Sits Fourth In LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup Winter StandingsPenn State Sits Fourth In LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup Winter Standings
Mark Selders

Penn State Sits Fourth In LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup Winter Standings

Winter season highlighted by wrestling’s national championship; postseason appearances by fencing, men’s gymnastics, women’s gymnastics, men’s hockey, women’s hockey, men’s indoor track & field

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics holds fourth in the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup Division I standings following the Winter 2025 season.

 

Penn State collected 415 points in the Winter championship season, highlighted by Wrestling’s 12th national title in the past 14 tournaments. Men’s hockey reached the Frozen Four for the first time in program history to earn 83 points, while men’s gymnastics finished fifth at the 2025 NC Men’s Gymnastics Championships to earn 73. Fencing placed seventh at the 2025 National Championships, notching 72 points. Women’s gymnastics hosted an NCAA regional and contributed 45.5 points. Women’s hockey won its third-straight AHA title and earned 25 points. Men’s indoor track & field contributed 16.5 points.

 

The Nittany Lions tallied 335 points in the Fall, led by women’s volleyball’s 100 points for winning their eighth national championship. Football reached the College Football Playoff semifinals and finished No. 5 in the AP poll to earn 75 points. Women’s soccer collected 73 points after advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals. Women’s cross country notched 60 points, while men’s cross country picked up 27 points.

 

Penn State sits fourth behind Stanford (904), North Carolina (896.75) and Ohio State (794.75). Wisconsin (693.7) rounds out the top five. Six Big Ten schools rank among the Top Eight, including Michigan (652), USC (642) and Nebraska (638.75).

Celebration (25-NCAA Champ-MS) 20782Penn State wrestling celebrates being crowned 2025 NCAA Wrestling Champions on March 22, 2025. Penn State has now won 12 of the last 15 contest NCAA Championships (no event in 2020) and its fourth straight for the third time since Sanderson became head coach in April of 2009. Photo by Mark Selders

Led by Cael Sanderson, Penn State wrestling topped its record-setting performance from 2024, won a fourth-straight NCAA Championship and its 12th in the last 14 tournaments. Mitchell Mesenbrink and Carter Starocci were crowned National Champions and Starocci became the NCAA’s first ever five-time Division I champion. PSU became the second team in NCAA history to have 10 All-Americans in the same tournament (joining Minnesota in 2001). PSU ran away with the team title, posting a record 177 points.

 

Celebration (25-UConn-KB) 0197Penn State celebrates their victorious NCAA regional final win against UConn. The Nittany Lions defeated the Huskies in overtime 3-2 to advance to the Frozen Four. The game was held at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA, on March 30th, 2025. Photo by Kylie Barton

Penn State men’s hockey, led by Guy Gadowsky, advanced to the program’s first ever Frozen Four after hosting and advancing out of the Allentown Regional with wins over top-seed Maine (5-1) and UConn (3-2). PSU was ranked No. 5 in the final USCHO.com poll, its highest finish in program history. Sophomore Aiden Fink became Penn State’s first Hobey Baker Top-10 finalist and its third All-American after setting program season records for points (53) and assists (30) and tying the season record for goals (23).

2025 Big Ten Champions (25-NEB-MS) 19722Penn State men's gymnastics celebrates their 329.050-328.850 win over No. 4 Nebraska, clinching a share of the 2025 Big Ten regular season title. The title is the first in for the Nittany Lions since the Big Ten began observing a regular season champion in 2019. Photo by Mark Selders

Coached by Randy Jepson, Penn State Men’s Gymnastics finished fifth at the 2025 NC Men’s Gymnastics Championships. The fifth-place finish was the best for the Nittany Lions since the 2016 season. Josh Karnes earned his third-consecutive All-Around All-American nod and added All-American recognition on the parallel bars.

Yasseen_Mohamed (25_FencingNCAA_CC) 99748Penn State Epee fencer Mohamed Yasseen during his match against Samuel Imrek. After day 1 Yasseen ranks Third in Epee in the NCAA Fencing Championships on Thursday, March 20, 2025 at the Multi-Sport Facility in University Park, Pa.(Photo/Caleb Craig)

Fencing, coached by Matteo Zennaro, hosted the 2025 National Collegiate Fencing Championships and placed seventh as a team. Freshman Mohamed Yasseen earned All-American status in men’s epee.

Celebration (25-NCAA Regional-MS) 0465Penn State cheers on Dani Latronica as she competes on the beam during the NCAA Regional in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions closed out the 2024-25 season in the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Regionals on Thursday afternoon April 3, 2025 in Rec Hall. The squad totaled 196.225 points, their fourth-highest score this season. Photo by Mark Selders

Penn State women’s gymnastics, led by Sarah Brown, hosted an NCAA Regional at Rec Hall and totaled a 196.225 in the regional. The Nittany Lions secured 11 dual-meet wins.

Team_Celebration (25-MCY-TM) 0202The Penn State women’s hockey team poses with the Robert DeGregorio Cup after the AHA Championship game against Mercyhurst on Saturday, March 8, 2025 at Pegula Ice Arena. The Nittany Lions defeated the Lakers 4-1 and won their third consecutive AHA Conference Championship. Photo by Tyler Mantz.

Penn State women’s hockey, led by Jeff Kampersal, won its third-straight AHA conference championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions defeated Mercyhurst, 4-1, in the AHA title game. PSU posted a program-record 31 wins, including a 19-1 mark in AHA play. Junior Tessa Janecke claimed AHA Player and Forward of the Year honors and picked up All-America accolades.

olivier desmeules

Men’s indoor track & field, coached by John Gondak, posted a scoring finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships for the third-straight season. Olivier Desmeules secured first-team All-America honors with an eighth-place finish in the 800-meter.

 

Under the leadership of Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft, Penn State has one of the nation's most comprehensive and successful athletic programs, featuring 800 student-athletes across 31 varsity programs (16 men's, 15 women's). The Nittany Lions' 31 programs are tied for the fourth-highest number of sports sponsored by a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institution. 

 

Penn State student-athletes have led the athletic department to 48 Big Ten championships and 16 NCAA National Championships since 2012. The Nittany Lions have finished in the top 15 of the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup 20 times in the last 30 years (the Directors’ Cup was not awarded in 2019-20). 

 

Complete standings and the scoring structure of the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup can be found on NACDA's website at www.directorscup.org.