EVANSTON, Ill. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (15-0, 8-0 B1G), under the direction of head coach Cael Sanderson, will have five top seeds at the 2025 Big Ten Championships, which take place on Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9. The two-day event is hosted by Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. The Nittany Lions will have eight first round byes thanks to eight top two seeds. All individual rankings listed are InterMat as of Feb. 25, 2025.
True freshman Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 8 at 125 by InterMat, enters his first Big Ten Championship with a 15-2 record. Lilledahl will be the No. 4 seed and meets 13th-seed Caelan Riley of Illinois.
Sophomore Braeden Davis, ranked No. 5 at 133, enters the tournament with an 8-3 record. Davis will be the No. 4 seed and takes on 13th-seed Andrew Hampton of Michigan State.
Senior+ Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 1 at 141, will carry an 18-0 mark into his final Big Ten tournament. Bartlett will be the No. 1 seed and has a first-round bye.
Sophomore Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 2 at 149, owns a 17-1 record entering the tournament. Van Ness will be the No. 1 seed and has a first-round bye.
Sophomore Tyler Kasak, ranked No. 1 at 157, enters this year’s tourney with a 14-1 record. Kasak will be the No. 2 seed and has a first-round bye.
Sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, will carry a 19-0 record into the Championship. Mesenbrink will be the No. 1 seed and has a first-round bye.
Junior Levi Haines, ranked No. 2 at 174, enters the tournament with a 17-1 record. Haines will be the No. 1 seed and has a first-round bye.
Graduate Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 184, enters his final Big Ten Championship with an 18-0 record. Starocci will be the No. 1 seed and has a first-round bye.
Red-shirt freshman Josh Barr, ranked No. 2 at 197, heads to his first Big Ten tournament with a 15-1 mark. Barr will be the No. 2 seed and has a first-round bye.
Senior+ Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 2 at 285, will take a 16-0 mark into his final Big Ten Championship event. Kerkvliet will be the No. 2 seed and has a first-round bye.
Penn State closed out the dual meet schedule with a 15-0 mark and ended the conference slate 8-0 the week prior. Penn State closes out the 2024-25 dual slate with a 15-0 mark, 8-0 in Big Ten action (Regular Season Champions). American falls to 10-10 with the loss. The Nittany Lions are at Northwestern University for the 2025 Big Ten Championships. The two-day event serves as the NCAA qualifier for the Big Ten’s 14 wrestling teams. Action is set for Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9, in Evanston. Saturday’s sessions begin at 11 a.m. Eastern (10 a.m. local) and 6 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. local). Sunday’s sessions start at 1 p.m. Eastern (12 p.m. local) and 5:30 p.m. Eastern (4:30 p.m. local).
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