Penn State Goes 10-0 in Session 1 at 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team went a perfect 10-0 in the first session of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. Penn State sits in first place in the early team standings after one round of action in Cleveland’s Rocket Arena. Action resumes tonight with the second round as well as the beginning of consolation action at 7 p.m.

Penn State’s 10-0 record included 12.5 bonus points off a major, five technical falls and two pins. Eight of Penn State’s 10 wins included bonus points. The Nittany Lions are in first place with 22.5 points and Iowa sits in second with 15.0.

Sophomore Luke Lilledahl, the No. 1 seed at 125, met No. 32 Mack Mauger of Missouri in the first round. Lilledahl and Mauger battled through a scoreless first period with Lilledahl shooting the Tiger to the outside of the mat for the last minute of the opener. He chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Lilledahl then took Mauger down at :30 to take a 4-0 lead into the third period. Mauger chose do and escaped to a 4-1 lead. Lilledahl quickly took him down and cut him loose to lead 7-2. Lilledahl tacked on a final takedown and riding time to post the 11-2 major decision.

True freshman Marcus Blaze, the No. 3 seed at 133, took on No. 30 Gabe Whisenhunt of Oregon State in the opening round. Blaze battled through a scoreless first two minutes before securing a takedown to lead 3-0 at 1:00. He finished the period on top and led by that margin after the opening period. Blaze chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 4-0 lead. Blaze notched another takedown to lead 7-0 midway through the second. Whisenhunt escaped and Blaze countered for a third takedown and a 10-1 lead. He turned the Beaver for four back points and led 14-1 after two. Whisenhunt escaped to start the third and Blaze quickly ended the match with a final takedown to post a 17-2 technical fall at 5:30.

Junior Braeden Davis, the No. 14 seed at 141, met No. 19 Haiden Drury of Utah Valley in the first round. Davis and Drury battled through an even first period, taking a 0-0 tie into the second stanza. Drury chose down to start the second stanza and Davis went to work on top, controlling the action for the full two minutes, riding the Wolverine out. Davis had 2:00 of riding time as the 0-0 tie moved to the third. Davis chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. He fought off a late Drury shot and, with 1:52 in riding time, moved into the second round with a 2-0 win.

Junior Shayne Van Ness, the No. 1 seed at 149, met No. 33 Austin McBurney of Brown in the opening round. Van Ness controlled the action from the onset. He picked up the bout’s first takedown at the :55 mark in the first period to lead 3-0 after one. Van Ness chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 4-0 lead. Van Ness dominated the second period, tallying four takedowns to carry a 16-3 lead into the third period. McBurney chose down to start the third. Van Ness cut him loose then ended the bout with his sixth takedown, posting a 19-4 technical fall at 5:34.

True freshman PJ Duke, the No. 1 seed at 157, battled No. 33 Yannis Charles of Morgan State in the first round. Duke took Charles down quickly to open up a 3-0 lead in the opening :30 of the bout. He cut the Morgan State wrestler loose and notched a second takedown to lead 6-1 at 1:30. Duke cut Charles loose once more and took him down a third time. He quickly turned Charles to his back and picked up the first period fall at 1:55.

Junior Mitchell Mesenbrink, the No. 1 seed at 165, took on No. 32 Cody Walsh of Drexel in the opening round. Mesenbrink came out firing, taking Walsh down three times in the opening 1:15 to lead 9-2. He built his riding time up over 1:00 and worked to turn the Dragon for back points over the next minute. He cut Walsh loose after a reset, took him down twice more in just seconds and led 15-4 with over 2:00 in riding time after one. Mesenbrink chose neutral to start the second period and took Walsh down off the opening whistle. He cut Walsh loose on a reset and finished off the bout with a final takedown, posting a 21-5 tech fall at 4:45.

Senior Levi Haines, the No. 1 seed at 174, met No. 33 Grant O’Dell of Bellarmine in the first round. Haines scored quickly, connecting on a low single and finishing off a takedown for a 3-0 lead at 1:57. He swiftly turned the Knight to his back and picked up a fast fall, getting the pin at 1:33 in the opening period.

Sophomore Rocco Welsh, the No. 1 seed at 184, faced No. 32 Caleb Uhlenhopp of Utah Valley the opening round. Welsh took an early 3-1 lead with a takedown and cut to begin the bout. He skipped away from an Uhlenhopp counter shot and forced a stall warning at 0:52. Welsh used a high single off a reset to take a 6-1 lead at the :40 mark and carried that lead into the second period. Uhlenhopp chose down to start the second period and Welsh cut him to a 6-2 score. Welsh took a 9-3 lead with another takedown and cut, then notched a fourth takedown late to lead 12-3 after two. Welsh chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 13-3 lead. He picked up a fifth takedown, cut Uhlenhopp loose and finished off the 19-4 tech fall with a final takedown at 6:31.

Sophomore Josh Barr, the No. 1 seed at 197, wrestled No. 32 Blake Schaffer of Kent State in the first round. Barr turned a quick low shot into a takedown and a 3-0 lead at 2:23. He built up :43 in time before cutting Schaffer loose. Barr then countered a Flash shot and took him down for a 6-1 lead at 1:16. Barr used a low double for a third takedown and a 9-2 lead with :45 on the clock. He then worked Schaffer to his back for two near fall points and an 11-2 lead after one period. Barr chose neutral to start the second period and took 14-2 lead with a fourth takedown. Barr added one more takedown and led 17-3 with 3:15 in time after two. Schaffer chose down to start the third period. Barr cut him loose at 1:35 and ended the bout with a final takedown, posting the 20-4 tech fall at 5:43.

Redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola, the No. 9 seed at 285, battled No. 24 Connor Barket of Duke in the opening round. Mirasola scored first, taking a 3-0 lead at 2:10 with a takedown on the edge of the mat. Barket escaped to a 3-1 score and Mirasola went back to work on offense. He forced a stall warning then bulled through a shot for another takedown and a 6-1 lead at 1:10. Mirasola added one more takedown and led 9-2 after one. Barket escaped to start the second period. The duo battled in neutral for the rest of the period and Mirasola led 9-3 after two. Mirasola escaped to start the third period. He turned a low shot into a scramble on the edge of the mat and took a 13-3 lead with a takedown at :26. Barket added an escape and a late takedown, but Mirasola’s early offense allowed him to post a 13-7 win.

Action continues tonight at 7 p.m. with consolation bouts and the second round of the championship bracket. Friday’s sessions are set for 12 and 8 p.m.. Saturday’s sessions will begin at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via X/twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. The Family Clothesline is the presenting sponsor for the 2025-26 Nittany Lion wrestling season. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.

Penn State at the 2026 NCAA Championships

March 19-21, 2026 – Rocket Arena – Cleveland, Ohio

Team Standings (as of 3:55 p.m. – top three):

1: PENN STATE – 22.5

2: Iowa – 15.0

3: Ohio State – 14.5

Weight by-weight agate (rankings listed are official tournament seed):

125: #1 Luke Lilledahl, So., Weldon Springs, Mo./Wyoming Seminary

Rd. 1: #32 Mack Mauger, Missouri – W, 11-2 maj. dec.

Rd. 2: #17 Jett Strickenberger, West Virginia – tonight