Penn State Wrestling Sends Nine to 2026 Big Ten Semifinals

March 07, 2026

Penn State Wrestling Sends Nine to 2026 Big Ten Semifinals

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (15-0, 8-0 B1G) will have nine wrestlers in the 2026 Big Ten Championship semifinals tonight after a superb first session at the event in the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State, hosting this year’s tournament, leads the team race as well. Head coach Cael Sanderson has already qualified all nine of those semifinalists for the 2026 NCAA Championships in Cleveland in two weeks, with one more still alive for a 10^th bid as well.

Penn State entered the tournament with eight top two seeds, all of whom earned byes in the first round (seven first, one second). Penn State’s current list of NCAA qualifiers for the NCAA Championships on March 19-21 are: Luke Lilledahl at 125, Marcus Blaze at 133, Shayne Van Ness at 149, PJ Duke at 157, Mitchell Mesenbrink at 165, Levi Haines at 174, Rocco Welsh at 184, Josh Barr at 197 and Cole Mirasola at 285. Braeden Davis went 1-1 at 141 and is still alive as well.

No. 1 Luke Lilledahl, top seed at 125, had a first round bye and took on No. 7 Dean Peterson of Iowa in the quarterfinals. The duo battled evenly in the middle of the mat through the first two minutes. Lilledahl got off a flurry of quick shots in the final minute but Peterson was able to back away from the action and the bout moved to the second period tied 0-0. Peterson chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 1-0 lead. Lilledahl locked Peterson at the waist and appeared to finish off a takedown at 1:30 but none was awarded. Penn State challenged the call and won, and Lilledahl led 3-2 after the second. Lilledahl chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 4-2 lead. He worked his way into a scramble with a low shot and eventually finished off the takedown to lead 7-2 at :57. He built his riding time up over 1:00 before Peterson escaped and, with the point, posted the 8-3 win to advance to the quarterfinals and clinch a spot at the NCAA tournament.

No. 2 Marcus Blaze, top seed at 133, had a first round bye and met No. 24 Dylan Shawver of Rutgers in the quarterfinals. Blaze muscled his way through a takedown at the :17 mark to take a 3-0 lead late in the first period and caried that lead into the second. Blaze chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 4-0 lead. He took Shawver down at 1:19 and cut him loose. Blaze picked up a quick stall point to lead 8-1 and then finished off the second period with a late takedown to lead 11-1 after two periods. Shawver chose down to start the third period and Blaze cut him loose. Blaze quickly took him down again and led 14-2 after a Shawver escape. Blaze added another stall point and riding time to roll into the semifinals with a 16-3 major decision. The win also earned Blaze a trip to the NCAA Championships in Cleveland.

No. 14 Braeden Davis, the sixth seed at 141, took on Dario Lemus of Maryland in the opening round. Davis got hit for stalling at 1:45 and then forced a stall at 1:35. Davis turned a high single at :25 into a takedown and a 3-0 lead with just :15 on the clock and carried that edge into the second period. Davis chose down to start the second period and got turned for four back points. He fought off the pin and quickly reversed Lemus to retake the lead 5-4 at 1:20. Davis controlled the action on top for the rest of the period to lead 5-4 with 1:04 in riding time after two. Lemus chose down to start the third period. Davis controlled the action on top once again, clinching his riding time point and finishing on top to post a 6-4 win with 3:04 in riding time. Davis took on No. 8 Vance Vombaur of Minnesota in the quarterfinals. Vombaur notched the first takedown of the match at the 1:22 mark. Davis escaped after :40 of work and trailed 3-1 after one. Davis chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-2 score. He then scrambled his way to a takedown and opened up a 5-3 lead with 1:23 on the clock. Vombaur, however, escaped and took Davis down, locking a cradle and earning four back points to lead 11-5 after two periods. Vombaur added an escaped, takedown, four back points and riding time in the third period to post a strong 20-5 technical fall over Davis at 7:00. The loss sent Davis to consolation action in Saturday night’s second session.

No. 1 Shayne Van Ness, top seed at 149, had a first round bye and met No. 17 Ryder Block of Iowa in the quarterfinals. Block took Van Ness down at the :47 mark in the first period and finished the period on top to lead 3-0 after one. Van Ness, trailing by three, chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 3-1 deficit. He forced a first stall warning at 1:05, then picked up a stall point at :53 to trail 3-2. Block, leading 3-2, chose down to start the third period. Van Ness cut him quickly and trailed 4-2. Van Ness scrambled away from a near takedown and continued his late push. Van Ness pressed forward and Block backed away again, giving Van Ness another stall point and moving the score to 4-3. The Lion junior stayed aggressive, and Block continued to back away. Van Ness forced another stall with under :20 left in the bout for two points and walked away with a hard fought 5-4 win, advancing to the semifinals and earning a trip to the NCAA Championships.

No. 4 PJ Duke, the second seed at 157, had a first round bye and met No. 1 Brandon Cannon of Ohio State in the quarterfinals. Cannon came out and scored quickly, taking Duke down to lead 3-1 after a quick Lion escape. Duke took Cannon down quickly after his escape to lead 4-3. Cannon escaped and Duke went back to work, taking the Buckeye down for a 7-4 lead on the edge of the mat. Duke finished the period on top and carried that lead into the third period. Cannon chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 7-5 lead. Duke went to work on offense, finishing off another takedown at the :20 mark to lead 10-5 after two periods. Duke chose neutral to start the third period. He countered a slight Cannon shot and took him down once more to lead 13-5 with clinched riding time. He cut Cannon loose and went to work on his feet. Duke added another takedown and cut to lead 16-7 with :24 left in the bout. The Lion freshman added another takedown late and, with riding time, rolled to the 20-7 major decision.

No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, top seed at 165, had a first round by and took on No. 15 Paddy Gallagher of Ohio State in the quarterfinals. Mesenbrink took Gallagher down for the first time at 2:17. He controlled action on top and built up over 1:00 in riding time before cutting Gallagher loose. Mesenbrink picked up a second takedown and opened up a 6-1 lead after one. Mesenbrink chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 7-1 lead. Mesenbrink chased a fleeing Gallagher around the mat for the bulk of the third period. He picked up a stall point at 1:10 and added riding time at the conclusion of the match to move into the semifinals with a 10-2 major decision. Mesenbrink also clinched a spot at nationals with the win.

No. 1 Levi Haines, top seed at 174, had a first round bye and met No. 24 Colin Kelly of Illinois in the quarterfinals. Haines picked up the bout’s first takedown at the :56 mark in the opening period. The Lion senior controlled action on top and finished the period in control to lead 3-0 after one. Haines chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 4-0 lead. He moved in for a quick takedown and opened up a 7-1 lead after a quick cut. Haines forced a stall point and then used a low double for a takedown to lead 11-1 after the second period. The third began in neutral and Haines quickly took the Illini down for a 14-2 lead. Haines finished off the bout with a final takedown, notching the 17-2 tech fall, earning a spot in the semifinals and a trip to the NCAA Championship.

No. 1 Rocco Welsh, the top seed at 184, had a first round bye and took on No. 2 Angelo Ferrari of Iowa in the quarterfinals. Welsh and Ferrari battled through an even two minutes with Welsh working on his feet and the Hawkeye dropping to a knee throughout the stanza. The first period ended in a 0-0 tie. Ferrari chose down to start the second period. Welsh controlled action on top for :44 before Ferrari escaped to a 1-0 lead. Welsh fought off a solid Ferrari shot at the :40 mark, keeping action in neutral. Welsh trailed 1-0 after two and chose down to start the third period. Welsh quickly escaped to a 1-1 tie and went back to work on his feet. Welsh and Ferrari battled in neutral through the rest of the period and action moved to sudden victory. Welsh shot Ferrari backwards and then fought off a Hawkeye counter shot for over :30 before forcing a reset at :55. Welsh turned a low single into a late scramble, but Ferrari was able to force a stalemate at :05 and the match moved to a tie-breaker. Welsh chose down to start the tie-breakers. He escaped in just :09 to take a 2-1 lead. Ferrari then took down in the second tie-breaker. Welsh controlled Ferrari for :13 to own an :04 riding time edge, enough to move into the semifinals with a thrilling 3-2 TB1 victory. The win also sends Welsh to the NCAA Championships.

No. 1 Josh Barr, the top seed at 197, had a first round bye and took on No. 22 Gabe Sollars of Indiana in the quarterfinals. Barr took Sollars down quickly in the bout to open up an early 3-1 lead. The Lion sophomore tacked on a second takedown, cut Sollars loose and moved in for a third takedown and a 9-3 lead after another cut. Barr finished the first with a late takedown to lead 12-3 after one period. Sollars chose down to start the second, Barr cut him loose and went on to finish off the bout with three more takedowns in just over 1:00. Barr got the final takedown at 4:09 to move into the semifinals, and advance to NCAAs, with a 21-6 tech fall.

No. 5 Cole Mirasola, the fourth seed at 285, battled Gabe Christenson of Northwestern in the opening round. Mirasola scored seconds into the bout to take a 3-1 lead after a quick cut. Mirasola took Christenson down again seconds later, locked his shoulders, took him to his back and got the fast fall at 0:25. Mirasola met No. 9 Braxton Amos of Wisconsin in the quarterfinals. Mirasola drew first blood, taking Amos down in the opening minute to lead 3-0. The Badger worked his way to an escape and cut the score to 3-1. Mirasola chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 4-1 lead. The big men battled in center of the mat for the remainder of the period and Mirasola led by three after two. Amos chose down to start the third period and worked his way to an escaped, cutting the Mirasola lead to 4-2. Mirasola and Amos spent the rest of the period working on their feet and the Lion freshman, off the strength of the first period takedown, advanced to the semis with a 4-2 victory. He also earned a trip to his first NCAA tournament as well.

Penn State went 11-1 in the first session and picked up eight bonus points off three majors, two tech falls and a pin. As of 2:15 p.m. Eastern, with consolation action on-going but Penn State done for the session, the Nittany Lions lead the team race with 81.0 points. Ohio State is second with 69.5 and Nebraska is third with 59.5.

The Big Ten Championship continues in the BJC tonight with consolation action and semifinals in session 2, set for 5 p.m. The event concludes with a final combined session on Sunday starting at 12 p.m. (consolation finals/7^th place rounds followed by the finals/3^rd/5^th place bouts). The Nittany Lions closed out the regular season 15-0 overall, 8-0 in the Big Ten and 2026 Big Ten Regular Season Champions.

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 Big Ten Championships

March 7-8, 2026 – Bryce Jordan Center – University Park, Pa.

Team Standings (top 3 as of2:15 p.m. Eastern):

1: PENN STATE – 81.0

2: Ohio State – 69.5

3: Nebraska – 59.5

Weight by-weight agate (rankings listed are InterMat as of 2/24/26):

125: #1 Luke Lilledahl, So. – 1^st-seed

Rd. 1: bye

Qtr: #7 Dean Peterson, Iowa – W, 8-3 dec.

Semi: #17 Jacob Moran, Indiana – tonight