Penn State Sits Fifth In Learfield Directors’ Cup Winter Standings

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics is ranked No. 5 in the Learfield Directors’ Cup Division I standings following the 2026 Winter season, announced on Thursday. Ten Penn State teams earned points after their winter campaigns.

The Nittany Lions collected 516.5 points in the winter, highlighted by Wrestling’s 100 points. Women’s Hockey earned 83 points. Men’s fencing tallied 57 points, while women’s fencing recorded 54 points. Women’s gymnastics collected 53.5 points and men’s indoor track & field both earned 53 points. Women’s indoor track & field secured 34.5 points, while men’s gymnastics notched 32.5 points. Men’s hockey collected 25 points and men’s swimming & diving picked up 24 points.

Penn State tallied 239.5 total points in the Fall, led by Women’s Cross Country’s 67.5 points. Women’s Soccer and Women’s Volleyball both collected 50 points. Football notched 45 points, while Men’s Cross Country recorded 27 points.

The Nittany Lions are third among Big Ten teams, following Michigan (852.75) and Ohio State (788.75). Stanford leads the country with 917.5 points, followed by Michigan, North Carolina (835.0), Ohio State and Penn State.

                                            Penn State Winter Sports Highlight

Wrestling, led by head coach Cael Sanderson, won its 13^th NCAA Championship in the last 15 contested events and its fifth-straight national title. Penn State set a new NCAA record with 181.5 total points. Mitchell Mesenbrink, Levi Haines, Josh Barr and Luke Lilledahl all won national titles among the Nittany Lions’ record-tying six national finalists. Mesenbrink won the Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top collegiate wrestler.

Women’s hockey, led by head coach Jeff Kampersal, made the program’s first appearance in the Frozen Four, which was hosted at Pegula Ice Arena. The Nittany Lions hosted a regional, defeating No. 6 UConn, 3-0, to move on to the national semifinal against No. 2 Wisconsin. PSU set a program record and Women’s Frozen Four attendance record with 5,176 fans. Penn State also set a program record with 33 wins and claimed a fourth-consecutive AHA Championship. Kampersal was named USCHO Coach of the Year, while Tessa Janecke and Danica Maynard were tabbed to the All-USCHO teams. Janecke’s 2025-26 year included a gold medal with the USA Women’s Hockey team in the 2026 Olympics and being a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.

Men’s and women’s fencing, coached by Matteo Zennaro, both competed at NCAA Championships. On the men’s side, Tit Nam Cheng (13^th, foil), Spencer Burke (19^th, foil), Neil Lilov (19^th, saber) and Tingwei Xu (21^st, epee) all had strong showings at the championships. On the women’s side, Sam Catanan (foil), Allegra Cristofoletto (epee) and Eunyu Kim (saber) led the Nittany Lions.

Women’s gymnastics, guided by Sarah Brown, competed at the NCAA Regional in Tempe. The Nittany Lions earned a team score of 196.200, its fifth-best in NCAA Regional competition. Elizabeth Leary set a career-best with a 9.900 on beam and Dani Latronica picked up her seventh beam score of 9.900 or better this season. Latronica was a first-team All-Big Ten selection, while Ava Cash and Ava Piedrahita were named to the second-team.

Led by head coach John Gondak, Penn State men’s and women’s indoor track and field earned 15 individual All-America honors. Allon Clay claimed third in the men’s 800-meter final, while Handal Roban finished seventh, Yukichi Ishii finished eighth and Niko Schultz placed 12th, all picking up All-America accolades. Ajani Dwyer (60-meter), Jake Palermo (400-meter), Ryan Henry (shot put) and Dylan Lambrecht (shot put) all collected All-America honors. In the men’s distance relay, Kaleb Nastari, Matt DeMatteo, Schultz and Nick Sloff combined to earn All-America status. On the women’s side, Maddie Pitts placed fifth in the pentathlon, while Boh Ritchie and Hayley Kitching claimed All-America honors in the 800-meter.

Men’s gymnastics, coached by Randy Jepson, finished fourth overall at the 2026 NC Championship Regional in Champaign, Ill. The Nittany Lions sent five individuals to compete in 16 routines to compete for individual medals. Kellen Ryan and Landon Simpson earned All-America honors in the all-around. Simpson placed fourth in the all-around, while Ryan finished seventh.

Men’s hockey, led by Guy Gadowsky, made an NCAA Tournament appearance for the second-straight season, playing in the Albany Regional. After winning the Big Ten scoring title, Gavin McKenna was selected Big Ten Freshman of the Year and picked up CCM/AHCA second-team All-America honors. He was also a Hobey Baker Top-10 Award Finalist.

Men’s swimming & diving, coached by Hollie Bonewit-Cron, sent four athletes to the NCAA Championships. Mariano Lazzerini earned CSCAA second-team All-American honors in the 100 Breaststroke after finishing 12^th at the NCAA Championships. He also competed in the 200 Breaststroke, placing 19^th. He joined Cooper Morley, Matthew Bittner and Tylor Kim in the 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay.

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 49 Big Ten championships and 17 NCAA National Championships since 2012. The Nittany Lions have finished in the top 15 of the Learfield Directors’ Cup 20 times in the last 31 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.