Penn State Sports Magazine
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N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 5 5 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M astonishing 100 over Cornell in Kansas City the year prior. To repeat this season in Cleveland, the Lions will look to stars such as de- fending champion Mitchell Mesen- brink (165 pounds), one-time champ and two-time runner-up Levi Haines (174), two-time All-American Shayne Van Ness (149) and All-American Luke Lilledahl (125). That leaves six weight classes in which one might have a good idea of whom the starter might be but would be hesitant to bet the ranch on it because the talent is basically equal. The lineup may fluctuate early, as it typically has, but it very likely will be strong enough to break Oklahoma State's record of 76 consecutive victo- ries. That could happen in December at the Collegiate Duals in Nashville. If the Lions, winners of 71 consecu- tive matches across the past five un- beaten seasons, open with wins over Oklahoma, Drexel, Lehigh, Wyoming and North Dakota State, No. 76 would come against Stanford on Dec. 20. Let's take a look at which wrestlers could be responsible for possibly ex- tending that streak to 86 this season: 125 pounds: Lilledahl won a Big Ten championship as a freshman and earned the No. 1 seed at the NCAAs but dropped a close quarterfinal bout to Lehigh's Sheldon Seymour. He battled back for third and will hold down this spot as a sophomore, with freshman Nathan Desmond likely providing depth. 133 pounds: Junior Braeden Da- vis and senior Aaron Nagao, both All- Americans, have moved up to 141, open- ing a spot for freshman Marcus Blaze, one of the country's best high school wrestlers who already owns U-20 and U-17 world championships. Blaze seems to be a lock, and Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said he would compete for the 133-pound spot. However, Japan national champion and U-20 and senior world champ Ma- saosuke Ono enrolled at Penn State last spring and could battle for a spot here or at 141. Sanderson said Ono has a red- shirt year available, and the school is seeking to obtain a second year of eli- gibility for Ono. He'd have to become adept at folkstyle wrestling, so the deci- sion here will be interesting. 141 pounds: Does Ono move up, or do Davis and Nagao battle it out? Sand- erson said Davis will never see the 130s again and added that Nagao, who sat out last season with a shoulder injury, is healthy. Davis has a redshirt year avail- able; Nagao does not but likely could have a medical redshirt. 149 pounds: While Van Ness has yet to hit the freestyle circuit, he's been a steady folkstyle force at 149 for the Li- ons, earning NCAA third-place finishes in 2023 and '25. Junior Connor Pierce offers depth at this weight class. 157 pounds: Here lies the season's most intriguing decision. Is it two-time All-American Tyler Kasak or fresh- man P.J. Duke, who this summer made the U.S. Senior World team but did not place at the World Championships? To earn that spot, Duke defeated college stars Antrell Taylor, Ridge Lovett, Bryce Andonian and four-time NCAA champ Yianni Diakomihalis (whom he pinned). Kasak, a junior, has a redshirt available, while Duke could wrestle on five dates and preserve his freshman status. "They both have great attitudes, and whoever ends up wrestling this year, we're going to be really happy and con- fident in that," Sanderson said. "Things work out, and they'll work out this year." 165 pounds: Mesenbrink is the de- fending champion at this weight, and he placed second the year before. Barring injury, the junior is an overwhelming favorite to repeat. Sophomore Joe Sealey could provide backup here. 174 pounds: Haines, a senior whom Sanderson praised as a team leader, is a three-time NCAA finalist and one-time champ. We won't use the term "over- whelming favorite" to win a title this season; "heavy favorite" will suffice. Talented freshmen Will Henckel and Asher Cunningham likely will com- pete in a lot of in-season tournaments around this weight class. 184 pounds: Ro cco We l s h , t h e 2024 NCAA runner-up to Penn State's Carter Starocci, transferred in from Ohio State ahead of his junior sea- son, and Zack Ryder transferred out to Oklahoma State. Redshirt freshman Connor Mirasola, who went 8-for-8 in bouts at 197 last season, has certified at 184. A 13-pound drop could be a big ask but would make things interesting if he can pull it off. Sanderson has been pleased with what he's seen from Welsh thus far. "We couldn't be happier with just his atti- tude and the effort that he's putting in since he got here," the coach said. 197 pounds: Josh Barr made the 2025 NCAA Tournament finals as a redshirt freshman last season and earned FloW- restling's preseason No. 1 ranking. 285 pounds: Redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola, Connor's brother, enjoyed a strong freestyle summer as an under- weight 125-kilogram wrestler. Senior Lucas Cochran won some big matches at 197. Both are adding weight and have targeted the starting role. Sanderson called the Mirasola twins "a blessing to our program." Cochran made the deci- sion to return for another season. "He's not the same-looking Lucas as the last time you saw him," Sanderson said. "He's such a good kid and has meant so much to the program." And, yes, another decision looms. ■ 2025-26 WRESTLING SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time Nov. 14 OKLAHOMA* 7 p.m. Nov. 23 Black Knight Invitational** 9 a.m. Dec. 5 at Drexel 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 LEHIGH 1 p.m. Dec. 13 at Wyoming TBA Dec. 20 North Dakota State^ TBA Dec. 20 Stanford^ TBA Jan. 10 RUTGERS TBA Jan. 16 at Iowa TBA Jan. 18 at Northwestern TBA Jan. 23 INDIANA TBA Jan. 25 at Maryland TBA Jan. 30 NEBRASKA* TBA Feb. 6 at Michigan TBA Feb. 13 OHIO STATE* TBA Feb. 20 PRINCETON 7 p.m. Mar. 7-8 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS* Mar. 19-21 NCAA Championships^^ * at the Bryce Jordan Center ** at West Point, N.Y. ^ Collegiate Duals at Nashville, Tenn. ^^at Rocket Arena, Cleveland