Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542734
4 8 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Penn State Sports Network, 58 wres- tlers were involved in at least one of the wins, which came against 37 opponents. The average dual meet score over the record-setting stretch was 35-7. Penn State is now chasing the lon- gest-ever win streak in college wres- tling history. That mark is held by NAIA program Grand View, which won 162 consecutive matches from 2011-24. Lions Battle Injuries At 197, 141 Pounds Penn State has continued to rack up dual meet wins this season even though it has dealt with injuries at two key spots. The first of those setbacks occurred before the season even started when re- turning All-American Josh Barr hurt his ribs at the U-23 World Championships in late October. The Lions were fortu- nate to have redshirt freshman Con- nor Mirasola waiting in the wings, so they sat Barr until he was fully healthy. He returned to action at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in Nashville in late De- cember and has mauled every foe he's faced since then, reappearing atop the InterMat rankings at 197 pounds. "He looked pretty good," Sanderson said. "He looked really good in Tennes- see. His movement, hustle and effort were there. Just because he wrestled hard, he's just going to keep getting better." The other injury issue occurred at 141 pounds. Junior Aaron Nagao returned to action after missing the 2024-25 season with a shoulder injury. The plan was for Nagao to reclaim his starting spot and for classmate Braeden Davis to take a redshirt season. But Nagao reinjured his shoulder at the Army Black Knight Invi- tational on Nov. 23, then missed the rest of the 2025 portion of the schedule. He tried to return to action at the Southern Scuffle in early January but was injured again after one match. His season is now over, and Davis is in at 141. "It's just an uphill battle," Sanderson said. "Shoulders are really challenging in our sport. … But if anyone could do it, it was Aaron. We wanted to give him the best support and opportunity we could give him. Braeden, from the beginning, was aware he had to be ready to go." ■ P E N N STAT E W R EST L I N G SU P E R L AT I V ES D E C . 1 3 -J A N . 1 8 THREE BEST WRESTLERS Mitchell Mesenbrink | Jr. | 165 Mesenbrink is the leader for the Hodge Trophy, which is college wres- tling's equivalent of the Heisman Tro- phy. He is as dominant as they come in the sport, and his relentless pursuit of points led to a 11-2 major decision over No. 3 Mikey Caliendo of Iowa in the Nit- tany Lions' 32-3 dual meet romp on Jan. 16. It was Mesenbrink's seventh con- secutive victory over his longtime foe. Mesenbrink is 13-0 this season with 6 falls, 4 tech falls and 2 major decisions. Levi Haines | Sr. | 174 Another Nittany Lion who is in the Hodge conversation, Haines continues to go about his business as impressively as any wrestler in the country. The senior is 12-0, with four of his victories coming by fall, and another five by technical fall. Haines has yet to beat a top-10 foe this season, but it's not his fault that both Lenny Pinto of Rutgers and Patrick Kennedy of Iowa ducked him. Josh Barr | R-So. | 197 It's impossible to leave Barr off this list considering what he's done since returning from a rib injury he suffered at the U-23 World Championships in late October. Since taking the mat for a pair of matches at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in late December, which marked his season debut, he is 10-0, with nine wins by either fall or technical fall and a major decision. KEY MOMENT Standout freshman PJ Duke was not exactly struggling in his 157-pound clash with No. 12 Jordan Williams of Iowa earlier this month, but unlike in some of his previous matches, the points were not piling up fast. In fact, for the first time season, the Nittany Lion newcomer trailed, 1-0, going into the third period. After quickly escaping to tie the bout at 1-1, Duke shot with about 1:20 left and finished the three-point move five sec- onds later to take a 4-1 lead. Williams escaped, but there would be no more scoring. In his most competitive match of the year, Duke kept his cool and emerged victorious. BEST HIGHLIGHT This is an easy call. After both wrestlers earned escapes during the first seven minutes of action, Penn State's fourth-ranked redshirt sophomore Rocco Welsh took the No. 1 wrestler in the 184-pound class, Iowa's Angelo Ferrari, to a scoreless sudden-victory period, and then to a tiebreaker period. Welsh rode Ferrari out in the first 30-second session, which meant he needed only an escape to win. He got it 15 seconds into the period, and the action stayed neutral from that point on to give the first-year Nittany Lion an upset victory. BOLD PREDICTION Against Iowa's fifth-ranked Ben Kueter, redshirt freshman heavyweight Cole Mirasola showed what he's capable of doing when he gets his offense going. Mirasola was ranked outside of All-America range at No. 13 in the 285-pound class as of late January, but this month's bold prediction is that by the time the NCAA Tournament is over, he will be one of the eight heavyweights on the podium, earning All-America status. — Greg Pickel Junior Mitchell Mesenbrink is 13-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country at 165 pounds. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS