Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544053
W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 2nd Penn State's finish on the men's side at the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Champion- ships, held Feb. 26-28 in Indianapolis. In posting their best finish since plac- ing second in 2017, the Nittany Lions scored a program-record 96 points. They finished 10 spots higher in the team standings than in 2025 and scored 71 more points. 4th Beaver Stadium's rank in CBSSports.com's list of the 10 places this coming fall in which home-field advantage will play the biggest role. Writer Brad Crawford specifically noted the Penn State-USC game on Oct. 10. "Good luck finding a ticket for Happy Valley if Matt Campbell's first season at Penn State opens with five straight wins prior to this showdown," Crawford wrote. "This is the first time the Nittany Lions have hosted the Tro- jans since 1994 and would put Penn State back in the thick of the playoff conversation with a victory. Lincoln Riley is 2-6 in true road games over his first two sea- sons against Big Ten competition, so this one's vital for him." 7 Big Ten individual championships won by Penn State wrestlers at the con- ference tournament, which took place March 7-8 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Freshman PJ Duke (157), sophomores Luke Lilledahl (125), Rocco Welsh (184) and Josh Barr (197), juniors Shayne Van Ness (149) and Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), and senior Levi Haines (174) all claimed titles. The Lions set school records for most champions and most team points (184) in easily out- distancing second-place Ohio State (148.5) for the title. 11th Matt Campbell's spot in separate rankings of the nation's top head football coaches compiled by writers Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel of The Athletic. The Nittany Lions' new mentor ap- peared at No. 11 on both lists. Feldman noted that Iowa State has had only 15 winning seasons in conference play since the end of World War II, and Campbell was head coach for eight of them. Mandel added that Campbell's "seemingly modest .567 winning per- centage at Iowa State was, in fact, the highest of any coach there in more than a century." 12 Shutouts by senior goal- keeper KATIE DESA of the Penn State women's ice hockey team following a 3-0 vic- tory over Connecticut in the regional championship March 14 at Pegula Ice Arena. DeSa led the country in shut- outs this season, surpassing Quinni- piac's Felicia Frank and Minnesota Du- luth's Éve Gascon, who had 10 apiece. DeSa earned a career-best 27 vic- tories this season, helping Penn State compile a 33-6 record as team, the win- ningest season in program history. 34th Rocco Becht's spot in ESPN's pre-spring quar- terback rankings for all 68 Power Four teams. The redshirt senior transfer from Iowa State was described by writer Bill Connelly as the "ultimate high-floor, not-so-high-ceiling guy." Eight Big Ten quarterbacks were rated higher than Becht: Ohio State's Julian Sayin (second), Oregon's Dante Moore (sixth), Indiana's Josh Hoover (13th), Michigan's Bryce Underwood ( 17 t h ) , Wa s h i n g to n 's De m o n d Williams Jr. (20th), Wiscon- sin's Colton Joseph (24th), Nebraska's Anthony Colan- drea (30th) and Illinois' Katin Houser (33rd). 600 All-time victories by the Penn State women's lacrosse team following a 19-8 romp over USC in the teams' Big Ten opener March 12 in Los Angeles. The Nittany Li- ons became only the third program in the history of collegiate women's lacrosse to reach the 600-win plateau, joining Maryland and Loyola University Maryland. This year's Nittany Lions were 9-2 prior to their game against the Terrapins on March 29 in College Park. It was the team's best start since opening the 1989 campaign with 12 con- secutive victories. ■ By The Numbers A P R I L 2 0 2 6 17 PHOTO BY MEGAN SMARKUSKY/PENN STATE ATHLETICS