Penn State Sports Magazine
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4 6 A P R I L 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 THREE BEST WRESTLERS 1. Mitchell Mesenbrink | Jr. | 165 Who else could possibly lead this list? Mesenbrink went 27-0 this season, and all but one of those wins were bonus-point triumphs. The Nittany Lion won his second consecutive 165-pound national title when he pummeled Iowa's Mikey Caliendo in the final bout at nation- als. The 20-4 technical fall was not as close as even that wide margin might suggest. Mesenbrink dominated every opponent he faced all year, save for North Carolina's Bryce Hepner, who he beat only by deci- sion, 6-0, in the quarterfinals. And, to top it all off, he was as dominat- ing as ever in the postseason, winning a Big Ten title with 2 majors and a tech fall before recording 3 technical falls, a major decision, and a decision at nationals. It was a splendid season to watch. 2. Levi Haines | Sr. | 174 Haines is in the conversation for having had the best season of any Penn State wrestler. It's not his fault that numerous top available op- ponents were out of the lineup during the dual meet season. But that is the only possible blemish on his résumé. Haines finishes his college career on top when he beat Nebraska's Christopher Minto by decision, 2-1, to win his first 174-pound title and his second national champion- ship. Haines went 26-0 on the season with a 78 percent bonus rate that included 6 falls and 13 technical falls. A four-time All-American, Haines is now ready to focus on fully attacking the international free- style stage. 3. Josh Barr | So. | 197 Barr did not wrestle a full season after suffering a rib injury at the U23 World Championships in October, which kept him out of the lineup until late December. But when he did return, perhaps only Mesen- brink and Ohio State's Jesse Mendez were as dominant as he was across college wrestling. The Nittany Lion won his first national title when he took out Oklahoma State's Cody Merrill by deci- sion, 6-3, in the 197-pound final. It capped a per- fect 24-0 season that included only one decision victory, the national title bout, and also featured 5 falls and 11 technical falls. KEY MOMENT Penn State entered the final day of the NCAA Championships with a commanding lead in the team race but had not yet locked it up. That wasn't the case for long, however. Freshman Marcus Blaze, who had a tremendous regular season and start to the NCAA Championships, fell into the consolation bracket after losing a 133-pound semifinal match to Ohio State's Ben Davino by decision, 2-2 in tiebreakers. While he's probably rarely, if ever, had to wrestle back, the disappointment of no longer being in the title chase didn't faze him. Blaze made quick work of No. 15 Tyler Knox of Stanford by technical fall, 20-4, in 5:45 in the consolation semifinals en route to a fourth-place finish to basically clinch the team title for Penn State. It became official when Oklahoma State's Troy Spratley lost to NC State's Vincent Robinson in a 125-pound con- solation semifinal moments later. BEST HIGHLIGHT Penn State entered the final round with six wrestlers who could win a title. Four were needed for the Lions to break their team points re- cord of 177 set in 2025. The team went 2-2 to start, with losses from Shayne Van Ness at 149 pounds and Rocco Welsh at 184, while Haines and Mesenbrink won at 174 and 165, respectively. That put Barr in position to break the record with a win, and he did it with relative ease over Merrill despite the result only being a decision. Luke Lilledahl then put an exclamation point on things when his win over Princeton's Marc-Anthony McGowan in the 125-pound final lifted the Lions' team points total from 177.5 to the final mark of 181.5. BOLD PREDICTION Oklahoma State is going to be a thorn in Penn State's side when it comes to the program's quest to win a sixth consecutive team title in 2026 in St. Louis. Coach David Taylor's Cowboys had an impressive tournament in Cleveland. They finished a distant second with 131 team points, built in part by freshman champions Jax Forrest at 133 pounds, Sergio Vega at 141 and Landon Robideau at 157. Penn State's dynasty is not close to ending, and it will enter next season as the favorite to win it all again. But Oklahoma State made a big investment in Taylor, a two-time national champion at PSU and a Cael Sanderson protégé, and it is paying off. — Greg Pickel North Carolina's Bryce Hepner was the only wrestler at nationals to keep Mitchell Mesenbrink from amassing bonus points. Mesenbrink topped Hepner, 6-0, in the quarterfinal round. The junior 165-pounder won his other four matches by a combined margin of 68-9. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS PENN STATE WRESTLING SUPERLATIVES B I G T E N A N D N C A A T O U R N A M E N T S