Penn State wrestling checked all of the boxes during the 2022-23 season

STATE COLLEGE, PA — On Saturday, the Penn State Nittany Lions claimed the school’s 11th national title in the sport of wrestling. Of Penn State’s 11 national championships, 10 have come since 2011 during the Cael Sanderson era — what Sanderson has done with the Nittany Lions’ wrestling program is known as the greatest college dynasty of our time. Throughout the 2022-23 season, Penn State wrestling checked all of the boxes on the program’s preseason goals list.

Penn State wrestling finishes perfect in regular season, wins regular season Big Ten title

No matter what the sport, you cannot get to the postseason without doing well in the regular season. For Penn State wrestling, that was not an issue; the Nittany Lions went on an incredible 16-0 winning streak (8-0 Big Ten) including domination of multiple top-5 teams, and victory over No. 2 Iowa at the Bryce-Jordan Center.

The Nittany Lions’ 16-0 record heading into the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments was the 6th time that Penn State wrestling has finished the season perfect and gone on to win the national title in Sanderson’s tenure. Additionally, the Lions’ 8-0 Big Ten record claimed the program a regular season conference crown.

Nittany Lions claim the Big Ten Championship (tournament)

After Penn State’s incredible 16-0 regular season ended, the Nittany Lions were set to compete in the Big Ten tournament in Ann Arbor, MI. There, Cael Sanderson and his squad claimed the program’s 7th Big Ten title in program history, and well as had nine wrestlers automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament.

Penn State wrestling ties program record for All-Americans

Heading into the 2022-23 season, Penn State wrestling had crowned eight All-Americans just twice in program history; most recently during the 2018 season. Over the weekend, another eight Nittany Lions reached All-American status during the NCAA tournament.

PSU claims 10th title in 12 tournaments

Over the past 15 years, no one has been nearly as dominant as the Penn State wrestling team — on Saturday morning, just minutes into the first session of the day — the Nittany Lions earned enough points to claim another national title. For Penn State, the 2023 national title is the program’s 10th title in the past 12 tournaments, and is also a back-to-back title seeing as the Nittany Lions won the tournament last year as well.

Penn State also claimed two individual national titles during the final sessions of the NCAA tournament last weekend. Overall, you cannot ask much more of the Nittany Lions, who checked every major box on their preseason goal list during the season.

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