Does Cael Sanderson have the greatest Penn State wrestling team in school history in 2024?

Next weekend, Penn State wrestling heads to Kansas City with the hopes of capturing a third straight national title at the NCAA Championships. But last weekend, the Nittany Lions took over College Park, running away with their second consecutive and eighth conference title under head coach Cael Sanderson. Last weekend’s performance was impressive, even for a program that has built itself on dominance. Where does the 2024 Big Ten Championships stack up in Penn State and college wrestling history?

Does Cael Sanderson have the greatest team in Penn State wrestling history in 2024?

There has been much talk dating back to the preseason about how this 2024 roster might be the greatest lineup that Cael Sanderson has ever assembled at Penn State. The Nittany Lions entered the season with four No. 1 ranked wrestlers and multiple others inside the top three of their weight classes.

But when Shayne Van Ness went down with a season-ending injury, it looked like breaking tournament records was no longer a possibility. Then, the pleasant surprise of Tyler Kasak flipped that script. Once again, Penn State wrestling was on pace for a historic 2024.

During this year’s Big Ten Championships, Penn State finished with a school record 170.5 points in the final standings. The record-breaking performance beat a previous team high of 157 points set by the Nittany Lions back in 2019.

The Nittany Lions had five individual champions: Braeden Davis (125), Levi Haines (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Aaron Brooks (197), and Greg Kerkvliet (285). Both Beau Bartlett (141) and Bernie Truax (184) finished runner-up, while Aaron Nagao (133) and Tyler Kasak (149) finished in third. The only wrestler to not place was Carter Starocci, who injury defaulted out of the tournament.

Where does this Nittany Lions team stack up in Big Ten history?

The 170.5 points from Penn State wrestling at the Big Ten Championships ranks fifth all-time in conference history. The score is the most by any Big Ten team since the conference expanded to 14 teams back in 2014. It is also the second-highest score by any team since the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten in 1993. Only the 1995 Iowa Hawkeyes, who scored 185, put up a bigger total.

This was all done without star wrestler and three-time National Champion Carter Starocci. Had he wrestled to his full ability in the Big Ten Championships, there is a chance that this Penn State wrestling team would have been statistically the greatest team that the Big Ten had seen in the last 30 years.

Starocci will make his return from injury in the NCAA Championships this upcoming Thursday. If he and the rest of the Nittany Lions are able to wrestle to their full potential, there may be even more school and NCAA records to be broken.

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