PJ Duke, Levi Haines lead way for Penn State wrestling at Final X

Penn State wrestling and the NLWC came into Saturday’s Final X tournament with a chance to have seven competitors represent the United States at the 2025 Senior World Championships. While nine Nittany Lions will leave Newark having clinched spots on the National Team, only three will compete this September in Croatia.

The storyline of the weekend comes from Penn State wrestling commit PJ Duke, who upset four-time NCAA Champion Yianni Diakomihalis 2-1 in the best-of-three final series to earn his spot on the Senior National Team. After getting shut out in round one 10-0, the incoming freshman stormed back to stay alive with a 17-10 victory in the second round. In the winner-take-all final match, Duke pinned the Cornell legend to win the title at 70 kg.

PJ Duke PINS Yianni Diakomihalis to win the 70kg #FinalX2025 series and make the Senior World Team for 2025. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/7HBMm21C26

— Saturday Night Lights (@WrestlingSNL) June 14, 2025

Levi Haines was the only current Penn State wrestler to win a Final X title, sweeping Evan Wick at 79 kg. Haines earned a 10-0 tech fall victory in round one before securing a 6-1 win in round two to lock up his spot.

NLWC member Kyle Snyder will also compete for the U.S. World Team in September after defeating Hayden Zillmer at 97 kg. Snyder took the first match 8-0 before downing Zillmer 8-2 in the second bout.

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In a rematch of the 2024 NCAA Final, Mitchell Mesenbrink fell once again to former Iowa State Cyclone David Carr in the 74 kg title. Adding two more tightly contested battles to the growing rivalry between the two wrestlers, Mesenbrink fell 4-3 in match one before losing on criteria in round two.

Luke Lilledahl, Josh Barr, and Kyle Dake were all swept in their final matchups on Saturday evening. All three will still make the National Team as second-place finishers.

Penn State wrestling/NLWC Final X results

57 kg: Spencer Lee sweeps Luke Lilledahl (7-2, 6-0)

70 kg: PJ Duke defeats Yianni Diakomihalis 2-1 (0-10, 17-10, fall 4:07)

74 kg: David Carr sweeps Mitchell Mesenbrink (4-3, 4-4 criteria)

79 kg: Levi Haines sweeps Evan Wick (10-0, 6-1)

86 kg: Zahid Valencia sweeps Kyle Dake (5-3, 4-1)

92 kg: Trent Hidlay sweeps Josh Barr (6-1, 3-2)

97 kg: Kyle Snyder sweeps Hayden Zillmer (8-0, 8-2)

Carter Starocci and Marcus Blaze both also earned spots on the National Team with victories in their true-third matchups earlier in the afternoon. In a repeat of his NCAA Final bout from March, the former Penn State wrestling star took down Parker Keckeisen by a 4-3 decision at 86 kg. After Blaze qualified for the U23 squad earlier this month, the top-ranked incoming freshman defeated national runner-up Brock Hardy 8-2.

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