Penn State wrestling off to most dominant start of Cael Sanderson era

No. 1 Penn State wrestling opened the Big Ten season with one of the most dominant dual performances the Nittany Lions have ever had under Cael Sanderson. The team walked out of Rec Hall a 55-0 winner over Michigan State, tying the previous school record. The largest win against a conference opponent in program history, the Nittany Lions held the Spartans to zero takedowns the entire match and tallied six pins en route to their 63rd consecutive dual win.

The performance was emblematic of Penn State’s season so far, which is shaping up to be the most dominant of Cael Sanderson’s career in Happy Valley. However, Sanderson has found a way to stay ahead of the curve, keeping the Nittany Lions rolling as an absolute machine since his first National Championship in 2011. In a staggering statistic, Penn State wrestling has lost just two duals since 2015.

Yet what Cael Sanderson has orchestrated to begin this season may just be his greatest accomplishment yet. Not only is Penn State once again off to a 7-0 start, but the Nittany Lions are absolutely annihilating their competition.

Nittany Lions off to best start in Sanderson era

Penn State is outscoring opponents 323-9 to open the year, scoring over 40 points in six of seven duals and 50 points in three duals. The closest Sanderson has had the Nittany Lions to this level of dominance was the 2012-13 season, where they outscored opponents 279-21. Sanderson’s squad scored over 40 four times and over 50 once in that seven-dual span.

Penn State wrestling is 7-0. They have outscored their opponents by a combined 323-9 score 🤯 #WeAre #PennState #PSUwr

📸: @pennstateWREST pic.twitter.com/tkKaBYkgyu

— Basic Blues Nation (@BasicBlues) January 11, 2025

Looking forward, there’s a chance that Penn State will score over 50 points more this season than over the previous decade under Cael Sanderson. The Nittany Lions have only exceeded the 50-point mark five times since Sanderson arrived in Happy Valley.

It’s not like Penn State is beating up on poor competition, either. The Nittany Lions have defeated No. 10 Lehigh (36-3), No. 16 Missouri (41-3), and  No. 20 Little Rock (44-0). The only three individual losses that Penn State wrestlers have picked up have come from Braeden Davis to No. 1 Ryan Crookham of Lehigh, Levi Haines to No. 1 Keegan O’Toole of Missouri, and a backup Cael Nasdeo to Jordan Soriano of Drexel.

Penn State wrestling fielding a complete lineup

Despite winning 11 national titles since arriving at Penn State, not all of Cael Sanderson’s teams have been utterly dominant.

It wasn’t until last season that Sanderson fielded a truly complete lineup with All-American-caliber wrestlers at all 10 weight classes. Sure enough, Penn State broke the NCAA points record (172.5) and set the largest winning margin (100) in tournament history.

For a long time, the Nittany Lions faced a dry spell at 125 pounds, which seemed like the only weight without an annual title contender. But in 2024, Braeden Davis broke that dry spell for Cael Sanderson and earned the No. 1 overall seed at the NCAA Championships after winning the Big Tens. While his tournament finished in the round of 12, it was still a massive step forward and helped to elevate Penn State to another level.

Will the Nittany Lions make history in 2025?

© Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Now, the 2025 team can break its own points record this upcoming spring. Based on the current rankings by InterMat, Penn State would have nine All-Americans, eight National Semifinalists, five National Finalists, and two National Champions at the 2025 NCAA Championships.

The only wrestler currently not projected as an All-American is true freshman Luke Lilledahl, who is ranked No. 12 at 125. But Lilledahl was the No. 1 overall recruit in the country, so it wouldn’t be inconceivable to see him move up towards the top five by March.

Last season, the only two weights to not finish as All-Americans were 125 and 133, with Braeden Davis and Aaron Nagao not making it out of wrestle-backs. It will most likely come down to those two weights again this season if Penn State hopes to be the second team in NCAA history to field 10 All-Americans. Davis is currently ranked No. 5 at 133 pounds but certainly could move up into the top four as he progresses into what has been a more natural weight for the sophomore.

The only two wrestlers currently projected to win national titles are Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) and Carter Starocci (184). But as we have seen too many times in the Cael Sanderson era, Penn State can get its wrestlers to the finals no matter where they are ranked heading into March. And from there, anything can happen.

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation, one of the fastest-growing outlets covering Penn State athletics. Part of the Full Ride network, we are an alumni-owned and operated, credentialed media outlet dedicated to providing you with updated and reliable insights for all your favorite Nittany Lion sports. Whether it’s Penn State football, basketball, wrestling, or anything in between, you can find it all on Basic Blues Nation!

Please follow us on our social channels, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, and subscribe to our newsletter on Substack for breaking news and notifications. For feedback, questions, or concerns, please email us at [email protected] or direct message us on social media.