Penn State wrestlers win Gold at U20 Pan American Championships

Three of the Penn State wrestling program’s rising competitors are returning home with Gold Medals after a dominant showing at the U20 Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru, this weekend. Second-year Nittany Lions Connor (92 kg) and Cole Mirasola (125 kg) and incoming freshman William Henckel (79 kg) went a perfect 9-0, not surrendering a single point en route to their titles.

Each Mirasola twin swept their three matches in the round-robin tournament by 10-0 technical falls. All six matches ended in the first period. Connor’s fastest technical fall came in 32 seconds, while Cole’s fastest was in 51 seconds.

The performance marks the second straight year Connor won Gold at the event, also bringing back the top prize last summer.

Henckel also won his first two matches by technical fall. He then went on to defeat Brazil’s Leandro Araujo by a 9-0 decision in the finals.

After the shutout weekend, the trio of Nittany Lions will now prepare for the U20 World Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria, beginning on August 17. Penn State wrestling will then send Levi Haines and PJ Duke to the Senior World Championships in September before seven Nittany Lions compete for Team USA at the U23 World Championships in October.

2026 pledge Jayden James will also be in action later this month at the U17 World Championships in Athens, Greece.

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