Penn State wrestling clinches fourth straight national championship

Penn State wrestling clinched its fourth consecutive NCAA Championship during the consolation semifinals on Saturday morning thanks to victories from Luke Lilledahl, Shayne Van Ness, and Beau Bartlett. It is the 12th national title in the past 14 seasons for the Nittany Lions, continuing the dynasty that Cael Sanderson has built in Happy Valley.

Multiple wrestlers will continue wrestling for a chance at third place throughout the afternoon, which you can follow here. Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Carter Starocci (184), and Josh Barr (197) will wrestle for individual titles in the NCAA Finals tonight, starting at 7:00 p.m.

How did the Nittany Lions win the 2025 National Championship?

Fast start helps propel Penn State wrestling

Penn State wrestling 141-pounder Beau Bartlett. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Penn State wrestling was perfect on the opening day of the NCAA Championships. The Nittany Lions went 20-0 record and only gave up one takedown through the first and second rounds. The Blue and White scored 39.5 points after day one, averaging a major decision with 19.5 bonus points through the first two sessions. Penn State became the third team to advance all ten wrestlers to the NCAA Quarterfinals in the tournament’s history.

Quarterfinal stumbles

Penn State wrestling 133-pounder Braeden Davis. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

After a perfect first day, Penn State took a step back during the NCAA Quarterfinals. A pair of top-ranked wrestlers, No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (125) and No. 1 Tyler Kasak (157), were both upset in tight matches. No. 8 Braeden Davis (133) also lost by a major decision during the third round of the tournament.

Despite stumbles by a few wrestlers, Cael Sanderson still had seven Nittany Lions competing in the NCAA Semifinals.

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Semifinal struggles, but strong consolation performances

Penn State wrestling 197-pounder Josh Barr. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

The Nittany Lions went 3-4 in Friday night’s Semifinals. The upsets based on seeding included No. 2 Beau Bartlett (141) falling to No. 3 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) and No. 2 Levi Haines (174) losing to No. 3 Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State).

However, No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) and No. 1 Carter Starocci (184) took care of business and advanced to the Finals with dominant performances. No. 4 Josh Barr was the highlight of the night, upsetting No. 1 Jacob Cardenas (Michigan) by a 5-3 decision to advance to the NCAA Finals for the first time in his career. The redshirt freshman picked up a takedown on an early counterattack and fended off a late push by the top-ranked 197-pounder to get the victory.

Another historic performance from Penn State

Penn State wrestling 165-pounder Mitchell Mesenbrink. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

While Penn State wrestling underperformed based on seeding expectations in several weight classes, the program still tied another record over the weekend. The Nittany Lions became just the second team in NCAA history to have all 10 wrestlers place as All-Americans, joining 2001 Minnesota. It is now the second year in a row Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions etched their names into the record books, setting the NCAA Championship point and margin of victory records in 2024.

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