Penn State wrestling commit wins fourth state title, named most outstanding wrestler

As Penn State wrestling looks to add to its already-crowded trophy case this month, one of the Nittany Lions’ top commitments brought home some new hardware of his own over the weekend.

On Saturday, 2025 pledge PJ Duke captured the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship at 170 pounds. Winning his four duals by either tech fall or pin, Duke was also named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler.

BWR🤼: Division 1 Championship

PJ Duke from Minisink Valley(IX) is the 170lb #NYSPHSAA Champion pic.twitter.com/MyS7urmkVy

— NYSPHSAA (@NYSPHSAA) March 2, 2025

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Finishing undefeated yet again, the victory was Duke’s fourth New York state title. Committed to the Nittany Lions since September 2023, Duke is pound-for-pound the third-ranked high school wrestler in the country, according to FloWrestling. He’s ranked No. 2 in the class of 2025, trailing only fellow Penn State commit Marcus Blaze.

Together, Blaze and Duke are the tip of the spear for another dominant recruiting class for Cael Sanderson and Penn State wrestling. As of FloWrestling’s last update in December, the Nittany Lions’ top-ranked class had four commitments rated inside the top 20 nationally. All six of the program’s commitments are ranked inside the top 50.

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