Penn State wrestling: True freshman on verge of top 10 after sweep at Journeymen

Luke Lilledahl has slowly but steadily been climbing up the rankings since joining the Penn State wrestling program this fall. The true freshman and former No. 1 overall recruit has yet to lose this season and has been wrestling himself into contention for an All-American postseason, if not more. After a strong showing at the Journeyman Collegiate Wrestling Duals, Lilledahl is now knocking on the door of the top 10 in the 125-pound rankings.

The Nittany Lion newcomer moved up one spot in this week’s rankings released by InterMat and now sits at No. 11. After starting the year unproven and unranked, Lilledahl rocketed into the top 20 within the first month of his freshman campaign.

Passing Cornell’s Greg Diakomihalis, Lilledahl is now just one spot away from entering the top 10 for the first time in his Penn State wrestling career. Lilledahl went 3-0 at the Journeymen Duals last weekend, earning three unranked wins over Binghamton’s Carson Wagner (19-4 tech fall), Little Rock’s Jaden Carson (9-3 decision), and Missouri’s Gage Walker (5-4 decision).

The road ahead for Penn State wrestling’s standout true freshman

In the nine remaining duals this season, Luke Lilledahl will only face three ranked opponents based on the current InterMat rankings.

The January 17 road matchup in Lincoln, Nebraska, will provide the biggest test of the regular season against No. 5 Caleb Smith. The Cornhuskers’ 125-pounder is currently 11-2, with his only losses coming via a 2-0 decision to Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) and a 3-2 decision in TB1 against No. 4 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech). The matchup could be Lilledahl’s biggest resume builder of the season before heading into the Big Ten Championships, which will feature the other top wrestlers at the weight class, such as No. 1 Matt Ramos (Purdue) and No. 9 Cooper Flynn (Minnesota).

The other two ranked opponents in the dual season will be No. 18 Dean Peterson (Rutgers) and No. 28 Joey Cruz (Iowa). Lilledahl should be favored in both matchups. However, facing an experienced Peterson on the road could be a bout to watch.

The true freshman has had some close wins against lower-level competition while working through the early portion of the Penn State wrestling schedule. But at the end of the day, Lilledahl has done everything that Cael Sanderson has asked of him and is projected to get points at 125 pounds come March, something that until last year had been a consistent question mark for the Nittany Lions.

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