Two-time NCAA Champion, MMA star picks only one Penn State title winner at NCAAs

Penn State wrestling has been the standard of the sport for well over a decade. Cael Sanderson has turned the program into an absolute machine, winning 11 of the past 13 national championships. Over that time, Nittany Lion wrestlers have gobbled up individual titles, with the program often having multiple competitors finishing atop the podium each March.

Once again, Penn State has multiple top seeds heading into this week’s NCAA Championships. However, two-time NCAA Champion and MMA star Ben Askren only has one Nittany Lion returning from Philadelphia with a title.

Appearing recently on FloWrestling Radio Live to give his predictions for the national tournament, Askren picked 165-pound star and former Askren Academy standout Mitchell Mesenbrink as the only Penn State wrestler to win an individual championship.

Askren wasn’t hesitant to pick against Penn State. However, he did note that several Nittany Lions were close runner-ups, such as Tyler Kasak at 157 pounds.

How often has Penn State wrestling had only one national champion?

Having only one wrestler win a national title has been a rarity for Penn State under Cael Sanderson. In Sanderson’s 14 seasons in Happy Valley, the feat has only happened three times: 2010, 2011, and 2015. While 2010 and 2011 were Sanderson’s first two seasons at Penn State, 2015 was the famous punt year where he redshirted Bo Nickal, Jason Nolf, and Zain Retherford to help set up for a four-year championship run.

This year, Penn State wrestling heads to Philadelphia with four No. 1 seeds and nine wrestlers ranked inside the top four of their respective weight classes. The team is projected to smash the points record set by last season’s squad. The Nittany Lions would get within 10-20 points of the record if seeding holds, not including the usually high amount of bonus points collected throughout the tournament’s multiple rounds.

The NCAA Championships will kick off with Session 1 starting at 12:00 p.m. on ESPNU. The Finals will take place at 7:00 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.

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.