Penn State wrestling: True freshman rockets up national rankings after hot start to Nittany Lion career

Penn State wrestling kicked off its National Championship defense with a dominant 41-3 dual win over Drexel two weeks ago and a strong performance at the Black Knight Invitational last weekend. While Cael Sanderson is leaning on defending national champions and veterans to bring the title back to State College, there is a group of freshmen that could give this year’s team a chance to break records at the NCAA Championships. Leading the way is true freshman Luke Lilledahl, who is already showing his potential and rocketing up the rankings following a strong Black Knight invitational performance.

Lilledahl moves into the top 20 following Black Knight Invitational

Luke Lilledahl was the No. 1 overall recruit for the class of 2024 when he stepped on campus this fall. With such lofty expectations surrounding him, many feel Lilledahl could be an All-American or even national title contender this season.

After entering the rankings at No. 33 with a forfeit win in the Drexel dual, Lilledahl made the biggest jump of the season for any Penn State wrestler, now up to No. 16 in the latest 125-pound rankings from InterMat.

The true freshman is now officially 3-0 on the season, not including an 8-2 decision over Nittany Lion teammate Kurt McHenry. Both of Lilledahl’s wins were 19-4 technical falls.

Freshman can keep moving up with opportunities in upcoming Penn State wrestling duals

While competing in the Big Ten can be extremely difficult in some weight classes, it also provides plenty of opportunity and experience for the NCAA Championships. Add in a few tough non-conference duals, and a true freshman like Luke Lilledahl will be battle-tested when March rolls around.

As the rankings currently stand, Lilledahl will face three top-ten opponents this season: No. 7 Jore Volk (Wyoming), No. 2 Caleb Smith (Nebraska), and No. 10 Brendan McCrone (Ohio State). Eight of the 14 duals he will most likely participate in this season will feature a ranked opponent.

The next two duals will tell us much about where exactly Lilledahl stacks up against the rest of his weight class. If he can take down No. 15 Sheldon Seymour of Lehigh on the road and No. 7 Jore Volk of Wyoming at home, the two victories will propel him into the top ten and potentially even the top five.

Cael Sanderson has to like what he has seen from his 125-pounder early on in the Penn State wrestling season. We are just a few weeks away from discovering how plausible a National Championship is for Lilledahl in year one.

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