Live Updates From Day 1 of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships

Penn State wrestling's next major moment has arrived. The 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships get underway Thursday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, where the Nittany Lions will pursue their fifth consecutive team title and 13th in the past 17 seasons.

Further, this Penn State team seeks to stamp its legacy as perhaps coach Cael Sanderson's most successful of his 17 years with the program. Seven Nittany Lions are seeded first at their weight classes, six are undefeated and the entire lineup looks to become the first in NCAA history to go back-to-back with 10 All-Americans.

We''ll be covering the action live from Cleveland, so follow along Thursday from the opening two sessions. To get ready, check out our predictions for each weight class, Penn State's top storylines at nationals and the broadcast and streaming schedule for the week. Also, if you're probably out of luck if you want to bet on Penn State. But fans can wager on who places second to the Nittany Lions.

Wrestlers practice before the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Rocco Welsh gets to his offense

Penn State's top seed at 184 said after the Big Ten Championships that he needed to open up offensively. Welsh (21-0) converted six takedowns into a 19-4 technical fall over Utah Valley's Caleb Uhlenhopp for the Nittany Lions' fourth tech of the opening round. Welsh's win began extending Penn State's lead in the team standings (19-12.5 over Ohio State).

Levi Haines wastes no time

Haines, Penn State's top seed at 174, isn't here to savor his final NCAA Tournament. The senior needed just 1:33 to clinch a first-period fall over Bellarmine's Grant O'Dell. Haines scored a takedown 1:05 into the period and took it from there. The fall was Penn State's second of the opening round.

Mitchell Mesenbrink begins title defense

Mesenbrink, the undefeated defending champ at 165 pounds, wrestles every bout with the same relentlessness. He scored a takedown 6 seconds into the opener vs. Drexel's Cody Welsh, spinning that into a second-period technical fall. Mesenbrink scored five takedowns in the first period and completed the 21-5 tech in the second with a whirring single-leg takedoen.

PJ Duke dominates opener

Duke, voted the outstanding wrestler of the Big Ten Championships, kept his streak rolling. The top-seeded freshman scored three first-period takedowns before clinching a fall over Morgan State's Yannis Charles. The pin was Duke's ninth of the season and Penn State's first at NCAAs.

No scoring problems for Shayne Van Ness

Penn State's No. 1 seed at 149 got some offensive work in the first round, scoring a 19-4 technical fall over Brown's Austin McBurney. Van Ness hit four second-period takedowns and finished the tech 35 seconds into the third. Van Ness looked lively and aggressive in his opener, getting Penn State off to a 4-0 start.

Van Ness also gave Penn State its first lead (8-7 over Oklahoma State) of the three-day tournament. The Cowboys' David Taylor and Ohio State's Tom Ryan talked before NCAAs about what it will take to beat Penn State.

A grinding start for Braeden Davis

Davis, seeded 14th at 141, needed 7 grueling minutes to secure a 2-0 win over Utah Valley's Haiden Drury. Davis did so with a strong second-period ride and third-period escape. He got into a bit of a late scramble but avoided real trouble to advance. Davis gets a big rematch in the second round vs. Nebraska's Brock Hardy, who pinned him during the regular season in bout that ended with some saltiness.

Luke Lilledahl opens with a major decision

Lilledahl, the No. 1 seed at 125, cracked open his offense in the third period, scoring a pair of takedowns for an11-2 win over Missouri's Mack Mauger. Lilledahl (21-0) needed a period to get into the tournament but looked comfortable with two quick moves in the third. Lilledahl gets West Viginia's 17th-ranked Jack Strickenberger in Thursday night's second round.

Marcus Blaze gets Penn State started with a tech

Starting us off STRONG 💪

Ohio native Marcus Blaze moves on to the second round with a 17-2 TF! #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/XM3S0hJ08A
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 19, 2026

Blaze, Penn State's No. 3 seed at 133 pounds, looked more likely on offense in opener against Oregon State's Gabe Whisenhunt. Blaze put together an excepetional second period, scoring 11 points in a 17-2 technical fall.

Blaze (22-1) got into an athletic scramble with Whisenhunt, from which he emerged with a seven-point move. Blaze took care of the technical with a third-period takedown, his fourth of the bout.

Penn State eases into the day

The Nittany Lions' seven top seeds must wade through the Session 1's preliminary bouts to get their first-round matchups. Luke Lilledahl (125) is scouting Missouri's Mack Mauger, who won his opener 4-1. Defending 125-pound champ Vincent Robinson of NC State advanced in his opener, as did Lehigh's Sheldon Seymour, who defeated Lilledahl last season.

Another perfect first day?

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling coach Cael Sanderson reacts during Big Ten Wrestling Championships. — Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling coach Cael Sanderson reacts during the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State's opening day of the 2025 NCAA Tournament went better than even the team expected. The Nittany Lions went a perfect 20-0 in qualifying its entire lineup to the quarterfinals. The win sheet included seven technical falls.

How to stop the Penn State juggernaut?

The Penn State wrestling team celebrates winning the team title at the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships. | Mark Wogenrich/Penn State on SI

Penn State enters NCAAs following its most statistically dominant season of the past five. The Nittany Lions went 15-0, shutting out eight opponents and outscoring their schedule 630-39. They won seven individual titles at the Big Ten Championships and would have won the finals had it been scored as a dual match.

Which prompted the question Wednesday in Cleveland, "How do you beat these guys?" Ohio State's Tom Ryan answered like this.

"I think everyone in life needs something to chase and pursue," Ryan said. "I think it's just part of the way we're wired, to chase and pursue. And Penn State has provided something for every Division I program to chase and pursue. And that's really important.

"But I think what's equally or more important is to make sure that every individual in your organization, every student-athlete is guided in a way to help them achieve the best version of what they're capable of. And if that means that we chase down Penn State and beat them at some point, fantastic. If that means it's not going to happen, that's the way it goes. That's how I feel at this point about leading Ohio State. We want to beat them. The plan is to beat them."

"... Obviously Cael's done an amazing job at Penn State. And we're excited about the possibility, year in, year out, of getting back on top as we were in '15."

Sign up to our free Penn State Nittany Lions newsletter and follow us on social media.