Major Storm Prompts Penn State Wrestling to Reschedule Big Ten Match

Penn State's busy wrestling weekend just got a little tighter. The top-ranked Nittany Lions will wrestle two Big Ten matches in 24 hours, hoping to get them in ahead of a major storm projected to hit the East Coast on Sunday.

Penn State and Maryland announced that their Big Ten match, originally scheduled for Sunday in College Park, has been moved up to Saturday. The teams will wrestle at 5 p.m. ET at Schanwald Pavilion. The match will be streamed on B1G+.

Penn State won't have much time to prepare for the Terps, as it wrestles Indiana on Friday night in State College. That match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET start at Rec Hall. B1G+ will stream the Penn State-Indiana match as well.

B1G Schedule Change!
Our dual meet at Maryland has been moved!
Penn State is now at Maryland this SATURDAY, Jan. 24!
Dual time is 5 p.m. live on @BigTenPlus #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/fCoMUT65fx
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) January 22, 2026

According to AccuWeather, the "biggest snowstorm in years" is projected to "stall daily life for days in large portions of the central and eastern U.S." AccuWeather forecasts 6-12 inches of snow across the storm, with some areas getting pummeled by up to 24-30 inches.

The top-ranked Nittany Lions haven't faced much duress so far this season as they pursue a fifth consecutive NCAA team title. Penn State (9-0) brings an NCAA-record 80-match win streak into the weekend against Indiana and Maryland. The Nittany Lions have dominated opponents in a season that just might top last year.

Penn State has outscored its dual-match opponents by a combined score of 381-19 this season. That includes five shutouts, two in the Big Ten. Penn State won two road matches last weekend, over fourth-ranked Iowa and Northwestern, by a combined score of 83-3.

The Nittany Lions are outscoring opponents by an average margin of 40.2 points per match. No opponent has won more than two bouts against the Nittany Lions, who have a combined 84-6 record in individual matches. Penn State has won 29 of 30 bouts in three Big Ten matches.

Six Penn State wrestlers are ranked No. 1 nationally at their weight classes, according to InterMat Wrestling, and all 10 starters rank in the top 12. Three of the top four contenders for the Hodge Trophy are Nittany Lions, according to Wrestlestat, with defending national champ Mitchell Mesenbrink (165 pounds) topping the list.

This week, two Penn State wrestlers earned Big Ten honors. Rocco Welsh (197) was named the conference's wrestler of the week after going 2-0 with a win over former No. 1 Angelo Ferrari of Iowa. Heavyweight Cole Mirasola was named the freshman of the week after defeating former No. 5 Ben Kueter of Iowa.

"We have a special thing going here," Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said at his weekly media availability in State College. "Kids know that, they see that. I think I have a pretty good idea of what we’re doing and what we’re not doing.

In this NIL era and all the different motivaitons to go to different programs, our kids know they're coming here because they want to be the best wrestlers they can possibly be."

Penn State has two big home matches upcoming. The Nittany Lions will host sixth-ranked Nebraska on Jan. 30 at the Bryce Jordan Center and No. 2 Ohio State on Feb. 13. Penn State also will host the 2025 Big Ten Wrestling Championships on March 7-8 at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Cael Sanderson watches his team wrestle the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

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