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Penn State Wrestling Nears History, and Finds Controversy, at NCAA Championships

The Nittany Lions sit on the doorstep of their fifth straight NCAA title.
Mark Wogenrich|
Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson talks to Nittany Lions wrestler PJ Duke during a match against Iowa.
Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson talks to Nittany Lions wrestler PJ Duke during a match against Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CLEVELAND | Penn State sits on the doorstep of its fifth straight title at the NCAA Wrestling Championships and can break the tournament's record for individual champions. And yet, the Nittany Lions left Rocket Arena on Friday night fuming over two contentious losses involving their fabulous freshmen.

Marcus Blaze (133 pounds) and PJ Duke (157) will wrestle for third place Saturday after getting extremely close to winning their semifinals. Both lost in the tiebreaker after hotly contested overtimes that featured one overturned takedown and another that went uncalled.

As a result, Penn State will send a record-tying six wrestlers to Saturday night's finals and sits on the doorstep of its third straight tournament scoring record. Wrestling resumes at 11 a.m. ET Saturday with the consolation rounds, where Blaze and Duke will be the center of attention.

Duke, who looked unbeatable through three rounds, lost 3-1 on a tiebreaker reversal to Oklahoma State's fifth-seeded Landon Robideau. The reversal was impressive, but the more important moment occurred in sudden victory.

Duke was awared a takedown and appeared to be securing a cradle when the official stopped the bout. That's when Oklahoma State coach David Taylor, a two-time national champ for Sanderson at Penn State, challenged the takedown. It was overturned, sending Duke and Robideau to the match to the tiebreakers.

Penn State coach Cael Sanderson and his staff were livid at the overturn, and Duke was on tilt. After giving up the reversal, he was cautioned twice for early starts in a desperate attempt to get the winning takedown. Penn State's staff continued arguing the call after the match. Sanderson did not meet with the media after the session.

Duke also did not look as healthy as the wrestler who scored two pins and 21 points in the first three rounds. He didn't have the pop in his offense and seemed to be moving gingerly.

Meanwhile at 133, Ohio State's Ben Davino defeated Blaze in a tiebreaker for the second time this season. This time, the score was 3-2, as Davino rode Blaze for the entire second tiebreaker period. Sanderson and his staff challenged the bout's end for stalling, which went uncalled. Blaze received a stalling point late in the tiebreaker, and the Penn State corner thought Davino merited another.

Neither corner was pleased with the officiating. Davino (and the crowd) was certain he had a takedown in sudden victory, which went uncalled. Ohio State challenged, but the decision was upheld. Davino referenced that moment after the match.

"They came out with a strong gameplan, but at the end of the day winners win, like I heard on the internet a couple weeks ago when I lost to him," Davino said. "But winners win. I found a way."

What to watch in the finals

Penn State Nittany Lions Luke Lilledahl has his arm raised after winning a title at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships.
Penn State Nittany Lions Luke Lilledahl has his arm raised after winning a title at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Five of Penn State's six finals are rematches, some with interesting back stories. The quirkiest is at 125, where Luke Lilledahl will face Princeton's 10th-seeded Marc-Anthony McGowan. Lilledahl won their regular-season match by default when McGowan was called for stalling five times and was disqualified.

"I need my shot at redemption," McGowan said Friday. "No matter what, I think I'm the best 125 [pounder] in the country. I have an opportunity to show that and get redemption against probably the most embarrassing match of my career. I'm excited. If there's anybody I wanted to win in the semifinals, it's him. I'm ready for it."

Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) looks to defend his NCAA title against Iowa's Mikey Caliendo, who he has beaten eight times since 2024. It's a rematch of last year's final, which Mesenbrink won 8-2. Maybe the ninth time's the charm.

Levi Haines (174) gets Nebraska's Christopher Minto in the final, which will be a tricky rematch. Minto wrestled Haines closer than anyone this season, falling 8-6 and 2-1 in their two meetings. Rocco Welsh (184) also gets a challenge vs. Minnesota's Max McEnelly, who he beat in a 2-1 tiebreaker in the Big Ten final.

Shayne Van Ness, who has wrestled a really fun tournament at 149, will face Stanford's Aden Valencia, who he beat 10-4 in December. Josh Barr, who returned to the 197-pound final, is the only Penn State finalist with a fresh opponent. He gets Oklahoma State's seventh-seeded Cody Merrill in a matchup of college wrestling's potential new rivalry.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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