Penn State Is on the Verge of a Major College Wrestling Record

The Nittany Lions will compete at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals with a chance to break Oklahoma State's Division I win-streak record.

Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson watches during the third session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Penn State can make NCAA Division I wrestling history this weekend at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals, though head coach Cael Sanderson isn't interested in talking about it. Still, it would be an impressive feat of winning longevity.

The top-ranked Nittany Lions enter the weekend tournament in Nashville riding a 75-match win streak. They will wrestle a pair of matches vs. North Dakota State and Stanford beginning at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday. If they win both, the Nittany Lions will claim the longest win streak in major college wrestling history.

Penn State is one match behind Oklahoma State, whose 76-match win streak has held as the Division I men's record since 1951. Asked about potentially breaking that mark, Sanderson barely even acknowledged it.

"I don't know," Sanderson told reporters in State College on Monday at his weekly media availability. "We're just trying to get better and just trying to make progress as the year goes on as a team obviously. But we compete as individuals, so that's kind of what we're looking it. Just looking forward to a couple more fun matches."

The record Penn State can break

Jason Bryant of Mat Talk Online has compiled an exhaustive list of records at his site, including the top win streaks in college wrestling history. Here's a condensed look at the list and where Penn State stands.

Team	Consecutive Wins	Years Recorded	Division
Grand View	117	2013-22	NAIA
SUNY Delhi	92	1979-83	NJCAA
St. Cloud State	77	2017-22	NCAA Division II
Oklahoma State	76	1937-51	NCAA Division I
Oklahoma City	76	2008-12	NAIA Women
Penn State	75	2020-present	NCAA Division I
Iowa	69	2007-11	NCAA Division I
Oklahoma State	69	1996-99	NCAA Division I
Oklahoma State	69	1921-32	NCAA Division I

The Nittany Lions passed Iowa and two Oklahoma State runs of 69 consecutive wins last season, when they went 15-0 and won a fourth consecutive NCAA championship. Penn State has not lost a dual meet since Jan. 31, 2020, when Iowa visited State College for a No. 1 vs. No. 2 match.

Penn State, which was ranked second, took a 17-13 lead at 184 pounds, where ninth-ranked Aaron Brooks defeated No. 6 Abe Assad 7-3. But the Hawkeyes won the last two bouts by decision for the 19-17 victory in front of nearly 15,000 fans at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Penn State began the win streak two days later with a 40-3 victory over Maryland. That win also began Penn State's 42-match Big Ten win streak.

The Nittany Lions have a long way to go to break the all-time college wrestling record for consecutive wins, though. According to Mat Talk Online, that belongs to the Grand View Vikings of Iowa, who won 117 consecutive matches.

FloWrestling is scheduled to broadcast the Journeymen Collegiate Duals on Saturday from Nashville.

Penn State wrestling injury updates

Josh Barr of the Penn State Nittany Lions wrestles Stephen Buchanan of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the NCAA Wrestling Championships. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Sanderson offered a positive update on Josh Barr, the returning NCAA runnerup at 197 pounds who has not wrestled yet this season. Sanderson said that Barr will travel with the team to Nashville, though he didn't say whether Barr would wrestle.

Barr has been off the mat since sustaining a rib injury at the U23 World Championships in October. As a result, he is unranked so far this season. In Barr's absence, Connor Mirasola went 6-0 and rose to eighth nationally before losing to fourth-ranked Joey Novak of Wyoming last weekend.

Sanderson also said that Aaron Nagao (141) wrestled Monday and is "working his way back" after getting injured at the Army West Point Invitational in late November. Nagao is 4-1 and ranked No. 7, according to InterMat Wrestling.

A freshman proves his versatility

Nate Desmond with the 11-4 win up at 141!
Penn State 14, Wyoming 0#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/M6qCWXXMaW

— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) December 14, 2025

Penn State intends to redshirt freshman Nate Desmond this season but is giving him multiple opportunities to compete. Desmond has made the most of them.

In November, Desmond upset teammate Luke Lilledahl 5-3 in the 125-pound final of the Army West Point Invitational. It was a surprising win, as Lilledahl placed third at NCAAs last season and is ranked second at the weight class this season.

Then last weekend, Desmond wrestled up two weight classes at 141 and scored an 11-4 decision at Wyoming. The freshman weighed in at 138 pounds, and Sanderson said that he could wrestle at any of the three lower-weight classes. Though he will redshirt, Desmond is making an impact in Penn State's lineup.

"As a redshirt, you want to get him matches and get him ready to go," Sanderson said. "Obviously he's a guy we're counting on in the future, and he's got a great future ahead of him."

Watch Sanderson's full media availability, courtesy of the Locked on Nittany Lions site.

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