Penn State's Mitchell Mesenbrink Wins Hodge Trophy After Calling it 'Opinionated'

Penn State's Mitchell Mesenbrink won the Hodge Trophy as the nation's most dominant college wrestler, an award he called "opinionated" during the NCAA Wrestling Championships. However, the two-time NCAA champ left no doubt this season, dominating the ballot with 61of 65 first-place votes.

Mesenbrink, who defended his NCAA title at 165 pounds, also claimed nearly 68 percent of the fan voting, according to Win Magazine, which presents the award. Oklahoma State freshman Jax Forrest, the 133-pound champ, placed second, and Penn State's Josh Barr (197) was third.

At the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Mesenbrink downplayed the importance of winning the Hodge Trophy, which is voted upon by a committee of former coaches and media as well as via fans. He also referenced two-time winner Ben Askren, a mentor with whom Mesenbrink has trained in Wisconsin.

"I like wrestling because, for the most part, I can keep pretty much everybody else's opinion out of it," Mesenbrink said after his semifinal victory at NCAAs. "That's how I wrestle too, so the refs don't have to go, 'Oh, is it takedown or not?' I am going to make sure it's there.

"The Hodge is such an opinionated thing, such a futile kind of thing at the end of the day that people vote on. I'm not going to put my hope or well being into something that people are going to vote and think about.

"It's a cool thing, but ... even when they crown the Hodge trophy, then they're going to be talking about who's going to get it the next time. It's just like we're talking about things that come and go, collect dust. Ben has one at [the Askren Wrestling Academy] back in Wisconsin, and all the arms are snapped off it because all the kids that come to AWA play with it. I think that's a good representation of what trophies do. They just sit, wear, and collect dust."

Mitchell Mesenbrink is DIFFERENT. He put on a takedown clinic to earn a tech fall in the NCAA finals over Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo#NCAAs coverage presented by @CKAwrestling pic.twitter.com/rFJJw33T3R
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) March 26, 2026

Mesenbrink went 27-0 this season with 25 bonus-point wins, including one forfeit during the regular season. He won only one bout by a regular decision, 6-0 over North Carolina's Bryce Hepner in the NCAA quarterfinals.

Mesenbrink finished with eight pins and 11 technical falls, including a title-clinching 20-4 win over Iowa's Mikey Caliendo. The win was Mesenbrink's ninth over Caliendo in the past three seasons, and Caliendo's decision not to shake Mesenbrink's hand on the podium produced a viral moment.

Thoughts on Mikey Caliendo not shaking Mitchell Mesenbrink’s hand on the podium.#FRL presented by @athleteps pic.twitter.com/KmG6AvYjh8
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) March 23, 2026

Mesenbrink became the sixth Penn State wrestler to win the Hodge Trophy and second in three years. Aaron Brooks won in 2024 after becoming a four-time national champion. Zain Retherford and David Taylor were two-time Hodge winners at Penn State.

Mesenbrink was among four Penn State wrestlers who finished the season as unbeaten national champions. He returns for one more season with the program's highest career winning percentage (98.8 percent) and the chance to become a three-time national champion. He also seeks to lead Penn State to its sixth straight NCAA team title.

Yet after winning his title in Cleveland, Mesenbrink sought to put his entire weekend, and season, into perspective.

"I know that when I look back on these times with this past year, I know it won't be anything
about bonus points or winning," he said. "It will be about sitting in my hotel room with my dad and my mom and my siblings.

"Yesterday we talked about adversity, and this year hasn't been easy at all, like I said. And I think that's when you need to pull those people that are closest to you and that God's pulling into your
life. I just really love and appreciate those people that I know God sent into my life, maybe pulled out of my life, too.

"I'm just really appreciative of God and those people that continue to support me and love me for I know who I am and not what I do. So if nothing went my way this weekend, I know those people that were with me are going to be there today as well."

Mitchell Mesenbrink explains how wrestling is an art form in a very personal pre-finals press conference question and answer.

Coverage of the #NCAAs presented by @CKAwrestling pic.twitter.com/qWgKT2ZsYN
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) March 21, 2026

For more on Mesenbrink's Hodge Trophy win, check out the Win Magazine story.

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