Penn State Wrestlers Mitchell Mesenbrink, Luke Lilledahl Dominate at U.S. Open

Mesenbrink and Lilledahl win Senior National freestyle titles, and Mesenbrink is named the event's Most Exciting Wrestler.

Mitchell Mesenbrink of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates a win against Michael Caliendo of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Four members of the Penn State wrestling team won titles at the 2025 U.S. Open Championships, with two moving a step closer to qualifying for the Senior World Championships. In all, 10 current and former Penn State and Nittany Lion Wrestling Club athletes won five titles and earned eight top-five finishes at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas.

Penn State's Mitchell Mesenbrink and Luke Lilledahl won Senior freestyle titles at the U.S. Open to earn invitations to Final X, scheduled for June 14 in Newark, N.J. Final X will determine the U.S. team that will compete at the 2025 World Wrestling Championships in Croatia.

Mesenbrink, who won the NCAA title at 165 pounds, was dominant in claiming the Senior freestyle title at 74 kg. Mesenbrink was named the Most Exciting Wrestler at the U.S. Open, where he went 5-0 with five technical falls. That included a 16-6 win over David Carr, a 2024 NCAA champion.

Lilledahl, a true freshman who placed third at 125 pounds in his first NCAA Championships, swept the 57 kg weight class by going 4-0 with three technical falls. That included a 10-0, first-period tech over Liam Cronin in the final. Lilledahl will face Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee for the 57 kg title at Final X.

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Penn State's twin freshmen, Connor and Cole Mirasola, won titles in the U20 age group. Connor Mirasola, who wrestles at 197 pounds for the Nittany Lions, raced through the 92 kg weight class with five wins, four by technical fall. Cole Mirasola, Penn State's most likely starting heavyweight next season, went 5-0 with three technical falls to claim the title at 125 kg.

Kyle Snyder, a three-time world champ who competes for the NLWC, rolled into Final X with four technical falls at 97 kg. Fellow NLWC member Kyle Dake placed second at 88 kg. Former Nittany Lion Beau Bartlett, who placed third at NCAAs, finished fifth at 65 kg at the U.S. Open.

Penn State freshman Joe Sealey was the U20 runner-up at 74 kg, scoring five consecutive technical falls before falling 5-2 in the final. Penn State assistant coach Casey Cunningham was recognized as the USA Wrestling freestyle coach of the year.