Penn State Wrestling's Cole Mirasola Dominates at U23 Pan American Championships

Penn State wrestling heavyweight Cole Mirasola dominated his weight class at the U23 Pan American Championships, winning one of nine titles for Team USA at the event in Peru. Mirasola joined brother Connor in scoring a major freestyle victory this spring.

Cole Mirasola wrestled only one close bout at the U23 Pan American Championships, winning his first-round match 4-1 over Leonardo Guerrero Aviles of Mexico in the round-robin format. After that, Mirasola outscored his opponents in the 125 kg weight class by a combined 32-1 with three technical falls.

Mirasola's most impressive victory was a 12-1 technical fall over Canada's Jorawar Dhinsa, who placed second at the Senior Pan American Championships to former NCAA champ Wyatt Hendrickson.

Cole Mirasola continued his successful freestyle career at the Pan American Championships. He and Connor both won bronze medals at the 2025 U20 World Championships. Last year, the Mirasola brothers both won gold medals at the U20 Pan American Championships, also held in Peru. Cole Mirasola swept the 125 kg division with three first-period technical falls.

Cole was the first-year starting heavyweight last season for Penn State, which won its fifth straight NCAA team title. Mirasola finished the season 19-8, going 2-2 in his first appearance at the NCAA Championships.

Despite wrestling as a lighter heavyweight, often weighing in at less than 230 pounds, Cole Mirasola placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships and scored decisions over six ranked wrestlers during the regular season. Mirasola said before the season that he often struggled to gain and maintain weight.

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Cole Mirasola (left) competes against Iowa's Ben Kueter at the Big Ten Championships. — Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Cole Mirasola (left) competes against Iowa's Ben Kueter at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Cole Mirasola might have competition at heavyweight next season — from his brother. Cole and Connor, who will be redshirt sophomores for the Nittany Lions, have wrestled at diffferent weight classes in their two years with the program. Cole has wrestled at heavyweight, while Connor has competed at 197.

But this offseason, Connor moved up to 125 kg, or heavyweight, in freestyle competition. And he won the heavyweight title at the U23 Nationals in late May. Connor Mirasola outlasted Virginia Tech heavyweight Jimmy Mullen in the best-of-three series final to claim the U23 national championship and most likely earn the spot on the U.S. U23 world team.

Connor Mirasola went 6-1 at 197 pounds for the Nittany Lions last season and substituted for Josh Barr when the eventual national champion was injured early in the year. Connor held the lineup spot well, going 3-1 with a 13-3 decision over then-No. 8 DJ Parker in Penn State's season-opening win over Oklahoma. Penn State recognized Connor as its male athlete of the week for the performance.

Penn State doesn't have a lot of competitive spots in its projected 2027 lineup, though heavyweight now could be one of them. Especially if Connor continues continues to wrestle at heavyweight after the U23 Worlds in October in Las Vegas.

Cael Sanderson's team brings an NCAA-record 86-match win streak into the 2026-27 season and will seek it sixth consecutive NCAA team title. The Nittany Lions return three undefeated national champs and eight All-Americans to a roster that might be even better next season.

Mirasola takes home the hardware 🥇 #USAWrestling #U23Nationals2026 #U20WTT2026 pic.twitter.com/TLA4FYikBZ
— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) May 31, 2026

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