'We Want to Beat Them.' How Penn State Fuels the NCAA Wrestling Pack

The Nittany Lions can win their fifth straight team title at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling coach Cael Sanderson (center) watches his team wrestle the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

CLEVELAND | They're all chasing Penn State this weekend at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, which Ohio State coach Tom Ryan called a good thing.

"I think everyone in life needs something to chase and pursue," Ryan said before the tournament began Thursday at Rocket Arena. "I think it's just part of the way we're wired, to chase and pursue. And Penn State has provided something for every Division I program to chase and pursue. And that's really important."

They're likely to continue chasing Penn State at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships, where the only wager available regarding Penn State is who finishes second to the team. With seven No. 1 seeds and six undefeated wrestlers, the Nittany Lions are preparing to win their fifth straight NCAA team title at 13th in coach Cael Sanderson's 17 seasons.

Some of the nation's top wrestlers will crash Penn State's individual party, though the team race will be for second. So before the tournament began, Ryan and Oklahoma State coach David Taylor discussed what it will take to catch Penn State. Eventually.

'We want to beat them'

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Levi Haines raises the championship belt after winning the team title at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Ohio State was undefeated and ranked No. 2 when it visited Penn State for a Big Ten dual in February to decided the regular-season title. Without their full lineup, the Buckeyes won one bout and fell 26-5, though several individual matches were tight. Ryan said that Ohio State will keep pursuing Penn State.

"But I think what's equally or more important is to make sure that every individual in your organization, every student-athlete is guided in a way to help them achieve the best version of what they're capable of," Ryan said. "And if that means that we chase down Penn State and beat them at some point, fantastic. If that means it's not going to happen, that's the way it goes. That's how I feel at this point about leading Ohio State. We want to beat them. The plan is to beat them."

Ryan noted the role NIL and donors play in his "vision" for the program but added that he wants to ensure Ohio State runs "in a fair manner, that we do things the right way."

"Obviously Cael's done an amazing job at Penn State," Ryan said. "And we're excited about the possibility, year in, year out, of getting back on top as we were in '15 [as national champions]."

'We're trying to have 10 national champions'

Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling coach David Taylor gestures during a college wrestling dual vs. the Iowa State Cyclones at Gallagher-Iba Arena. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Before the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships, the college game's elite talent wondered aloud what it might take to beat Penn State. "It's a dynasty," said former Missouri wrestler Keegan O'Toole, who compared Penn State wrestling to Alabama football's heyday. Former Minnesota heavyweight Gable Steveson called the Nittany Lions' success "mind-boggling."

"What Cael has done for the program is mind-boggling," Steveson said in Philadelphia. "Seeing a coach bring a group of guys together and dominate a collegiate sport is just crazy. It reminds me of Alabama football or Coach K [Mike Krzyzewski] at Duke in basketball, just taking over the game and running with it. ... And I think they’re looking to break the team point record again this year, which is going to be a crazy thing. If they can keep doing that, that's a cool thing."

Like Ryan, Oklahoma State coach David Taylor wants to loosen Penn State's grip on NCAA wrestling. A two-time NCAA champ at Penn State, Taylor left State College in 2024 to become the Cowboys' head coach. Oklahoma State enters NCAAs ranked third nationally, according to InterMat Wrestling, and as one of Penn State's prime future challengers.

"I think, what are we doing the sport for?" Taylor said Wednesday before the tournament began. "We're trying to prepare for the national tournament. We're trying to have 10 national champions. You're trying to be national champions as a team. That's the pinnacle of what you're doing."

"There's always going to be obstacles in the way. What are those obstacles going to be? They're going to change. It's a moving target. What we can focus on is helping our guys, like coach [Ryan] said, be the best versions of themselves. That's the most important thing."

Taylor framed his vision away from Sanderson and Penn State, saying that he's said that he's
"not laser focused on one individual or one individual program." But Penn State certainly looms as a hill to climb.

"We sit down at the end of the year and [the wrestlers] tell us what they want," Taylor said. "In the recruiting process, these kids tell us what they want. Okay, well, then we're going to help you do those things.

"And that's competition. We want to compete at the highest level. That's what we're signing up to do. We want to do something that's exciting, competing at the national tournament that's exciting. Competing in a competitive team race, that's exciting. That's what drives people to become better versions of themselves."

Wrestlers practice before the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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