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What We Learned From Penn State Wrestling's Standout Performance at Final X

The Nittany Lion Wrestling Club qualified five wrestlers to the Senior World Championships.
Mark Wogenrich|
Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Marcus Blaze celebrates after a win at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena.
Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Marcus Blaze celebrates after a win at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Marcus Blaze looked inspired, Zain Retherford looked rejuvenated and Levi Haines looked like a potential world champion Friday at Final X, where Penn State wrestling stole another show. Five of the 10 qualifiers to the U.S. Senior men's freestyle team represent the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, which had another marvelous event.

Blaze, Retherford and Haines, all of whom wrestled for Cael Sanderson at Penn State, advanced to the 2026 Senior World Championships in Kazakhstan, where they will be joined by ageless NLWC wrestlers Kyle Synder and Kyle Dake. Before looking ahead to Senior Worlds, let's unpack what we saw from Penn State and the NLWC at Final X.

The Nittany Lion Wrestling Club reigns again

In between Penn State's fourth and fifth consecutive NCAA wrestling titles, the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club claimed 15 of the 30 spots on the U20, U23 and Senior world teams in 2025. That inclulded three wrestlers on the Senior team.

The NLWC went further this year, earning five of the 10 spots on the U.S. men's freestyle team. Snyder qualified for his ninth Senior World event, bouncing back from his first loss to a U.S. wrestler in 10 years to defeat Stephen Buchanan in their best-of-three series at 97 kg. Dake made his sixth U.S. team at a third different weight class, rallying from an opening-match loss to beat defending world champ Zahid Valencia at 86 kg.

Retherford is now a three-time world qualifier, Haines made his second world team and Blaze became a first-time Senior World qualifier with an impressive performance in one of the most-anticipated series at Final X.

Marcus Blaze meets the moment

During the FloWrestling coverage of Final X, Jordan Burroughs called Blaze a "grand master" of freestyle. That was clear in Blaze's decisive 5-2 win over Oklahoma State's Jax Forrest in Round 3 of their 61 kg final.

After winning the opener, Blaze got turned for a four-point move to lose Round 2. And he gave up a passivity point in each match to fall behind 1-0. But Blaze never wavered off his plan and struck at just the right moment in Round 3 for the takedown that got him to Kazakhstan.

After the takedown, Forrest paused on the mat momentarily, possibly expecting a stoppage, but Blaze kept wrestling. He turned Forrest for two more critical points to seal the win.

Blaze and Forrest didn't wrestle in the 133-pound bracket at NCAAs, where Forrest won gold and Blaze finished fourth. But Blaze now has a Final X win over Forrest along with a 2024 victory at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Forrest might have the folkstyle edge, but Blaze is a master of freestyle.

Levi Haines is a title contender

Fresh off his second NCAA title, Haines has pivoted smoothly to freestyle. He followed dominant performances at the U.S. Open and Pan American Championships with a sweep of Chance Marsteller 6-3 and 6-1 at 79 kg.

Haines controlled the offense in both matches to make his second Senior World team and should be the weight class' favorite in Kazakhstan. Haines won silver at 79 kg last year, falling to Georgios Kougioumtsidis of Greece in the final.

Kougioumtsidis is competing in Europe at 86 kg this year, and Haines now is ranked No. 1 at 79 kg, according to FloWrestling. He'll head to Senior Worlds with a new boost of confidence.

Zain Retherford is back

Retherford made his first world team since 2023 with a 2-0 sweep of Ridge Lovett at 70 kg. The three-time NCAA champ at Penn State looked particularly strong during an 8-2 win in Round 2.

Until the World Team Trials Challenge earlier this year, Retherford had not competed on this freestyle stage since the 2024 Olympics. He was forced to withdraw from the Paris Games because of concussion symptoms.

But Retherford looked even better in Round 2 against Lovett than he did in Round 1, a positive sign for his progress toward worlds.

Luke Lilledahl needs time to catch Spencer Lee

Lee, a 2024 Olympics silver medalist, wore sleeves on his right knee and right elbow. He looked dazed in Round 2 after butting heads with Lilledahl in their 57 kg final. And he walked off the mat unevenly after his win.

But in between, Lee proved that he remains the top wrestler in this weight class. Lee swept Lilledahl for the second straight year at Final X, scoring 7-1 and 8-4 victories. Lilledahl jumped out to a 4-0 lead in Round 2 on Friday, but Lee methodically scored the next eight points for the win.

Lilledahl, the defending NCAA champ at 125 pounds, is the first U.S. men's wrestler to win gold at the U17, U20 and U23 worlds. The rising junior already a freestyle star, with a win over Lee at the U.S. Open, and has a long career ahead of him.

Lilledahl could challenge Lee for the 57 kg bid to the 2028 Olympics. But for now, Lee maintains his hold on the weight class.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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