Updated 4:58 p.m. March 20.
Penn State wrestling went 8-0 in quarterfinal bouts and widened its lead in the team race during the third session of the NCAA Championships on Friday afternoon in Cleveland.
No. 1 seeds Luke Lilledahl (125 pounds), Shayne Van Ness (149), PJ Duke (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), Rocco Welsh (184) and Josh Barr (197) and No. 3 seed Marcus Blaze (133) all advanced to Friday night’s semifinals and earned All-America status. True freshmen Duke and Blaze became All-Americans for the first time.
No. 9 seed Cole Mirasola (285) and No. 14 seed Braeden Davis both went 1-1 in the consolation bracket to bring their tournaments to an end.
Penn State had 105.5 team points, putting the Nittany Lions ahead their 90.5 total after three sessions a year ago when they went on to set the record of 177. Nebraska was a distant second with 66, followed by Oklahoma State with 64.5 Iowa with 50.5 and Ohio State with 44.
Duke, Haines, Barr and Mirasola earned bonus points with technical falls, while Welsh picked up bonus with an injury default win. Mesenbrink’s decision victory marked the first time all season he did not win with bonus points.
Lilledahl’s win against No. 8 seed Dean Peterson came in tiebreakers, with Lilledahl executing a rideout to secure the victory. Van Ness defeated No. 8 seed Casey Swiderski on a takedown with one second remaining in sudden victory. The Nittany Lions are now 11-2 in overtime matches this season.
Action resumes with semifinals and wrestlebacks starting at 8 p.m. Friday, with the broadcast on ESPN2
125 Pounds
No. 1 seed Luke Lilledahl and No. 8 seed Dean Peterson of Iowa were even through seven minutes, with an exchange of escapes accounting for the only scoring and Peterson using strong single leg defense to fend off multiple deep shots. Lilledahl continued to be the aggressor in sudden victory, but again Peterson fought him off, and a near takedown at the edge by the Nittany Lion sophomore came after the buzzer sounded.
Lilledahl escaped in 10 seconds to a 2-1 lead in the first tiebreaker round. In the second, Lilledahl stayed in control on top, riding out the period to claim a 2-1 decision and advance to the semifinals.
Up next: Lilledahl will face No. 5 seed Troy Spratley of Oklahoma State in the semifinals.
133 Pounds
After a scoreless first period, No. 3 seed Marcus Blaze escaped and got the bout’s first takedown against No. 6 Drake Ayala of Iowa in the second. Ayala escaped and Blaze took a 4-1 lead into the final period. The Nittany Lion true freshman maintained control from the top position for 1:38 of the final two minutes to secure riding time before Ayala escaped. Blaze gave up a point on a second stall call but came away with the 5-3 decision to advance.
Up next: Blaze gets No. 2 seed Ben Davino of Ohio State in the semifinals. Blaze defeated Davino 3-2 in tiebreakers during a February dual meet, but Davino reversed the outcome in the Big Ten finals with a 3-2 win in tiebreakers.
141 Pounds
After dropping a tough bout to Brock Hardy in the round of 16, No. 14 seed Braeden Davis opened wrestleback action with a first-period takedown of No. seed Jordan Titus of West Virginia. Titus answered with a reversal, and after a Davis escape, the Mountaineer got his first takedown. Davis escaped and the bout headed to the second period tied 2-2. The Nittany Lion junior opened the middle period with an escape, then got in on a single leg and switched to a double to take a 9-5 lead. Davis got hit with a second stall point in the third, but added riding time to secure a 10-6 decision.
In the third round of wrestlebacks, Davis and No. 11 seed CJ Composto of Penn wrestled a scoreless first period before Composto opened the second with a reversal to take a 2-0 lead. Davis escaped, but Composto scored another takedown late in the period to carry a 5-1 lead into the third. Davis escaped to start the final period but couldn’t connect for a tying takedown and saw his tournament come to an end with a 5-2 decision loss.
149 Pounds
No. 1 seed Shayne Van Ness and No. 8 seed Casey Swiderski of Oklahoma State were even after one period, and Swiderski took a 1-0 lead with an escape for the only point of the second. Van Ness reversed Swiderski to start the third, the Cowboy escaped and the bout went to sudden victory tied 2-2. In a lively sudden victory period, both wrestlers took and defended shots, until Van Ness dove in on a double leg for a takedown with one second remaining to take a 5-2 decision.
Up next: Van Ness meets No. 20 seed Chance Lamer of Nebraska in the semifinals. Van Ness previously defeated Lamer with a 12-5 decision in a January dual meet.
157 Pounds
No. 1 seed PJ Duke continued his dominant tournament with three first period take downs of No. 8 seed Brandon Cannon of Ohio State to open up a 9-2 lead. The Nittany Lion true freshman continued to pour it on with three more takedowns in the second, then finished it off early in the third with a double leg takedown for a 21-5 tech fall at 5:23. Duke now has two pins and a tech fall in his first NCAA Championships.
Up next: Duke takes on No. 5 seed Landon Robideau of Oklahoma State.
165 Pounds
No. 1 seed Mitchell Mesenbrink and No. 8 seed Bryce Hepner of North Carolina wrestled an action-filled but scoreless first 90 seconds until the bout was stopped for an apparent injury t Hepner. The ACC champion remained down on the mat for several minutes while being attended to by trainers, and a stretcher was brought out, but Hepner eventually got to his feet. The stoppage was ruled concussion protocol and the bout continued with a 0-0 tie after one.
Mesenbrink stayed in control from the top position the entire second period and turned Hepner for near fall points to take a 4-0 lead into the third. The Nittany Lion junior escaped in the final period and added a riding time point to advance with a 6-0 decision, the first time all season he did not earn bonus points.
Up next: Mesenbrink meets No. 12 seed Cesar Alvan of Columbia in the semifinals. Alvin knocked off No. 5 seed Dee Lockett in the second round and No. 4 seed Nicco Ruiz in the quarterfinals.
174 Pounds
No. 1 seed Levi Haines took control early against No. 9 seed Beau Matanona of Michigan, getting the bout’s opening takedown and turning the Wolverine for near fall points as the first period came to an end to take a 5-0 lead. A single leg takedown out of a neutral start to the second extended Haines’ lead and the Nittany Lion senior circled around for another before the period ended to move ahead 11-0. Two more takedowns in the third and and a riding time point gave Haines an 18-3 technical fall victory. Haines has two tech falls and a pin so far in his final NCAA tournament.
Up next: Haines heads to the semifinals to face No. 5 seed Patrick Kennedy of Iowa. Haines and Kennedy last met in the 2025 NCAA third-place match, which Haines won by major decision.
184 Pounds
No. 1 seed Rocco Welsh used a second-period escape and two takedowns to open up a 7-1 lead against No. 8 seed Silas Allred of Nebraska. Just over a minute into the the third period, Allred appeared to badly twist an ankle and had to limp off the mat. Welsh won by injury default to advance to the semifinals.
Up next: Welsh takes on No. 5 seed Brock Mantanona of Michigan in the semifinals. Welsh defeated Mantanona 8-5 in sudden victory in the Big Ten semifinals.
197 Pounds
No. 1 seed Josh Barr scored a takedown and turned No. 9 seed Angelo Posada of Stanford for four near fall points and a 7-0 lead after one period. The Nittany Lion sophomore turned up the offense in the second period, playing catch-and-release for four takedowns and a 19-3 technical fall. With Mesenbrink’s decision victory earlier in the round, Barr is the only remaining wrestler in the nation to have won every bout with bonus points this season.
Up next: Barr will meet No. 5 seed Joey Novak of Wyoming in the semifinals.
285 Pounds
No. 9 seed Cole Mirasola jumped out to a 12-2 lead with four first-period takedowns in the consolation second round against No. 23 seed Stephan Monchery of Appalachian State. Two more takedowns in the second gave Mirasola an 18-3 tech fall at 6:02.
In the third round of wrestlebacks, Mirasola escaped for a 1-0 lead in the second period against No. 18 seed Christian Carroll of Wyoming. Carroll got the bout’s opening takedown, but Mirasola responded with an escape and a take down of his own. Following a Carroll escape, Mirasola led 5-4 heading into the final period. Carroll tied it with an escape in the third and moved in front on a stall point, then got a final takedown to seal a 9-6 decision. The loss ended the Nittany Lion redshirt freshman’s first NCAA tournament.
