Penn State wrestling clinched its 12th NCAA team championship in program history on Friday night in Kansas City.
The title is Penn State’s 11th in 13 seasons, all under coach Cael Sanderson, and the Nittany Lions’ third in a row.
Penn State sealed the championship with another day still to go during the semifinals when Carter Starocci defeated Shane Griffith of Michigan to earn a spot in the 174 pound final.
The Nittany Lions finished the night with 148 team points for a whopping 83.5-point lead over second-place Michigan.
The NCAA Championships point record of 170, set by Iowa in 1997, is within striking distance for Penn State, which will have six wrestlers in the finals.
Penn State entered the fourth session of the NCAA Championships with all 10 wrestlers still competing, including six in the championship bracket. All six semifinalists —Starocci, Beau Bartlett, Levi Haines, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Aaron Brooks and Greg Kerkvliet — advanced to the championship finals on Saturday night.
Tyler Kasak and Bernie Truax also won their consolation round of 12 bouts to become All-Americans, giving Penn State eight in 2024, and advanced to the consolation semifinals on Saturday morning.
Braeden Davis and Aaron Nagao saw their seasons come to an end with losses in the blood round on Saturday night.
The NCAA Championships conclude on Saturday with the medal round starting at 11 a.m. EDT and the championship finals at 7 p.m. The early session will air on ESPNU and the finals will be on ESPN.
