It’s become a bit of a tradition—one that I don’t take lightly—for me to conduct a pre-season interview on Penn State wrestling with Jeff Byers. Known by his friends as “Ironhead,” Byers is a major on-air presence for Sports Radio 98.7 – The Fox and is the longtime radio voice for Nittany Lion wrestling.
Our venue for breakfast or lunch changes almost every year from Champs to Quaker Steak & Lube to Panera Bread or The Original Waffle Shop. But the content of our discussion never shifts. Invariably, we focus on the amazing exploits of the Nittany Lion wrestling team.
This year’s conversation took place in the newly-opened Happy Valley Live, located just south of Beaver Stadium at 1031 E. College Avenue. Our Reuben sandwiches were great, the Penn State-themed décor was fabulous, but my good mood was already guaranteed by the chance to hear Byers talk about the recent past and the soon-coming future for Coach Cael Sanderson’s wrestlers.
As for the past, the Nittany Lion wrestling team has won 12 of the last 14 NCAA team titles. It has produced scores of individual champions. And it is currently on a streak of 71 consecutive dual meet victories, the longest in the NCAA’s Division 1 era.
But if you can imagine this, the immediate future might turn out to be even more amazing. At August’s U20 World Championships in Bulgaria, five of the 10 American wrestlers came from one school, and it’s the one we call “dear old State.” Of that group, two incoming freshmen (Marcus Blaze and PJ Duke) won gold medals while another incoming frosh (Will Henckel) won a silver and two redshirt freshmen (twins Connor and Cole Mirasola) took bronze.
Then, in late October the story at the U23 World Championships in Serbia was even more Nittany-centric. Of the 10 athletes competing for America, seven came from the current Penn State roster. Winning gold medals were Luke Lilledahl, Mitchell Mesenbrink and Levi Haines while Duke captured a bronze despite his age deficit.
So exactly what did Byers tell me about this year’s team ahead of the season-opening dual meet against Oklahoma at 6 p.m. Friday in the Bryce Jordan Center? Here are edited portions of our discussion between bites:
I want to start by noting that you’re entering your 38th year as the broadcaster for Nittany Lion wrestling. You started this gig when you were still a Penn State student, but regardless of your age then or now, it’s obvious you’ve got the secret to longevity.
Byers: I’m very, very lucky that they keep letting me come back and do it each year. I don’t know if there’s any secret, but I love being around the program and the sport and I feel extremely fortunate to have the opportunity. The winning obviously is very cool, but the most special part is the caliber of the people involved—the coaches, the kids, their families. That’s what makes it so special, more than the on-mat success.
What’s your best way to describe the culture of this wrestling team?
Byers: It is very unique in the world of sports, and it’s obviously centered around gratitude. Being truly grateful for the opportunities you have, for the circumstances you find yourself in. And I think you have a coaching staff that lives that. They don’t say one thing and then go off and do something else. They are absolutely grateful for what they have and for the opportunities they have to do what they love.
When we talked at the start of last season, I used the phrase “embarrassment of riches” to describe Penn State wrestling. But now, coming off the U20 World Championships and the U23 World Championships, I guess it’s beyond embarrassing in a wonderful way. How do you feel about covering this program?
Byers: It is truly amazing to see a program bring in as many elite wrestlers as Penn State has right now. With the roster limit now of 30, if you’re on that roster there’s something special about you. Not every one of those 30 is an elite, next-level wrestler, but there’s a reason you’re there. You’re providing something special to a very special program. And in terms of the top-level talent, I find it hard to believe that even in Iran or Russia that there’s ever been a wrestling room in the history of the sport with as much talent as what Penn State and the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club have going right now.
And I think the way they go about it is that the emphasis is not on winning, but the winning is the byproduct of the emphasis. The emphasis is that you wrestle with the very best of your ability…you give your all every day…you focus on being better as a wrestler and as a person every day. These guys buy into that, and then the byproduct is, “Hey, we’re winning a whole lot of matches, a whole lot of titles.”
Do you think other programs are adopting some of the Penn State methodology?
Byers: I think they’re trying. Certainly David Taylor (a two-time NCAA champion as a Nittany Lion who later won an Olympic gold medal) knows why the Penn State system works. I have no doubt he’s trying to adapt a lot of that to what he’s doing at Oklahoma State. Other schools may try to emulate it, but I think it’s very difficult to replicate how special Cael is and how special this coaching staff is. I think the other part is the recruiting. They’re bringing in the kids that have that passion, that have that desire to succeed in all areas of their lives.
A lot of coaches may want to do what Penn State’s doing, but it’s really, really difficult to get yourself in a circumstance where you can have what Penn State has right now, to be as selective as they can be. I think Cael and his staff have a good feel for the kids they’re bringing in, and I feel pretty safe in saying that these kids are not here for the money. That isn’t to say that the money is inconsequential or irrelevant, but that’s not the driving force. The driving force is that they have aspirations to be national champions, Olympic medalists, world champions. And they feel like this is the best place to make that happen.
How do you think the struggles of the Penn State football team have affected the interest in this year’s wrestling team? I’ve heard a lot of comments like, “At least we have wrestling to fill the void.”
Byers: Yes, I think a lot of fans began looking forward to wrestling season more than usual. But I’ll just go back to the idea of gratitude and the fact that tomorrow is not promised to anyone. And so I think for coaches, athletes and fans, you just have to be grateful for the opportunities that we’ve had to see the success we’ve seen.
What kind of a year do you anticipate for Penn State wrestling?
Byers: I think much like last year, there’s going to be a nice balance of experienced veterans and some new faces, and I think that’s always fun to see. You have guys like Mitchell Mesenbrink and Levi Haines (both previous NCAA champions) who obviously have established themselves already as all-time greats. And then you have these freshmen that have had success internationally in the off-season, and they’re ready to come in and make their names known—in open tournaments this year or by getting into the Penn State lineup. I think a lot of folks are really excited to see how the lineup shakes out.
That feeds into my next question. I want to know what’s happening at certain weight classes where there’s potential uncertainty. For example, most media reports have focused on Marcus Blaze at 133 pounds with the assumption that the transfer from Japan, Masanosuke Ono, will redshirt this year. What do you think?
Byers: Yes, the intent is for Ono to redshirt this year, and it makes sense to me. That will allow him to get acclimated to college life here in the United States and to the college wrestling season. When you look at the grueling nature of folkstyle wrestling and the grueling nature of a college wrestling season—with many more competition dates than would be typical in freestyle—having a year to adjust to that just makes sense.
How about 141 pounds? Most of the preseason reporting focused on Braeden Davis moving up from 133 and taking this spot. There didn’t seem to be much mention of Aaron Nagao. But now Penn State is saying that Davis will redshirt, and Nagao will most likely be the regular at that weight. What’s your take on this?
Byers: I think a healthy Aaron Nagao is going to be pretty special. With Davis having the redshirt year available and with his continued growth and adjusting to higher weight classes, this redshirt makes sense. I think people may be forgetting just how good Nagao is. I think he’s hungry and can have a special year and I think Davis can take some time and get more comfortable with his new weight class.
At 149 pounds, various media reports had suggested that PJ Duke was probably going to redshirt this year. But now the word from the coaches indicates that Tyler Kasak will probably be the one to use his redshirt. Why in this case is it better for the older wrestler to sit out a year? We used to think of redshirting as something for freshmen to do.
Byers: I think Duke is just so special and he’s proven he’s a college-ready talent. I think maintaining 157 after this year may be unlikely for him, so letting Tyler have a year to train and then giving Duke the opportunity to train and grow as a redshirt next season gives them more flexibility looking forward to when Mesenbrink leaves. One of the challenges the coaches and wrestlers have is trying to project what the future will look like with the various weight classes. Penn State has the luxury here of having two clear national title contenders at one weight class. But PJ Duke is something special and it will be fun to see him in a Penn State singlet this season. I think both of these guys will leave Penn State with multiple national titles.
Now here’s another murky situation. Josh Barr is considered the favorite to win the national title at 197 pounds, but someone else will need to replace him until he recovers from the injury he suffered at the U-23 World Championships.
Byers: And it appears that person will be Connor Mirasola. Connor is very special…You saw that by the way he wrestled Aaron Brooks at the Olympic Trials. (The smaller of the Mirasola twins, Connor was still a high school student when he suffered a credible 11-5 loss to Penn State’s four-time NCAA champ at the 2024 Olympic Trials.)
What about Cole Mirasola and the 285-pound weight class?
Byers: At heavyweight, I think there’s going to be a battle there between Lucas Cochran and Cole. Lucas has been a solid backup at 197 pounds for the last few years, and now he’s put on weight and is over 230 pounds for sure. As for Cole, he’s currently ranked 11th at the weight class by InterMat.
Meanwhile, we’re in danger of overlooking Shayne Van Ness who just happens to be the preseason consensus pick for NCAA champ at 149 pounds. He took third at NCAAs in 2023 and last year while injuries wiped out his 2024 opportunity. Is this his year?
Byers: I think he is ready for a really big year. He is so tenacious and just fun to watch. He certainly has earned the favorite’s status to win the 149-pound title this year.
Speaking of someone else we don’t want to overlook, how about “Lightning Luke”? All he’s done lately is to win the U23 world title.
Byers: Yeah, I think Luke Lilledahl is just a guy that loves to wrestle, loves to compete. I think he learns from each experience he has and he just brings that passion day in and day out. He’s another one that is just fun to watch wrestle.
And then there’s Rocco Welsh, an elite 184-pound transfer from Ohio State. He only lost by 2-0 to Carter Starocci in the 2024 NCAA title bout and then redshirted last year. How quickly will Penn State people embrace this former Buckeye?
Byers: I think very quickly. He’s a Pennsylvania kid (Waynesburg), and so he knew a lot of the guys before he came into the Penn State room. He fits in very well with the mindset here, and I think he appreciates the opportunity. I don’t think it’ll take long for Penn State fans to be rooting passionately for Rocco.
Now it’s time for my favorite part of this annual discussion: the chance for you to make a few bold predictions. First, who will win wrestling’s equivalent of the Heisman, the Hodge Trophy? I think there are a couple of gentlemen who we haven’t said much about.
Byers: I mean, it’s hard to bet against Mitchell Mesenbrink with the way he piles up points as quickly as he does. But I will say Levi Haines has clearly jumped at least another level from where he was at the end of last year. So I don’t know who’s going to win it, but I will be shocked if those two aren’t very high on the list of contenders at the end of the year.
Every year I ask you to make a team prediction, and your record’s been great. But last fall you missed on your prediction. You said that Penn State would match their previous high of six wrestlers making it to the finals at the NCAA tournament. The Lions fell short with “only” three. So what’s this year’s comeback prediction?
Byers: I’m going to go bold here, but I think Penn State will finish in the top five in the NCAA team race. No, now I’ll be serious. I’ll be putting pressure on them with this, but I think they’ll have six individual national champions this year. At least six.
Would you care to go so far as to name the six?
Byers: I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to get anybody upset because I actually think there’s at least eight potentials and there may be 10 by the end of the year who will be legitimately in the mix. No, I’ll leave it there—I think we will have at least six individual national champions.
Last year the Lions had just three finalists and two champions, but they absolutely owned the consolation rounds and broke their previous record of 172.5 team points at NCAAs by scoring 177. So I’m going to say that by forecasting six national champs, you’ve made a de facto prediction that Penn State will again break its team scoring record.
Byers: Yes.
