Add another historic achievement to Cael Sanderson’s tenure as Penn State wrestling coach.
The Nittany Lions won their 77th consecutive dual meet with a 42-0 victory over Stanford on Saturday night, eclipsing the previous NCAA Division I record of 76 set by Oklahoma State from 1937-51.
Wrestling at the Journeymen Duals in Nashville, Penn State tied the Sooners’ mark earlier in the evening with a 46-0 win over North Dakota State.
The Nittany Lions are also now tied for the overall NCAA record with Division II St. Cloud State, which won 77 straight dual meets from 2017-22. Penn State will be in position to take sole possession of that mark when it returns to action on Jan. 10 against Rutgers. NAIA Grand View holds the all-time collegiate record with 117 from 2013-22.
Sanderson’s program last lost a dual meet on Jan. 31, 2020 with a 19-17 defeat at Iowa. Two days later the Nittany Lions returned home to beat Maryland 40-3 in Rec Hall, kicking off a what is now a record-setting run.
Over the span of the streak, which is nearing six years, Penn State has outscored dual opponents 2,666-514, an average score of 35-7. The Nittany Lions smallest margins of victory were 20-16 wins over Ohio State on Feb. 15, 2020 and Penn on Dec. 3, 2021. Their largest were 55-0 shutouts of Edinboro on Feb. 25, 2024 and Michigan State on Jan. 10, 2025.
Sanderson’s record at Penn State is now 224-16-2. While his dual meet record is impeccable, his teams have always been built around postseason success — and they’ve delivered. The Nittany Lions have won four consecutive NCAA titles and 12 of the last 14, with 40 individual champions since Sanderson took the helm in 2009.
Lions Roll at Collegiate Duals
Penn State met little resistance en route to securing the record with a doubleheader at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals, outscoring North Dakota State and Stanford by a combined 88-0 and winning the takedown battle 59-2.
Among the night’s highlights, NCAA runner-up Josh Barr dominated in his season debut as he returns from an injury. The redshirt sophomore 197-pounder defeated North Dakota State’s Devin Wasley with 19-3 technical fall early in the second period, then duplicated the feat with a 19-3 tech fall against Stanford’s No. 19 Angelo Posada.
Freshman Marcus Blaze, ranked No. 10 at 133 pounds, won by major decision against the Bison’s Tristan Daugherty, then pinned Stanford’s No. 6-ranked Tyler Knox late in the third period.
Top-ranked 165-pounder Mitchell Mesenbrink and 13th-ranked heavyweight Cole Mirasola each recorded a pin and a tech fall in their two bouts on the night, and No. 1-ranked 174-pounder Levi Haines had a pin and a major decision.
Freshman P.J. Duke, ranked No. 8, won by major decision against the Bison’s No. 21-ranked Gavin Drexler and upset the Cardinal’s No. 5-ranked Daniel Cardena with a third-period takedown for a 5-2 decision.
Here’s the bout by bout as the Nittany Lions improved to 6-0 on the year.
PENN STATE 46, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 0
125: No.2 Luke Lilledahl PSU dec. No. 31 Ezekial Witt NDSU, 6-5 3-0
133: No. 10 Marcus Blaze PSU maj. dec. No. 29 Tristan Daugherty NDSU, 11-3 7-0
141: Nate Desmond PSU dec. Michael Olsen NDSU, 4-1 10-0
149: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness PSU tech fall No. 24 Max Petersen NDSU, 19-2 (TF; 5:16) 15-0
157: No. 8 PJ Duke PSU maj. dec. No. 21 Gavin Drexler NDSU, 16-5 19-0
165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink PSU tech fall Boeden Greenley NDSU, 18-1 (TF; 3:45) 24-0
174: No. 1 Levi Haines PSU pinned Tyler Secoy NDSU, WBF (1:38) 30-0
184: No. 4 Rocco Welsh PSU tech fall Andrew McMonagle NDSU, 19-4 (TF: 6:17) 35-0
197: Josh Barr PSU tech fall Devin Wasley NDSU, 19-3 (TF; 3:20) 40-0
285: No. 13 Cole Mirasola PSU pinned Drew Blackburn-Forst NDSU, WBF (0:33) 46-0
PENN STATE 42, STANFORD 0
125: No. 2 Luke Lilledahl PSU dec. No. 12 Nicco Provo STAN, 4-2 3-0
133: No. 10 Marcus Blaze PSU pinned No. 6 Tyler Knox STAN, WBF (6:44) 9-0
141: Nate Desmond PSU maj. dec. Lain Yapoujian STAN, 9-0 13-0
149: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness PSU dec. No. 14 Aden Valencia STAN, 10-4 16-0
157: No. 8 PJ Duke PSU dec. No. 5 Daniel Cardenas STAN, 5-2 19-0
165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink PSU pinned EJ Parco STAN, WBF (4:23) 25-0
174: No. 1 Levi Haines PSU maj. dec. Lorenzo Norman STAN, 14-4 29-0
184: No. 4 Rocco Welsh PSU dec. Abraham Wojcikiewciz STAN, 5-1 32-0
197: Josh Barr PSU tech fall No. 19 Angelo Posada STAN, 19-3 (TF; 4:13) 37-0
285: No. 13 Cole Mirasola PSU tech fall Luke Duthie STAN, 21-6 (TF; 2:59) 42-0
