Penn State Wrestling's Marcus Blaze defeats Tyson Charmoli 18-3 in Penn State's dual meet against Oklahoma, November 14, 2025 Credit - Lloyd McCully
Penn State Wrestling has started the 2025-2026 season right where they left off following their fourth straight NCAA title last year.
Which isn’t exactly an easy thing to do. Especially when you consider the Nittany Lions had to say “goodbye” to three outgoing seniors in the offseason. But this trio of Penn State wrestlers weren’t just any guys. Between Beau Bartlett, Carter Starocci, and Greg Kerkvliet, they had the following collegiate stats:
-Combined record of 316-36
-13x All-American finishes
-4x B1G Champions
-6x NCAA Champions
Credit – Lloyd McCully
So yeah, that is incredibly difficult to replace. Regardless of what type of program you’ve built.
Heck, it would even be hard for a dynasty-type program to not skip-a-beat with the loss of Beau, Carter, and Greg.
But if there’s one thing that the Penn State Wrestling faithful have seen, it’s that Cael Sanderson has built something entirely beyond simply a dynasty.
“There are good teams, there are great teams, there are championship-caliber teams, there are dynasties, and then there is whatever the hell penn state wrestling is
— Bill DiFilippo (@billdifilippo) January 28, 2023″
And since that iconic tweet, Penn State Wrestling has toppled the NCAA record for points scored in an NCAA Championship. A record that stood for 27 years.
Oh, then the Nittany Lions promptly re-set the record the following season. And in the process became only the second team in NCAA history to have all 10 guys finish as All-Americans.
Penn State Wrestling is just different.
And Cael Sanderson and his incredible coaching staff have done it again with the guys they’ve brought into the wrestling room.
3 Legends Out, 1 Unshakable Standard for Penn State Wrestling
Nathan Desmond
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’21-’22 PA Class AAA State Champion 106lbs
’22-’23 PA Class AAA State Champion 114lbs
’23-’24 PA Prep State Champion
2024 Super 32 4th place
2024 IronMan Champion
2024 Prep National Champion
High school Varsity Record of 116-7
70 wins via fall or tech fall
Nathan was able to make his Penn State Wrestling debut in last weekend’s Black Knight Invite.
And all the true freshman did was go a perfect 4-0 to claim the title at 125 pounds. Oh, and he defeated the No. 1 ranked guy in the process.
Nate also racked up wins against the No. 19 ranked guy (Cooper Flynn – UT-C) and the No. 31 ranked guy (Charlie Farmer – Army).
But, before I go off and claim that Desmond is the best wrestler in the nation, I do need to add some context.
First and foremost, Luke Lilledahl and Nate know each other very well. Secondly, Luke had the clear advantage in the opening round. However he looked a bit tired and was unable to turn any of his committed shots into takedowns. Moreover, it took a bit of luck (stepped on Luke’s right foot) in the third period for Desmond to land the winning takedown.
Now, does this mean that Nate is going to be the starter for Penn State Wrestling at 125?
No. It does not. Luke is still the guy.
But what this does do is show what kind of talent is in the room at the lighter weights for down the road.
William Henckel
2021 Fargo U16 Champion
National Prep runner-up
Beast of the East third place as a freshman
National Prep third place
Ironman runner-up as a sophomore
National Prep champion
Beast of the East champion
Ironman fifth place as a junior
National Prep champion
Beast of the East champion
Ironman champion as a senior
2025 World Silver Medalist at U20 World Championships
Unlike Desmond, Henckel’s collegiate career actually started his senior year in high school. The Blair Academy standout competed in the 2024 Shorty Hitchcock Memorial in Millersville, PA.
And all he did was take out a two-time DIII champion and three other seasoned DI wrestlers to go a perfect 4-0 and take home the title.
Making his debut for Penn State Wrestling this past week, William also punched his ticket to another tournament finals. During his run, the true freshman piled up two technical falls and a decision win over the No. 29 ranked guy at 174 (Nick Fine – Columbia).
The No. 1 ranked wrestler in the nation was also waiting for Henckel.
But look, did anyone think that William would beat Levi Haines?
No.
However he did make a match out of it.
Henckel forced the action at times and he made Haines really work for the 4-0 decision.
The Nittany Lions have something special in Henckel. And the Penn State Wrestling fans will have plenty to root for when it’s his turn in the starting lineup in the coming years.
Asher Cunningham
Credit – Lloyd McCully
135-20 career record at State College HS
Four-time District Champion
Four-time Regional Champion
Top-eight finish all four years
Back-to-back PIAA Champion in 2024 (160) and 2025 (172)
Coming into college, it was difficult to predict where Asher Cunningham would fall. Based on his frame he could go anywhere between 174 and 197.
But the Penn State faithful got their answer last weekend as Asher was slotted in the 184 bracket. And that bracket was not exactly a stroll in the park as there were several ranked guys in the mix.
Cunningham started out the day by winning a 12-0 major decision in the opening round. Then in the semifinals he had to toe the line against No. 18 ranked Aaron Ayzerov of Columbia. It was true freshman versus redshirt senior.
Let’s just say, that didn’t matter one bit.
Asher controlled the match pretty much from start to finish. And after he dropped Ayzerov to the tune of an 11-3 major decision, it was on to the finals where teammate Rocco Welsh was waiting.
But Welsh wasn’t messing around in the finals. He racked up four takedowns over Cunningham to win the Black Knight title 13-5.
And yes, the match was completely one-sided. Which is understandable. Because let’s face it, Rocco is a damn good wrestler. And he’s wrestling at a super high level to start out the year.
If only Asher had a world class wrestling father on the coaching staff who could help him improve. And If only there were a ton of highly competitive guys in the Penn State Wrestling room to help him.
Hmm. If only …
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Marcus Blaze
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Four-time OHSAA state champion
High school Varsity Record of 200-2
2023 gold medalist at the U17 World Championships (55 kg – Istanbul)
2024 bronze medalist at the U20 World Championships (61 kg – Pontevedra)
2024 Olympic Trials – 3rd place (57 kg)
2024 World Team Trials – 2nd place (61 kg)
2024 Ironman Champion
2024 Clarion Open runner-up
2025 Findlay Open Champion
Blaze’s Penn State Wrestling career has started with an absolute bang.
He made his Nittany Lion debut in emphatic fashion with an 18-3 technical fall inside the BJC.
Then Marcus wiped the floor with the competition in the Black Knight Invite. Along the rode to going 4-0 and winning the title at 133 pounds, Blaze won via tech fall over No. 22 Ethan Berginc 18-3. Keep in mind that Berginc is a senior and is a three-time NCAA qualifier. So no pushover.
So far this season, Marcus is a perfect 5-0. This includes a major decision, three tech falls, and a fall.
To say his future looks bright is a massive understatement.
PJ Duke
Won his first New York State PHSAA championship with a record of 45-0 at 99 pounds … while only being in seventh grade
Four-time PHSAA state champion
High school Varsity Record of 107-1
Senior year went 39-0 with 32 of the wins via fall
Two-time Super 32 champion
Won the 2022 Fargo Nationals and Ironman Championships
Won the 2024 Bill Farrell International
2024 Senior World Team Trials – 3rd place
Then there’s PJ Duke.
In Penn State Wrestling’s home dual against Oklahoma, the Nittany Lion faithful were hoping to see their first glimpse of the talented wrestler.
However with his insane freestyle tournament schedule, the coaching staff felt he needed a bit more rest. And who came blame them. It wasn’t like PJ was on three different Worlds teams or anything.
Well, this past weekend, Penn State fans got to see PJ Duke for the first time in the blue and white singlet. And his performance was nothing short of incredible.
Duke pinned his first three opponents inside the first period. Which included the No. 30 ranked wrestler at 157.
Kaleb Burgess (Buffalo) ended up being Duke’s fastest pin on the day as he only last one minute and 28 seconds.
Black Knight Invite Finals
Then in the final, PJ matched up against his teammate and former U17 World Champion, Joe Sealey.
And while the match was insanely close, I think the results speak more about the wrestling room than anything else.
Duke ultimately won the finals match 2-1 and he took home his first title as a Penn State wrestler. However for a guy who struggled a bit last season, I believe this says more about how much Sealey has grown in the room. And I think this won’t be the last we see of him this season.
In either case the sky appears to be the limit for PJ Duke. Heck, the sky is the limit for pretty much every guy in this article.
Which is a good thing if you enjoy watching Penn State Wrestling win.
Penn State Coaching Search Hot Board Narrows: Who’s Still in the Running After Major Extensions?
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Education: Penn State University
Location: State College, PA
Even though he had no prior journalism experience, Chris has now covered Penn State Wrestling and Penn State Football for the past three years, including as the Penn State Wrestling Beat Writer for VictoryBellRings.com, part of the FanSided network.
And it's clear he also likes constant torture as he's been a PSU Basketball fan for way too long.
Several years back, Chris made the seamless transition from PGA Professional to computer programmer and thoroughly enjoys following and writing about all things related to Penn State sports during his spare time.
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- Penn State Wrestling: No. 1 Nittany Lions demolish No. 15 Oklahoma 45-0 | FULL RESULTS - November 14, 2025
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