PISCATAWAY, NJ - FEBRUARY 10: #8 Levi Haines of the Penn State Nittany Lions at 157 lbs. wrestles #33 Andrew Clark of the Rutgers Scarlet Knioghts at 157 lbs. #8 Levi Haines wins a decision 8-2 on February 10, 2023 at Jersey Mikes Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)
Levi Haines dominates the field at 157 pounds and cements himself an NCAA Champion for Penn State Wrestling.
Last year was supposed to be a redshirt year for Levi Haines. But after Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions coaching staff saw what he could do on the wrestling mat, his shirt was burned as fast as possible.
Levi Haines’ Road to Breakout National Champion for Penn State Wrestling
As a true freshman Haines continued to turn heads during the season. And this culminated when he took out Peyton Robb in the finals in last year’s Big Ten Championships.
Haines then plowed his way through the 157 bracket and found himself in the finals against sixth-year senior Austin O’Connor.
But that wasn’t good enough for Levi Haines this year. And following his 5-0 win over Arizona State’s Jacori Teemer, Haines is now an NCAA champion!
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With the win, Levi compiled a perfect 23-0 record, he won his second straight Big Ten title, and he’s now a two-time All-American. Those are some amazing accolades considering this was supposed to be his first year on the mat.
The future looks stunningly bright for Haines as he seemingly improves, not just year by year, but from match to match. His run last year was something legends are made of.
The Penn State faithful know all too well as they’ve seen their fair share of legends come and go from Happy Valley. And if Levi Haines can continue to improve, there’s no doubt his name will be uttered along those other greats when his Penn State career comes to a close.
MORE: Penn State’s Path to Third Consecutive National Championship Crown
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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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