Just some of my random thoughts about Penn State Wrestling with the season right around the corner.
The 2024-2025 wrestling season is officially less than a month away for the Nittany Lions. And, as we count down the days to the NWCA All-Star Classic on November 16th, I thought I would throw out some random thoughts I had over the last several weeks.
Normally this would be a horrible idea as my random thoughts can range from anywhere between “Was literally EVERYONE actually Kung Fu fighting?” to “Is cereal soup?” to “I wonder what Jason Kelce’s favorite color is?”.
But fret not people, these random thoughts are centered around nothing but Penn State Wrestling.
So enjoy this trip inside my head and enjoy the leg room. There’s a lot of room in there!
5 Random Thoughts for Penn State Wrestling
1. I can’t wait to see Luke Lilledahl in a Penn State singlet
Luke Lilledahl‘s accomplishments on the mat prior to even setting foot on the hallowed grounds of University Park is nothing short of incredible:
-High School record of 89-4 and four-time state champion (CBC and Wyoming Seminary)
-2023 & 2024 SB Nation National Champion
-Super 32, Journeymen, Ironman, and National Preps Champion
-2021 U17 Pan-Am double Gold Medal (freestyle and Greco)
-2021 U17 Worlds Silver Medal
-2022 U17 Worlds Gold Medal
-2023 US Open Gold Medal
-2023 U20 Pan-Am Gold Medal
-2023 U20 Worlds Silver Medal
-2024 US Open Gold Medal
-2024 U20 Worlds Gold Medal
You could make a pretty good argument that Lilledahl is the most decorated incoming freshman in Penn State history.
But, with such high accolades already under his belt, there will certainly come some lofty expectations. And sure, I expect to see Luke do some amazing things on the mat inside Rec Hall.
At some point.
Because, with wrestling, as with life in general, it gives you the test first and the lesson second. Which means I fully expect to see Lilledahl take his lumps at times. The 125 group in the B1G is an absolute meat grinder. In their preseason rankings, Intermat currently has eight guys ranked inside the top 31.
Furthermore, the Nittany Lions are slated to take on both Lehigh (dual on December 8th) and Missouri (2024 Journeymen Collegiate Duals on December 22nd) where each team has a ranked grappler at 125.
And even after realizing all of this, I just can’t wait to see Lilledahl in action.
It was a breath of fresh air to see Braeden Davis take the nation by storm last year as a true freshman. He won his first B1G title and was the No. 1 ranked guy in the 2024 NCAA Championship 125-pound bracket.
I can say with confidence that Davis shook the quasi-curse Penn State has had at the lightweight class. And if everything goes to plan with Lightning Luke, then I have a feeling he’s about to shatter it!
2. There’s no way Aaron Nagao was healthy last season
Following Aaron Nagao‘s impressive run in the 2023 NCAA Championships where he took home fifth and earned his first All-American finish, the former Golden Gopher made waves around the nation when he transferred to Penn State.
It was a perfect fit for both the Nittany Lions and for Nagao. The rising sophomore would lock down the spot Penn State legend Roman Bravo-Young previously occupied and he would for sure improve his skills in the wrestling room.
But two things happened last year.
First, it was announced in October that an injury sustained several weeks prior would possibly derail his entire season. However, this proved to not be the case as Nagao hit the mat in the 2023 Black Knight Invite where he won all four bouts in dominating fashion.
Moving onto the second “thing” that happened last year: there appeared to be times throughout the season that Aaron just didn’t look comfortable out on the mat.
Going into the 2024 B1G Championships, Nagao suffered four losses along the road. And in three of these losses, Aaron was down from the jump and he simply looked overmatched.
Interestingly enough this wasn’t the case in his lone loss by fall to Michigan’s Dylan Ragusin. Nagao was up for the majority of the match and I still don’t believe that was a pin.
Anyway, moving on.
Aaron then lost his second match to Ragusin in the Big Tens and it wasn’t even really close. But hey, to his credit, Nagao was able to regroup and finish in third.
Nagao proceeded to get boat-raced in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA’s as he lost a 13-5 major decision to the No. 23 seed, UVA’s Marlon Yarbrough. He won three matches in the consolation bracket and then dropped another lopsided bout 11-4 to NC State’s Kai Orine.
And if we now add all of this up with the fact Wrestlestat is listing Nagao as taking a medical redshirt this year, it means one thing and one thing only.
There’s just no way Aaron was anywhere close to 100% at any point last season.
But I believe this may be a blessing in disguise. Because if this was the case, then finishing with a 17-7 record, taking third place in the B1G Championships, and making it to the round of 12 in the 2024 NCAA Championships while at 70% of your full potential, then that’s pretty damn good. Just imagine what he can do at 100%?
Lastly, this will allow for Braeden Davis to move up to a more fitting weight and for him to gain even more experience.
So when it comes time that Aaron Nagao is fully healthy, then the Nittany Lion faithful will truly see what he’s capable of.
3. The battles in the wrestling room between several of the weight classes must be epic!
I realize this could be said about a lot of the rosters Cael Sanderson has assembled inside of Rec Hall. That tends to be the byproduct of winning 11 NCAA team titles in the past 13 seasons.
But man, I would pay more money than I would like to admit to witness some cross-weight matches behind the closed doors of the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex.
Can you imagine Beau Bartlett and Shayne Van Ness locking horns? Or Van Ness and Tyler Kasak? How about a Mitchell Mesenbrink/Zack Ryder bout?
Do you think a Levi Haines/Alex Facundo matchup would garner many eyeballs from the Penn State faithful? Who would come out on top of a challenge ladder between Erik Gibson, Joe Sealey, Matt Lee, Brian Borden, and Aurelius Dunbar?
Or if we did the same thing between Karl Shindledecker, Hayden Cunningham, Kyison Garcia, David Evans, and Pierce Connor?
The possibilities are endless.
And this is even before realizing the lessons Carter Starocci is teaching to Levi Haines, Jack Kelly, Josh Barr, Lucas Cochran, and Connor Mirasola. And by “lessons” I mean butt-whoopings.
How about Cole Mirasola going seven minutes against Greg Kerkvliet? The outcome probably wouldn’t be pretty for one side, but boy would that be entertaining to watch!
In a completely hypothetical scenario, think about how amazing a Penn State inter-squad dual would be? That would for sure be a big-ticket PPV event.
One can always dream, right?
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4. Where does Alex Facundo fit in the current lineup?
As much fun as it is to talk about my previous “random thought”, this next one is a little more serious.
I knew with the roster construction heading into this season that there would be several spots in which a supremely talented wrestler would just not have a spot to start.
However, the spot at 174 was not one of these.
With Levi Haines growing into his frame, it was only a matter of time that he would move up to 165 or 174 pounds. In the process it would just make sense that he would take a redshirt. Because moving up one weight class is difficult enough. But moving up two? That’s a jump.
However from what I’m hearing and from how things are shaking out in the room, it looks likely that Haines will snag down the 174 spot this season. Which brings up the question: where does Facundo fit in the lineup?
There aren’t many people on the planet who can match Mitchell Mesenbrink’s effort level during a given match. So I highly doubt anyone on Penn State’s roster is one of them. Then you have to factor in 2024 No. 5 overall recruit Joseph Sealey and No. 6 recruit Zack Ryder along with redshirt freshman Erik Gibson. If any of these guys make leaps in terms of their improvement it could mean the overall No. 1 recruit in the 2021 class could be pushed out.
Similar to Facundo, Mesenbrink is also a sophomore. And Levi still has a redshirt to use so he’s essentially in the same spot as those two in terms of eligibility.
Only time will tell in regards to what happens to Alex Facundo. But one thing that’s not in question is his talent and ability. When he’s on, there aren’t many guys who can compete with him.
Unfortunately, cases such as this are also a byproduct of winning 11 NCAA titles in the last 13 years.
5. Is Penn State’s dominance in wrestling good for the sport?
I’ve seen this question pop up from time to time over the last several years. And I’ve never really thought about it until now because to me the answer was always obvious.
When you see a sports program completely and utterly dominate a sport over a span of time, what typically happens to that sport?
What happened to the NBA when the Chicago Bulls reeled off six NBA titles between 1991 and 1998? Or when the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs won a total of nine titles between 1999 and 2010?
Let’s turn to the NFL … Remember when the New England Patriots won three Super Bowls between 2001 and 2004? Then the 2007 Patriots took a perfect 18-0 regular season and playoff record into Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants. In perhaps the height of the Patriot’s dynasty, a then-record 97.45 million viewers tuned in to either root on the Patriots, hate-watch the Patriots, or hold onto every shred of their being that the Giants could somehow knock Tom Brady and Randy Moss off their pedestal.
Now we all know how that game turned out and we know that the Patriots went on to win three more Super Bowls with Brady and Belichick.
I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself, “Well sure, but what do professional sports have to do with this?”. And that’s a good point.
So let’s look at Alabama’s dynastic run in college football from 2009 to 2023. Of the 15 highest rated CFP games in terms of viewership, Alabama was in seven of them. Additionally, Bama’s matchup against Ohio State in the 2015 CFP finals is still the highest rated game (28.27) of the playoff era.
Coming back to my main point regarding this “random thought”. Whether or not you like Penn State Wrestling and whether or not you hate what Cael Sanderson has done to the sport by crushing everyone in their paths for a decade plus, it doesn’t matter. College wrestling across the country is as big now as its ever been.
When you have TV personalities like Pat McAfee interviewing Daniel Cormier about the 2024 NCAA Championships, it’s a big deal. With the size of his audience and the platform he broadcasts on, it’s a huge plus for Pat to realize how much of a “wagon” Penn State Wrestling is.
Then when you add in ESPN’s Friday night broadcasts with back-to-back dual meets, the crossover from college wrestling to MMA, and the spotlight the Nittany Lions cast on the sport with their recent dominance, it all adds up to good things.
This also brings about other juicy storylines in terms of programs trying to compete with Penn State. Whether it’s Tom Brands basically selling his soul to bring in transfers or whether its David Taylor’s shocking move taking over the reins in Stillwater.
The last time college wrestling saw a dynasty anywhere approaching this was when Dan Gable was leading Iowa in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. But the infrastructure for college wrestling, in terms of spreading the sport across the country, is nowhere near where it is now.
And that means wrestling is growing in both people participating in it as well as people watching and enjoying it. The popularity of college wrestling has also brought about something that should have been implemented a long time ago. And that’s women’s college wrestling. I truly hope the Nittany Lions have a team someday because the action on the mat is just as intense and as exciting as the men’s game.
Just like everything in life, at some point it will come to an end. So to will the dominant run of Penn State Wrestling. But you can’t tell me it’s not good for the sport.
Just sit back and enjoy the ride for what it is. And that’s to be entertained by amazing athletes being coached by one of the greatest coaches of all time going up against other amazing athletes.
MORE: Why The Time is Now for Penn State to Sign James Franklin to New Contract Extension
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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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