Penn State Wrestling: These Nittany Lions are Eyeing Individual National Championships
Penn State Wrestling head coach Cael Sanderson has the team in a place to win their fourth consecutive national championship this weekend.
The 2025 NCAA Championships will be held this year in Philadelphia Pennsylvania March 20-22.
As a team, this is an amazing accomplishment, and each wrestler returning from last year is a National Champion no matter what, but individual championships are also on the line.
Here is a look at a few Nittany Lions looking to secure gold at the NCAAs. Each wrestler’s season has been unique and followed a different path, but now they have emerged looking to secure individual success in order to achieve overall team success.
125lbs – No. 1 Luke Lilledahl
Lighting Luke is having an amazing freshman season and it appears he’s peaking at the right time. Luke is coming off winning the B1Gs with an upset of now #2 seed Matt Ramos (Purdue). If Lilledahl can continue his improving freshman year he has a good chance to leave Philly with a title.
141lbs – No. 2 Beau Bartlett
Credit – Lloyd McCully
The Senior entered the B1Gs undefeated and expected to walk away champion.
A close upset loss in the semis sent Beau to a third-place finish and extra motivation in the NCAAs to come home with a win. He has 11 wins over wrestlers in the field including the #1 seed and Big Ten Champion Brock Hardy from Nebraska.
165lbs – No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink
He has 10 wins over other wrestlers in the field, but none of them are on his side of the bracket.
A lot of unfamiliar foes await, but Mesenbrink hasn’t left the mat this season without his hand in the air. So the lack of familiarity doesn’t lower the expectations to finish the season in the same fashion.
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184lbs – No. 1 Carter Starocci
Carter Starocci is a four-time All-American and NCAA Champion at 174lbs. And he’s looking for his fifth straight title this year up a weight class.
Carter in his career, has an undefeated record at the NCAA’s (20-0). Furthermore, against the field this year he is a perfect 9-0. There is certainly an expectation that Starocci will bring home his fifth title.
Credit – Lloyd McCully
More Penn State Wrestling News from NittanyCentral:
- Nittany Lion Wrestling Recruiting Spotlight – Asher Cunningham
- Follow Nathan Desmond’s Journey from National Champion to Nittany Lion Prized Recruit
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New to sportswriting, Hurlbut Launched his personal blog, The Casual Fan in the past year.
He has a passion for sports, growing up in the midwest watching AFC North and Big Ten Football.
Kolin Attended THE Ohio State University and Purdue University earning a BS in Communication and MS in IT Project Management. Kolin also enjoys writing short stories based on his 12 year career in the US Army.