Penn State Wrestling's Josh Barr defeats Gabe Sollars 14-6 in Penn State's dual meet against Indiana (1/23/26). Credit - Lloyd McCully
Penn State Wrestling is off to a historic regular season this year, which seems impossible based on their lofty expectations.
And as I assume everyone knows, the Nittany Lions are a perfect 11-0 in dual meets so far. Additionally they are 5-0 in the B1G portion of the schedule.
I would also venture a guess that most Penn State Wrestling fans know the team has extended their NCAA record dual meet unbeaten streak to a staggering 82 straight wins. Furthermore, Cael Sanderson’s career record in Happy Valley now stands at 229-16-2. By the way, that’s a winning percentage of 93%.
Credit – Lloyd McCully
But in this article, I’m going to throw out some additional stats that some people may not know. Or some people do know. Either way, buckle up, because you’re about to get a power bomb from the top rope with a pile of numbers.
Penn State Wrestling – Season By The Numbers
Credit – Lloyd McCully
As I mentioned previously, the Nittany Lions are 11-0 in their dual meets this year. But that’s not necessarily the impressive part.
Nope.
What’s incredible is their margin of victory.
Penn State Wrestling has outscored their opponents a combined 480-19 in those 11 dual meets. And for all of you math nerds, that’s an average score of 44-2.
Additionally, with the Nittany Lions’ last three results on the mat:
PSU 51 NU 0
PSU 48 IU 0
PSU 51 MD 0
Penn State Wrestling has set a program-record of seven shutout performances this year.
However this is just scratching the surface in terms of mind blowing stats.
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Penn State Wrestling – More Fun With Stats
Credit – Lloyd McCully
In their 11 dual meets, Penn State Wrestling has sent 15 different guys to the mat in the 10 weight classes.
And those 15 guys are a combined 104-6 on the year.
But let’s break this down a bit further by margin of victory.
Penn State Wrestling – W/L
By Decision: 21-5
By Major Decision: 23-1
By Technical Fall: 35-0
By Fall: 23-0
Furthermore, they have a takedown advantage over their opponents to the tune of 356-27.
Yes, you read that correctly. The Nittany Lions are taking guys to the mat at a clip of slightly over 13 to one.
That is crazy.
Marcus Blaze leads the team in dual takedowns with 41. Then you have PJ Duke and Shayne Van Ness who are in a tie for second with 39 apiece.
Keep in mind, two of those guys are true freshman.
Credit – Lloyd McCully
And breaking this down a little further, Mitchell Mesenbrink leads the team in dual meet points with 58. Levi Haines is in second with 55 and Shayne Van Ness is third with 53.
MM also leads the team in dual meet bonus points with 25. And he along with PJ Duke and Levi Haines, are tied at the top with four dual meet pins.
Moreover, the leader in technical falls is Shayne Van Ness with six. Then there’s a four-way tie for second between Josh Barr, Levi, MM, and Luke Lilledahl at four each.
But the next number I’m going to give you really paints the picture as to what is happening.
In 110 matches spanning 11 dual meets, Penn State Wrestling has forced a total of 90 stall calls against their opponents. Conversely, they have only been slapped with eight stall calls themselves.
Yes, you read that correctly. The Nittany Lions lead their opponents 90-8 in terms of stalls. That’s a little more than 11 to one.
And as far as riding time points, Penn State Wrestling has outpaced their opponents 23-2 in this category.
Final Penn State Wrestling Stat
Credit – Lloyd McCully
But I’m going to leave you with one final stat.
The Iowa Hawkeyes have competed in 12 dual meets this year and have a record of 9-3. Which means they have one more dual meet on the schedule at this point than Penn State.
And if the Penn State Wrestling roster consisted of only the following six guys:
Mitchell Mesenbrink
Levi Haines
Shayne Van Ness
Marcus Blaze
PJ Duke
Luke Lilledahl
And there was literally no one else on the team … Those six guys alone would have outscored Iowa 314-296.
Yep, it still goes back to that iconic tweet from three years ago …
“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″
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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.
- Penn State Wrestling: Nittany Lions are putting up video game numbers this season - January 28, 2026
- Penn State Wrestling vs. Indiana | FULL RESULTS - January 23, 2026
- Penn State Wrestling vs. Iowa | FULL RESULTS - January 16, 2026
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