Penn State Wrestling: Putting the Nittany Lions’ recent NCAA Championship into perspective
Penn State Wrestling recently took home their 12th NCAA team title in the past 14 years, while torching the NCAA Championship scoring record along the way.
Additionally, the Nittany Lions crowned 10 All-Americans. Making them the second team (2001 Minnesota) in NCAA history to accomplish this incredible feat.
But now that the dust has settled on the both the NCAA’s and the season, I’d like to look back at what Cael Sanderson and his coaching staff accomplished. Furthermore, I’m going to put their collective finishes up against some of the best teams the NCAA has ever seen.
And if I’m going to put things into perspective, then I’m going to have to come up with a system for measuring these legendary teams against each other. Obviously I could use their Team Score from each applicable NCAA Tournament; however, with rule changes, scoring changes, and the lot, that’s not going to be an apples-to-apples comparison. Especially when trying to compare a team from 1969 to a team from 2025.
So here’s what I’m going to do:
Aggregate Finish Calculation
-Add up each wrestler’s finish
-In the event the team did not have an All-American at a specific weight, this will count as 10 points
Hopefully, that makes sense.
I mean it’s fairly simple.
Probably simple enough that I didn’t need to actually spell out the calculation in it’s own sub-heading. But here we are …
Now, onto the list!
NCAA Championship Teams by their Aggregate Finish
2017 Penn State
Score: 146.5
Individual Titles: 5
Finalists: 5
All-Americans: 6
149 – Zain Retherford 1st
157 – Jason Nolf 1st
165 – Vincenzo Joseph 1st
174 – Mark Hall 1st
184 – Bo Nickal 1st
285 – Nick Nevills 5th
Aggregate Finish: 50
2022 Penn State
Score: 131.5
Individual Titles: 5
Finalists: 5
All-Americans: 6
133 – Roman Bravo-Young 1st
141 – Nick Lee 1st
174 – Carter Starocci 1st
184 – Aaron Brooks 1st
197 – Max Dean 1st
285 – Greg Kerkvliet 4th
Aggregate Finish: 49
2001 Minnesota
Score: 138.5
Individual Titles: 0
Finalists: 0
All-Americans: 10
125 – Leroy Vega 3rd
133 – Brett Lawrence 8th
141 – Chad Erikson 8th
149 – Jared Lawrence 6th
157 – Luke Becker 4th
165 – Brad Pike 4th
174 – Jacob Volkmann 4th
184 – Damion Hahn 5th
197 – Owen Elzen 3rd
285 – Garrett Lowney 3rd
Aggregate Finish: 48
2005 Oklahoma State
Score: 153
Individual Titles: 5
Finalists: 5
All-Americans: 7
125 – Coleman Scott 8th
141 – Daniel Frishkorn 4th
149 – Zack Esposito 1st
165 – Johny Hendricks 1st
174 – Chris Pendleton 1st
197 – Jake Rosholt 1st
285 – Steve Mocco 1st
Aggregate Finish: 47
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Penn State Wrestling Thoughts and Analysis
What’s insane about our first group of teams is the fact they contain the following:
-Penn State’s first 5-for-5 team and perhaps the most dominant run by a handful of guys in NCAA history
-The first 10 All-American team in NCAA history
-Penn State’s second 5-for-5 team
-Oklahoma’s 5-for-5 team
And when you look at the shear dominance that some of these teams had. It’s mind-blowing.
Especially when you consider where they fall on this list. However, this is putting each of the teams into perspective as a whole. And not just singling out NCAA Champions and individual performances.
Moving on.
2018 Penn State Wrestling
Score: 141.5
Individual Titles: 4
Finalists: 5
All-Americans: 8
141 – Nick Lee 5th
149 – Zain Retherford 1st
157 – Jason Nolf 1st
165 – Vincenzo Joseph 1st
174 – Mark Hall 2nd
184 – Bo Nickal 1st
197 – Shakur Rasheed 7th
285 – Nick Nevills 7th
Aggregate Finish: 45
1983 Iowa
Score: 155
Individual Titles: 4
Finalists: 5
All-Americans: 8
118 – Tim Riley 5th
126 – Barry Davis 1st
134 – Jeff Kerber 5th
142 – Harlan Kistler 3rd
150 – Jim Heffernan 4th
158 – Jim Zalesky 1st
177 – Duane Goldman 2nd
190 – Ed Banach 1st
UNL – Lou Banach 1st
Aggregate Finish: 43
1962 Oklahoma State
Score: 82
Individual Titles: 3
Finalists: 6
All-Americans: 7
115 – Mark McCracken 2nd
123 – Masaaki Hatta 1st
137 – Doug Wilson 3rd
157 – Phil Kinyon 2nd
167 – Ronnie Clinton 1st
177 – Bob Johnson 1st
191 – Joe James 2nd
Aggregate Finish: 42
1969 Iowa State
Score: 104
Individual Titles: 3
Finalists: 4
All-Americans: 9
115 – Steve Lampe 6th
123 – Mike Schmauss 5th
137 – Dan Gable 1st
152 – Carl Adams 5th
160 – Dave Martin 2nd
167 – Jason Smith 1st
177 – Chuck Jean 1st
191 – Jim Duschen 5th
UNL – Wayne Beske 5th
Aggregate Finish: 41
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Thoughts and Analysis
Well, the insanity continues.
This list contains the first team (1969 Iowa State) in NCAA history to have nine All-Americans. Additionally, that same team was the first one to score over 100 points.
Also, there’s the 2018 Penn State team which tied a program record in having eight guys finish All-American. And they had four individual champions.
Then there’s a team (1962 Oklahoma State) that secured seven All-Americans, tied the scoring record, and set a record for margin of victory (37 points). The reason this is impressive?
Back then, only the top four were All-Americans. So yeah, even with my simple calculation, this still isn’t exactly a fair comparison.
Oh, and it has the 1983 Iowa team.
That team obliterated the scoring title previously held by the 1982 Iowa team (131.75).
On we go!
1997 Iowa
Score: 170
Individual Titles: 5
Finalists: 6
All-Americans: 8
118 – Jesse Whitmer 1st
126 – Mike Mena 2nd
134 – Mark Ironside 1st
142 – Kasey Gilliss 6th
150 – Lincoln McIlravy 1st
158 – Joe Williams 1st
167 – Mike Uker 5th
190 – Lee Fullhart 1st
Aggregate Finish: 38
1985 Iowa
Score: 145.25
Individual Titles: 2
Finalists: 5
All-Americans: 9
118 – Matt Egeland 2nd
126 – Barry Davis 1st
134 – Greg Randall 5th
142 – Kevin Dresser 4th
150 – Jim Heffernan 2nd
158 – Marty Kistler 1st
167 – Lindsey Kistler 5th
177 – Rico Chiapparelli 5th
190 – Duane Goldman 2nd
Aggregate Finish: 37
1986 Iowa
Score: 158
Individual Titles: 5
Finalists: 6
All-Americans: 8
126 – Brad Penrith 1st
134 – Greg Randall 2nd
142 – Kevin Dresser 1st
150 – Jim Heffernan 1st
158 – Royce Alger 5th
167 – Marty Kistler 1st
177 – Rico Chiapparelli 4th
190 – Duane Goldman 1st
Aggregate Finish: 36
Thoughts and Analysis
In case anyone was wondering, Dan Gable was one hell of a coach.
In the mid-1980s he had the Hawkeyes wrestling program absolutely humming.
And this Iowa block includes the team (1997 Iowa) that set the scoring title (170) that stood for 27 years. Additionally, that team was the second in NCAA history to have five champions.
Then there’s the legendary 1985 and 1986 Hawkeyes. Those squads combined to have 17 All-Americans and seven individual champions.
Specifically, the 1986 Iowa team was the first to ever have five guys win titles in the same tournament. Going further, they reset the scoring record previously held by the 1983 team (155) and set the largest margin of victory in NCAA history (73.75).
Wow.
But now it’s time to turn the page to the greatest teams ever assembled in the history of the NCAA Championships.
2024 Penn State Wrestling
Score: 172.5
Individual Titles: 4
Finalists: 6
All-Americans: 8
141 – Beau Bartlett 2nd
149 – Tyler Kasak 3rd
157 – Levi Haines 1st
165 – Mitchell Mesenbrink 2nd
174 – Carter Starocci 1st
184 – Bernie Truax 5th
197 – Aaron Brooks 1st
285 – Greg Kerkvliet 1st
Aggregate Finish: 36
1991 Iowa
Score: 157
Individual Titles: 2
Finalists: 6
All-Americans: 9
118 – Chad Zaputil 2nd
126 – Terry Brands 2nd
134 – Tom Brands 1st
142 – Troy Steiner 2nd
150 – Terry Steiner 3rd
158 – Tom Ryan 2nd
167 – Mark Reiland 1st
177 – Bart Chelesvig 3rd
190 – Travis Fiser 6th
Aggregate Finish: 32
2025 Penn State Wrestling
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Score: 177.0
Individual Titles: 2
Finalists: 3
All-Americans: 10
125 – Luke Lilledahl 3rd
133 – Braeden Davis 5th
141 – Beau Bartlett 3rd
149 – Shayne Van Ness 3rd
157 – Tyler Kasak 3rd
165 – Mitchell Mesenbrink 1st
174 – Levi Haines 3rd
184 – Carter Starocci 1st
197 – Josh Barr 2nd
285 – Greg Kerkvliet 6th
Aggregate Finish: 30
Thoughts and Analysis
And there you have it. These are the top three teams of all time in terms of measuring the entire roster’s performance.
But look, I get it. Were these three squads the most dominant teams of all time?
Probably not. Case in point is the fact there’s a combined eight individual titles between the teams. In addition, the latest edition of Penn State Wrestling “only” had three guys in the finals.
However I’m going to immediately shut down this narrative that I created by myself.
Because in the end, all three of these squads were simply amazing.
The 2024 Penn State Wrestling team broke the team scoring title that had stood for 27 years. Furthermore, they had a staggering seven guys finish inside the top three.
The 1991 Iowa team, while short on titles (2), had a mind blowing eight wrestlers finish inside the top three. And six of them either finished first or second.
But the only team to outdo them?
2025 Penn State Wrestling
What else can be said about the total team effort displayed a week ago?
Yes, Luke Lilledahl, Beau Bartlett, Shayne Van Ness, Tyler Kasak, and Levi Haines suffered soul-crushing losses in the semifinals. However, that didn’t slow them down. All of them wrestled their tails off and finished the year with wins under their belts.
And enough can’t be said about that.
Seemingly every year a major contender loses at some point in their bracket. Then do you know what tends to happen? They lose again and have a disappointing finish.
However, there was nothing disappointing about how the 2025 Penn State Wrestling team finished the year. They set the scoring title yet again, and they rode out as the only team in NCAA history to have all 10 guys finish inside of the top six.
Based on my “Aggregate Finish”, in my opinion, they are the greatest “team” of all-time.
Well, that is, until the Nittany Lions hit the mat next year. But in the meantime, I’ll let the Nittany Lion faithful enjoy this one a bit more.
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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.