The first session of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships is in the books so let’s dive into what happened and how it unfolded for Penn State Wrestling.
The day has finally arrived that everyone has been waiting for.
Credit: Lloyd McCully
It’s Session I of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships. And the best of the best in the nation have descended upon The Forest City for some wrestling madness! So let’s take a look at how the No. 1 ranked Nittany Lions fared in the first session of action as they try to capture their 13th team championship in the last 15 years.
But before that, here is a quick look at the schedule for the action set for later today.
Thursday Evening Schedule
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Session II
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Cleveland, Ohio
TV: Broadcast nationally on ESPN
Session Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes
Penn State Wrestling Session I Results
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Session I Matches for Penn State Wrestling – Opening Round
125
No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) major dec. over No. 32 Mack Mauger (MIZZ) 11-2
133
No. 3 Marcus Blaze (PSU) tech. fall over No. 30 Gabe Whisenhunt (ORST) 17-2
141
No. 14 Braeden Davis (PSU) dec. over No. 19 Haiden Drury (UVU) 2-0
149
No. 1 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) tech. fall over No. 33 Austin McBurney (BRWN) 19-4
157
No. 1 PJ Duke (PSU) fall over No. 33 Yannis Charles (MORG) 1:56
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165
No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) tech. fall over No. 32 Cody Walsh (DREX) 21-5
174
No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) fall over No. 33 Grant O’Dell (BELL) 1:33
184
No. 1 Rocco Welsh (PSU) tech. fall over No. 32 Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU) 19-4
197
No. 1 Josh Barr (PSU) tech. fall over No. 32 Blake Schaffer (KENT) 20-4
285
No. 9 Cole Mirasola (PSU) dec. over No. 24 Connor Barket (DUKE) 13-7
Penn State Wrestling Session II Matchups
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Session II Matchups for Penn State Wrestling – 2nd Round
125
No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) vs. No. 17 Jett Strickenberger (WVU)
133
No. 3 Marcus Blaze (PSU) vs. No. 19 Gage Walker (MIZZ)
141
No. 14 Braeden Davis (PSU) vs. No. 3 Brock Hardy (NEB)
149
No. 1 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) vs. No. 16 Jacob Frost (ISU)
157
No. 1 PJ Duke (PSU) vs. No. 17 Luke Mechler (WIS)
165
No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) vs. No. 16 Paddy Gallagher (OHST)
174
No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) vs. No. 16 Nick Fine (COL)
184
No. 1 Rocco Welsh (PSU) vs. No. 16 Rylan Rogers (LEH)
197
No. 1 Josh Barr (PSU) vs. No. 17 Dillon Bechtold (BUCK)
285
No. 9 Cole Mirasola (PSU) vs. No. 8 Ben Kueter (IOWA)
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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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