Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink (top) and Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo battle in the final at 165 pounds in Saturday’s NCAA championships in Cleveland. Mesnbrink won his second title by technical fall. (Photo courtesy Sam Janicki /SJanickiPhoto.com)
Penn State’s dominance continued at the NCAA championships on Saturday night in Cleveland. With four individual champions, a record-tying six finalists and eight All-Americans, the Nittany Lions won their fifth straight title.
For the third straight season, Penn State broke their own record for points in the tournament. On Saturday, the Nittany lions finished with 181½ points, breaking the mark of 177 they set a year ago.
Oklahoma State, under former Nittany Lion David Taylor, finished second with 131 points thanks to three individual champions and eight All-Americans. Nebraska was third with 100½ points and seven All-American wrestlers.
“I think this was an incredible year,” Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson said in a press conference following the 125-pound title match. “Obviously, our heart and minds with kids who didn’t reach their goals, and we’re here thinking about ‘hey what can we do better, we’ve got to do this better. We’ve got a lot on our minds now.”
Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) and Levi Haines (174) each became two-time NCAA champions. Mesenbrink, a junior, picked up his title in convincing fashion via a tech over No. 3 Mikey Caliendo of Iowa 20-4, and Haines, a senior, earned his victory by a narrower 2-1 margin against No. 3 Chris Minto of Nebraska.
Sophomore Josh Barr (197) secured his first title as a Nittany Lion with a 6-3 win over No. 7 Cody Merrill of Oklahoma State. The win wraps up an undefeated season for Barr.
Sophomore Luke Lilledahl (125) won a national title with a 2-1 win over No. 10 Marc-Anthony McGowan of Princeton.
“We work every day. We love what we do. We love each other, our staff,” Sanderson said. “That’s what it’s all about. Seeing those guys every day is what motivates me and just continuing to learn and grow.
“We’re a blessed program. We follow the rules,” Sanderson said. “There’s not a lot of that going on right now. And that’s one of the reasons we can sleep when the wind blows. We train hard and do the right things to the best of our ability and things will work out.”
Cheshire’s Nick Gross was selected to be an official at the tournament for the ninth time. He worked as the lead official for the final at 165 pounds.
Cheshire’s Nick Grosso, left, was an official at the NCAA Division I championships for the ninth year this weekend in Cleveland. (Photo courtesy Sam Janicki /SJanickiPhoto.com)
2026 NCAA Division I championships
At Cleveland
Team results (top 20) – 1. Penn State 181½, 2. Oklahoma State 131, 3. Nebraska 100½, 4. Iowa 92½, 5. Ohio State 84½, 6. Stanford 67½, 7. Michigan 66, 8. Iowa State 52, 9. Minnesota 48½, 10. North Carolina State 44½, 11. Virginia Tech 41½, 12. Wyoming 38, 13. Arizona State 36½, 14. Missouri 34, 15. Illinois 28, 16. Lehigh 26½, 17. Columbia 25, 18. Cornell 21½, 19. Penn 21, 20. Princeton 20.
Individual results
125
Final — Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) dec. Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) 2-1
3. Nico Provo (Stanford) dec. Vincent Robinson (NC State) 10-2
5. Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) pin Jacob Moran (Indiana) 4:11
7. Jore Volk (Minnesota) dec. Tyler Klinsky (Rider) 14-1
133
Final — Jax Forrest (Oklahoma State) dec. Ben Davino (Ohio State) 5-2
3. Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech) dec. Marcus Blaze (Penn State) 5-0
5. Drake Ayala (Iowa) dec. Tyler Knox (Stanford) 16-5
7. Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) dec. Lucas Byrd (Illinois) 6-2, 2 OT
141
Final — Sergio Vega (Oklahoma State) dec. Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) 4-1 OT
3. Luke Stanich (Lehigh) dec. Brock Hardy (Nebraska) 7-2
5. Carter Nogle (Air Force) medical forfeit over Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State)
7. CJ Composto (Penn) pin Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) 4:05
149
Final — Aden Valencia (Stanford) dec. Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) 8-5 OT
3. Lachlan McNeil (Michigan) dec. Chance Lamer (Nebraska) 10-5
5. Collin Gaj (Virginia Tech) dec. Ryder Block (Iowa) 4-0
7. Cross Wasilewski (Penn) dec. Casey Swiderski (Oklahoma State) 5-2
157
Final — Landon Robideau (Oklahoma State) dec. Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) 4-2
3. PJ Duke (Penn State) tech fall Brandon Cannon (Ohio State) 20-4, 6:38
5. Kannon Webster (Illinois) medical forfeit over Ty Watters (West Virginia)
7. Cameron Catrabone (Michigan) medical forfeit over Meyer Shapiro (Cornell)
165
Final — Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) tech fall Mikey Caliendo (Iowa) 20-4, 5:13
3. Cesar Alvan (Columbia) dec. Nicco Ruiz (Arizona State) 7-2
5. Andrew Sparks (Minnesota) medical forfeit over Joey Blaze (Purdue)
7. Bryce Hepner (North Carolina) dec. Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State) 9-1
174
Final — Levi Haines (Penn State) dec. Christopher Minto (Nebraska) 2-1
3. Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) dec. Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) 9-6
5. Cam Steed (Missouri) dec. Danny Wask (Navy) 5-3
7. Beau Mantanona (Michigan) pin MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) 3:00
184
Final — Max McEnelly (Minnesota dec. Rocco Welsh (Penn State) 4-3
3. Aeoden Sinclair (Missouri) dec. Caleb Campos (American) 17-4
5. Brock Mantanona (Michigan) medical forfeit over Angelo Ferrari (Iowa)
7. Eddie Neitenbach (Wyoming) medical forfeit over Zack Ryder (Oklahoma State)
197
Final —
Josh Barr (Penn State) dec. Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State) 6-3
3. Stephen Little (Little Rock) dec. Joey Novak (Wyoming) 7-4
5. Camden McDanel (Nebraska) dec. Angelo Posada (Stanford) 13-6
7. Gabe Arnold (Iowa) dec. Branson John (Maryland) 6-2
285
Final — Isaac Trumble (NC State) dec. Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) 5-0
3. Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) dec. Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State) 5-1
5. Ben Kueter (Iowa) medical forfeit over AJ Ferrari (Nebraska)
7. David Szuba (Arizona State) win by disqualification over Christian Carroll (Wyoming)
Outstanding wrestler: Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Penn State
Most dominant wrestler: Mesenbrink (165)
Finals began at 141 pounds.
