As always, Penn State wrestling was well-represented at this year’s Senior World Team Trials in Omaha, Nebraska.
Three current Penn State wrestlers— Levi Haines, Connor Mirasola and PJ Duke— all competed, along with one of the best to ever do it at Penn State or anywhere else, David Taylor.
Taylor’s entrance into the trials was particularly intriguing. He announced his retirement in April after shocking the wrestling world by becoming the head coach at Oklahoma State.
It turns out “The Magic Man” still has a trick or two. The 34-year-old made it to the World Team at 92 KG. He’ll go for his fourth World Title Oct. 28-31 in Albania.
Here’s a breakdown of how Taylor— now competing for Cowboy Wrestling Club— and the other Penn State guys performed in Omaha.
PENN STATE WRESTLING: DAVID TAYLOR
As mentioned above, Taylor did his thing. The 34-year-old, competing at 92 kg instead of 86, where he won his three world titles, took on Zahid Valencia in a best-of-three series. The first match was a battle which Taylor won 3-3 on criteria. In the second match, Taylor got out to a 6-0 lead then got a first-period fall. To get to the best-of-three, Taylor had to win a challenge tournament, which he did by getting a thrilling 10-6 triumph over NC State legend Trent Hidlay in the finals.
PENN STATE WRESTLING: LEVI HAINES
Competing at 79 KG, the defending national champion at 165 in folkstyle got off to a hot start, pinning Joey Bianchi of Arkansas-Little Rock in 4:45. His next opponent was only the most decorated U.S. wrestler ever. 36-year-old Jordan Burroughs— six time World Champ and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist— was too much for the much-less-experienced Haines, winning 4-1. Haines then moved to the consolation bracket, taking care of Joey Bianchi’s brother, Matt, 9-0. Next up was former Wisconsin wrestler Evan Wick. With 18 seconds left, Haines was down 4-4 on criteria but got a dramatic pin to move on to the consolation semifinals. There, he took on two-time national champion Keegan O’Toole (165), and all he did was win 6-0. In the consolation finals, Haines faced the man who beat O’Toole in the semis on his way to winning this past year’s 165-pound national title, David Carr. Carr was too much for Haines, winning 8-1.
PSU WRESTLING: CONNOR MIRASOLA
The touted high school prospect who’s now in his true freshman season at Penn State got off to a rocky start, losing his first challenge tournament match at 92 kg 11-0 to Wisconsin’s Aeoden Sinclair. Mirasola then moved into the consolation bracket, where he won via tech fall, 21-10. He then moved onto the quarterfinals due to Eric Schultz injury defaulting. In the quarters, he lost 9-0 to Marcus Coleman.
PSU WRESTLING: PJ DUKE
A Class of 2025 commit who’s still in high school, Duke was the No. 4 seed in the challenge bracket at 70 kg. He beat Ohio State commit Vince Bouzakis 7-0 to go to the quarterfinals, where he took care of former Missouri wrestler Jarrett Jacques 8-3. In the semis, he took on No. 1 seed Alec Pantaleo and lost 7-0. This put him in the consolation bracket, where he beat former Michigan wrestler Will Lewan 5-2 to move to the consolation finals. A 5-1 win over former Northwestern wrestler Yahya Thomas secured third place.
