Two of the youngest members of the Penn State wrestling team became All-Americans and put their school on the brink of history.
Penn State has nine All-Americans, and no school in almost a quarter century has gotten all 10 starters to the podium.
It wasn’t the storybook ending Penn State wrestling freshman sensation Luke Lilledahl had hoped for but he still got a lot out of it.
Lilledahl came into his first NCAA Championships seeded first, having just won the Big Ten Championship.
Luke Lilledahl: Big Ten Title Win ‘A Dream Come True’ But ‘Just a Stepping Stone’
Many felt he had a solid chance– if not better– to win it all as a true freshman.
But that hope faded Friday afternoon when Lilledahl fell to Lehigh’s Sheldon Seymour 3-2 in sudden victory.
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Lilledahl still needed just a win in the consolation bracket to secure All-America status, and he got that with a 7-3 win over Wisconsin’s Nicolar Rivera.
With the win, Lilledahl became the first Penn State true freshman All-American since Nico Megluadis in 2016. Megaludis, of course, won the national championship that season.
Minutes later, 133-pounder Braeden Davis joined Lilledahl, becoming Penn State’s ninth All-American.
Like Lilledahl, Davis won Big Tens as a true freshman competing at 125, accomplishing that feat last season. Davis also came in as the No. 1 seed, similar to Lilledahl. But Davis failed to reach All-America status as a true freshman. The good news was he had three years left, and this year, at 133, Davis sealed All-America status with a 4-2 win over Iowa State’s Evan Frost.
Now, all Penn State needs is top-seeded Tyler Kasak to win his consolation match at 157 for Penn State to get 10 All-Americans. The only school to do that previously was Minnesota in 2001. Davis is taking on Penn’s Jude Swisher, seeded No. 14.
