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Penn State Wrestling

Penn State Wrestling: 5 More Win U.S. Open Titles

Photo by Tony Rotundo: Khaled Dassan and PJ Duke

A good weekend for Penn State wrestling became better Sunday when five Penn State wrestlers/commits took home titles in the U17 and U20 brackets.

Penn Stateโ€™s lone U17 representative, Class of 2026 commit Jayden James, won the whole thing at 71 KG.

James won each of his pre-championship matches by tech fall.

In the finals, James took on Justus Heeg, a high school freshman, in a best-of-three series.

James continued to dominate, winning the first bout 10-0 and the second one 3-1.

In the U20 bracket, PJ Duke, the No. 2 overall recruit in the Class of 2025, got three tech falls and a pin en route to the semifinals. In the semis, he took on Oklahoma State commit Landon Robideau, ranked No. 5 overall. Duke got it done, winning 8-3.

In the finals, Duke took on Melvin Miller, the top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2027. It wasnโ€™t easy for Duke but he got it done in an 8-3 win.

At 79 KG, William Henckel took home the title.

Henckel got to the finals with four tech falls and a pin, earning a bout with top-seeded Brock Mantanona. Henckel, seeded second, won a thrilling bout 12-8.

Then, there were the Mirasola twins.

At 92 KG, Connor Mirasola, who just wrapped up his freshman season at Penn State, won the whole thing.

He rolled through the bracket, getting three tech fall wins before going against Oklahoma Stateโ€™s Cody Merrill in the championship round.

Mirasola brought it home with a 5-1 win.

At 125, brother Cole brought it home as well.

He won his first three matches via tech fall and then took on the No. 1 seed, Iowa commit Michael Mocco.

Mocco, the No. 15 prospect in the Class of 2026, gave Mirasola a fight but ultimately fell 9-6.

Therefore, Mirasola advanced to the finals where he met Oklahoma State commit Dreshaun Ross, whoโ€™s ranked No. 3 in the 2026 Class.

Mirasola upset Ross 7-5 to bring home Gold.

Elsewhere at U20, incoming freshman Nate Desmond competed at 61 KG. Desmond blanked his first two opponents 10-0 and then won 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

But Desmondโ€™s luck ran out in the quarters, where he fell. He ended up losing his next two bouts, each in the consolation round, to finish in sixth place.

Also at 61KG, Sam Herring, a Class of 2026 commit, made it to the finals before falling 10-5 to Kyler Larkin.

Class of 2025 commit Dalton Perry competed at 65 KG and tech-falled his first two opponents.

Unfortunately for Perry, he lost his next bout to Jesse Grajeda.

Perry won his first consolation bout but then had to medically forfeit.

At 70 KG, Brock Weiss, who just wrapped up his freshman season, had an exciting first bout and won it 14-7. In his next match, he met Kollin Rath and fell 7-5. Weiss won his first consolation bout but lost his second to bow out of the tournament.

Joe Sealey, who also just wrapped up his freshman season, made it all the way to the finals at 74 KG. There, he faced a tough out in Oklahoma Stateโ€™s Ladarion Lockett. Lockett won 5-2.

Final X is scheduled for June 14 in Newark, New Jersey.

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