Penn State star Luke Lilledahl is wrestling one of the best to ever do it June 14, and his opponent talked about him.
In some ways, Spencer Lee will be looking into a mirror when he wrestles Lilledahl.
Not that the two would be mistaken for twins, to be clear, because they don’t look alike even a little bit.
But what Lilledahl— who just wrapped up his true freshman season— has accomplished to this point in his wrestling career is similar to what Lee did.
Both were the No. 1 recruit in the country from there high school graduating class.
Both had dominant freshman seasons at storied programs: Lee won the whole thing as a true freshman in 2018, Lilledahl finished third this March in Philadelphia.
Of course, both also wrestle at the same weight class. Lee was a 125-pounder in folkstyle and now competed at 57 KG in freestyle.
Ergo, Lilledahl.
Lee took silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics. To redeem himself— to an extent— at this fall’s World Championships in Croatia, he’ll have to go through Lilledahl.
WHAT LEE SAID
Lee remembers wrestling Lilledahl at the Olympic Training Center while Lilledahl was still at PA’s Wyoming Seminary.
“I remember telling him ‘hey, you’re pretty tough,” Lee said. “High school must be boring for you.’
Guys like Lee (144-1, three state titles in high school) and Lilledahl (four state titles) can relate to being men amongst boys, despite the “boys” being the same age and often older.
“He kind of laughed and was like ‘yeah, high school’s a little boring.’ Because when you’re at that level and you’re still wrestling high school kids, you’re probably dominating, right? So I think that as an athlete, he’s growing.”
Lee got himself to a level where even major college wrestling looked like child’s play for him.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.The guy finished his Iowa career 98-6, won two Hodge Trophy’s and three national titles— the last of which he famously won with two torn ACL’s.
Lilledahl might not ever have Lee’s resume. After all, perfection is impossible to achieve, and not many have come as close to achieving it as Lee.
But for Lee, Lilledahl is an example of what the future of USA Wrestling could be.
THE FUTURE
Photo by Penn State wrestling: Luke Lilledahl
Wrestlers are always thinking multiple years into the future, and that’s largely because of the Olympics. Lee is still a young guy (26) and it’s not out of the question at all to think that he could still be a force in 2028. It’s also not out of the question to think that Lilledahl— who will be just out of college by then— could challenge him.
Overall, Lee is excited about what’s to come for his country in wrestling.
“I think it attributes to the success of USA Wrestling’s future,” Lee said. “I mean, we have, what, two high school kids in this event, and then he’s (Lilledahl’s) a true freshman in college. So, I think it attributes to the future of USA Wrestling is very bright, and I think it’s awesome.”
“He’s a very, very tough opponent and he earned his spot in Final X for a reason.”
One of the two high school wrestlers Lee refereed to was a Penn Stater: 2025 commit PJ Duke.
Duke, like Lilledahl, will have to go against a legend: Four-time national champ Yianni Diakomihalis.
They’ll all be best-of-three matches, and it will all happen June 14 in Newark, New Jersey.
