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 donโt look alike even a little bit.
But what Lilledahlโ who just wrapped up his true freshman seasonโ 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 himselfโ to an extentโ at this fallโs World Championships in Croatia, heโll have to go through Lilledahl.
WHAT LEE SAID
Lee remembers wrestling Lilledahl at the Olympic Training Center while Lilledahl was still at PAโs Wyoming Seminary.
โI remember telling him โhey, youโre pretty tough,โ Lee said. โHigh school must be boring for you.โ
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 โboysโ being the same age and often older.
โHe kind of laughed and was like โyeah, high schoolโs a little boring.โ Because when youโre at that level and youโre still wrestling high school kids, youโre probably dominating, right? So I think that as an athlete, heโs growing.โ
Lee got himself to a level where even major college wrestling looked like childโs play for him.
The guy finished his Iowa career 98-6, won two Hodge Trophyโs and three national titlesโ the last of which he famously won with two torn ACLโs.
Lilledahl might not ever have Leeโs 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 thatโs largely because of the Olympics. Lee is still a young guy (26) and itโs not out of the question at all to think that he could still be a force in 2028. Itโs also not out of the question to think that Lilledahlโ who will be just out of college by thenโ could challenge him.
Overall, Lee is excited about whatโs to come for his country in wrestling.
โI think it attributes to the success of USA Wrestlingโs future,โ Lee said. โI mean, we have, what, two high school kids in this event, and then heโs (Lilledahlโs) a true freshman in college. So, I think it attributes to the future of USA Wrestling is very bright, and I think itโs awesome.โ
โHeโs a very, very tough opponent and he earned his spot in Final X for a reason.โ
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.
Theyโll all be best-of-three matches, and it will all happen June 14 in Newark, New Jersey.
