At this point, wrestling fans are used to seeing Penn State star Mitchell Mesenbrink win championships.
But a world championship will always be a big deal, and Mesenbrink got one of those early Saturday afternoon with a commanding 12-2 win over Turkey’s Muhammed Ozmus.
How Mesenbrink got to the finals was equally impressive.
In the semis, Mesenbrink took on Senior World Champion Yoshinosuke Aoyagi of Japan. Aoyagi took an early 2-0 lead. Then, due to an issue with the fingers on his right hand, Aoyagi paused for injury time and accused Mesenbrink of bending his fingers back.
With two seconds left in the first period, Mesenbrink got a takedown to go ahead 4-2.
With 1:25 left in the second and final period, Aoyagi tied the match with a two point takedown, and would have won on criteria had the match ended there.
With 1.5 seconds left in the bout, Mesenbrink got the final takedown, and got an extra point since Aoyagi’s camp challenged and lost.
This is a good sign that Mesenbrink is about to have a big year for Penn State. Not that this was ever really a question: Mesenbrink, after all, won the national championship last year at 165 pounds and almost did it as a redshirt freshman the year before.
It Feels Like The 1st Time: Mitchell Mesenbrink Wins 1st National Title
With that said, Mesenbrink’s performance at World’s is a sign that he might be the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the country. Penn State hasn’t had to wait long to see a Hodge Trophy winner— Aaron Brooks accomplished that feat in 2024– but it certainly wouldn’t object to seeing another one.
Penn State begins its 2025-26 season Nov. 14 against Oklahoma at Rec Hall. The dual meet is scheduled to begin at 6.
