At 197 pounds, Penn State wrestling wasn’t in an ideal situation.
Projected stater Josh Barr— who was the national runner-up at that weight class last season— couldn’t wrestle in the season opener against Oklahoma due to a rib injury.
Enter, Connor Mirasola.
Mirasola had to take on a top 10 performer in Oklahoma’s DJ Parker, who started the season ranked No. 8. Not only did Mirasola hold his own, he won. Not only did he win, he won decisively, beating Parker 13-3 for a major decisions.
Although this technically was an upset from a rankings standpoint, one could argue it wasn’t much of one.
Yes, Mirasola is a projected backup, but backups at Penn State often could start just about anywhere else, and that’s the case with Mirasola.
He’s a member of the U20 World Team for a reason, and if Friday night is any indication, he’ll be making a few more World Teams down the road.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.After Connor Mirasola’s match, his brother, Cole, who is ranked No. 11 at heavyweight, took on No. 24 Juan Mora.
Cole Mirasola had a hard-fought win, 5-2.
Coming to Penn State from the state of Wisconsin— a state that also produced Penn State star Mitchell Mesenbrink— the Mirasola’s committed to Penn State together ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Neither one of them cracked the starting lineup as true freshmen, with Connor being behind Barr and Cole being behind Greg Kerkvliet, a five-time All-American and 2025 national champ.
Cole appears to be Penn State’s guy at heavyweight, and Connor is making it harder for coach Cael Sanderson to take him out of the lineup when Barr is back.
