Penn State wrestling and its fans got a scare Friday night when one of its stars went into concussion protocol.
Early in Levi Haines’ match with Oklahoma’s Carter Schmidt, Haines and Schmidt appeared to collide, which led to Haines being ushered to the back for concussion protocol.
The good news is that Haines returned to the mat to take on Schmidt.
The better news is that Haines pinned Schmidt in the second period.
But it’s certainly something worth monitoring.
Last season, Tyler Kasak had multiple concussion on the mat for PSU, with one of them leading to him medically defaulting in his match against Maryland on Super Bowl Sunday.
If Haines is healthy, he’ll be the favorite to win his first national championship at 174 and second overall. He finished third at last year’s national championships, and the two who finished ahead of him, Oklahoma State’s Dean Hamiti and Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole, are both out of eligibility.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Haines also had a great freestyle season, coming within one match of winning a Senior World Championship.
There aren’t many wrestlers in the country that are as decorated as Haines.
He’s been to two national championships matches and won one of them, with both appearances being at 157 pounds.
He’s also a three-time All-American, and if all goes according to plan, he’ll make it four in Cleveland this March.
There’s also a possibility that Haines takes home the Hodge Trophy, of which he was a finalist in 2024. To do this, Haines will have to beat out Penn State wrestling teammate Mitchell Mesenbrink, who got a first-period pin in his season debut.
It will be fun to watch.
