Penn State wrestling has a World Champion on its roster, so of course, fans are waiting to see him perform.
But that day is going to have to wait.
Coach Cael Sanderson confirmed to reporters Tuesday afternoon that Masanosuke Ono will not be wrestling at the Black Knight Invitational this weekend.
Instead, Ono is training for a competition on his home company of Japan next month. This comes a week after Sanderson confirmed to media that Penn State plans to redshirt him, thus having him training for two seasons instead of one.
If Ono’s track record is any indication, it will be worth the wait.
WHAT CAEL SAID
“No. I don’t think so. I think he has an event he has to come home and wrestle in Japan in December, so he’s preparing for that right now.
“Different countries have different timelines, and international teams qualifiers are in December. So that’s kind of what he’s doing.”
Ono was already familiar with PSU before committing in late March.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.He had been training with Nittany Lion Wrestling club since January, so people wondered if the 21-year-old would join Cael Sanderson’s empire full-time. Days before he committed, word got out that Ono was listed as a “student”in Penn State’s directory.
From there, it felt inevitable that Ono would be joining the team, and the inevitable became reality Monday, March 24.
THERE WILL BE A DEBUT
The good news for Penn State fans is that somebody will be making his PSU debut at the Black Knight Invitational. His name is PJ Duke.
The true freshman who beat out All-American Tyler Kasak for the job at 157 didn’t wrestle in the team’s opener against Oklahoma this past Friday night, but Sanderson confirmed after that it was simply to give him a rest after Duke competed in three World Championship tournaments.
From beating multiple national champions at the World Team Trials to beating a four-time champ twice at Final X, to winning a U20 World Championship, Duke is simply on a heater in 2025.
The Black Knight Invitational is scheduled for Sunday at 10 a.m. in West Pointe, New York.
Sanderson said that Penn State will have 20 spots.
