The most anticipated bout of Saturday’s dual meet between Penn State wrestling and Rutgers won’t happen.
Per Penn State radio announcer Jeff Byers, No. 10 Lenny Pinto won’t go for Rutgers at 174, and thus, Penn State star Levi Haines— ranked No. 1– will be competing against Jordan Chapman instead.
Pinto is somebody Penn State wrestling fans should know well.
Before transferring to Rutgers, Pinto spent four seasons at Nebraska and qualified for the NCAA Championships three times. At Rutgers this season, Pinto is 7-3 with a 70% bonus win rate, so there’s a good chance he would have challenged Haines more than most. But make no mistake, Haines still would have been the heavy favorite, and he’d be the favorite over anybody at 174.
After being national runner-up at 157 as a true freshman in 2023 and winning the whole thing at the same weight the next season, Haines went up two weight classes for his junior year.
WATCH: Penn State Wrestling Semifinals Winners Meet With Media
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Last season, Haines made it all the way to the national semifinals at his new weight before falling to Oklahoma State’s Dean Hamiti, who ended up winning it all.
Now, Hamiti is out of eligibility, as is Missouri legend Keegan O’Toole, who fell to Hamiti in the national championship match.
So Haines is the favorite to win it at 174 this season, and is also in play for college wrestling’s highest individual honor: The Hodge Trophy.
Haines was a finalist for the Hodge in 2023, when he finished the season undefeated with a national championship.
If he goes unbeaten this year, he’ll be right in the mix.
