Penn State wrestling did its thing over the weekend and won its fourth consecutive Big Ten championship as a result.
Penn State Wrestling Sets School Scoring Record en Route to Big Ten Championship
So people were surprised when Ohio State swept the Big Ten’s individual honors afterward.
It was Tom Ryan, not Cael Sanderson, who was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Jesse Mendez, not Mitchell Mesenbrink, was named Wrestler of the Year, and Ben Davino, not PJ Duke, was Freshman of the Year.
This was the first time since 2022 that Sanderson was not named Big Ten Coach of the Year, which was also the last time Penn State didn’t win the conference championship.
It was also the first time Penn State won the Big Ten title and Sanderson didn’t win conference Coach of the Year, which had happened nine times previously. It’s hard to see anybody but Sanderson winning Big Ten Coach of the Year at this point, but Ryan does deserve his flowers.
Ohio State started the season ranked No. 4, behind Penn State, Nebraska and Iowa.
The Buckeyes won the National Duals Invitational in November, which set the tone for the rest of the season.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.OSU finished the dual meet season 18-1 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten, with the only loss being at Penn State Feb. 13. At the Big Ten championships, Ohio State again cleared everybody else by Penn State, finishing second with 148.5 points, which was 32 points ahead of Nebraska and 61.5 ahead of Iowa.
Mendez and Mesenbrink both had cases for Wrestler of the Year. Each came into the season as a defending national champ, each ran through their regular season schedule unbeaten and each took care of business at Big Tens.
Both also have a case of the Hodge Trophy, with Mendez, with Mendez being 22-0 with an 86.36% bonus point rate and Mesenbrink being 22-0 with a 100% bonus rate.
Mendez has 10 wins over ranked opponents, and Mesenbrink has nine. Each will look to build his case in two weekends at the National Championships in Cleveland, scheduled for March 19-21.
Although Penn State’s Duke was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler, it was Davino who was named Big Tens Freshman of the Year. Both Duke and Davino avenged their lone losses of the season this weekend, with Duke beating Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor for the Big Ten Championship at 157 pounds and Davino beating Penn State’s Marcus Blaze for the 133-pound crown.
Duke will enter the NCAA Championships with a 19-1 record and 71.43% bonus point rate, with six wins against ranked competition. Davino is 25-1 with a 60.71% bonus rate and eight wins against ranked wrestlers.
Of these three awards, the most interesting storyline to watch will be whoever wins the Hodge Trophy, which we’ll find out not long after the National Championships.
