CLEVELAND — Penn State looked every bit like the team to beat through the first two sessions of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships, piling up wins, bonus points and quarterfinalists, building a commanding start inside Rocket Arena.
The heavily favored Nittany Lions opened the tournament by going a perfect 10-0 in Session I, then kept rolling Thursday night. Eight of Penn State’s 10 wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals. By the end of Day 1, Penn State had once again flashed the depth, firepower and poise that have come to define Cael Sanderson’s dynasty in March.
“Yeah, overall good day,” Sanderson said afterward. “Guys are wrestling hard, tough; a lot of just good enthusiasm. Obviously, tomorrow’s the big day, big point day. And then obviously it gets bigger on Saturday, I guess. Guys are doing fine. Just got to keep rolling.”
Penn State’s opening-round dominance began right away the.
At 125 pounds, top-seeded Luke Lilledahl opened with an 11-2 major decision over Missouri’s Mack Mauger, then returned in Session II and survived a scrappy second-round battle with West Virginia’s Jett Strickenberger, 4-2.
Lilledahl’s win moved him into a quarterfinal showdown with Iowa’s Dean Peterson, who beat Oregon State’s Maximo Renteria 4-1 in the second round.
Freshman Marcus Blaze made sure Penn State stayed on the attack at 133. The third seed teched Oregon State’s Gabe Whisenhunt, 17-2, in his NCAA debut, then followed it with another 17-2 technical fall over Missouri’s Gage Walker in the second round. Blaze now heads into a marquee quarterfinal against Iowa star Drake Ayala, setting up one of Friday’s most anticipated bouts.
At 141, Braeden Davis gave the PSU another first-round win by edging Utah Valley’s Haiden Drury 2-0. But his run in the championship bracket ended in the second round, where Nebraska’s Brock Hardy turned back the 14th-seeded Nittany Lion 9-4. Davis was the lone Penn State wrestler not to reach the quarterfinals.
Still, Sanderson made clear Penn State’s focus for Davis and heavyweight Cole Mirasola has little to do with dwelling on the setback.
“Yeah, that’s what it’s all about, is, battling and just keep fighting,” Sanderson said. “That’s obviously, more important than winning and losing, right? And then our guys, just give your best effort, just go compete hard and do the best you can, and everything will work out.”
Shayne Van Ness was dominant from the start at 149. The No. 1 seed teched Brown’s Austin McBurney 19-4 in the opening round, then wasted almost no time in the second round, pinning Iowa State’s Jacob Frost in just 37 seconds. Van Ness will now meet Oklahoma State’s Casey Swiderski in the quarterfinals after Swiderski handled Utah Valley’s David Evans, who once wrestled at Penn State.
Sanderson praised Van Ness’ approach afterward.
“Shayne’s wrestling with good energy,” Sanderson said. “Just like any of our guys, just be themselves and use the talents and technique they’ve developed over their lifetime. They’ve worked hard. Now it’s time to go do it.”
At 157, top-seeded PJ Duke looked like a problem for the rest of the bracket. Duke opened with a first-period fall over Morgan State’s Yannis Charles, then needed only the opening frame again in Session II, pinning Wisconsin’s Luke Mechler to reach the quarters. Duke’s reward is a matchup with Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon in a high-profile quarterfinal.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Mitchell Mesenbrink kept his unbeaten season and absurd bonus rate (23 straight bonus point wins) intact at 165. The Penn State star rolled Drexel’s Cody Walsh 21-5 in the first round, then blanked Ohio State’s Paddy Gallagher 12-0 at night to power into the quarterfinals. Mesenbrink will next face North Carolina’s Bryce Hepner, who upset Little Rock All-American Matty Bianchi.
Levi Haines continued Penn State’s hammering pace at 174. Haines pinned Bellarmine’s Grant O’Dell in just 1:33 in the first round, then added even more team points with a 20-5 technical fall over Columbia’s Nick Fine in Session II. Haines is now back in the quarterfinals, where he will see Michigan’s Beau Mantanona.
At 184, top seed Rocco Welsh put together one of Penn State’s cleanest first days. Welsh teched Utah Valley’s Caleb Uhlenhopp 19-4 in the opener, then handled Lehigh’s Rylan Rogers 13-4 in the second round. Welsh will now face Nebraska’s Silas Allred, who advanced by beating Illinois’ Chris Moore.
Josh Barr, the top seed at 197, was every bit as sharp. Barr stormed past Kent State’s Blake Schaffer with a 20-4 technical fall in the first round, then followed that with an 11-3 major decision over Bucknell’s Dillon Bechtold. The unbeaten Nittany Lion moves on to the quarterfinals against Stanford’s Angelo Posada.
At heavyweight, Mirasola got Penn State off to a strong start there with a 13-7 first-round win over Duke’s Connor Barket, but he dropped a tough 4-0 decision to Iowa’s Ben Kueter in the second round when Kueter found a late takedown. Mirasola now heads to the consolations.
Penn State’s push through the first two sessions was fueled not just by wins, but by the kind of bonus-point barrage that separates title teams from contenders. In Session I alone, the Nittany Lions collected six bonus wins from Lilledahl, Blaze, Van Ness, Mesenbrink, Welsh and Barr. That pressure continued into the night as Penn State kept piling on technical falls, majors and pins.
It was also a noticeable change from stretches of the Big Ten Championships, where some Nittany Lions at times had trouble generating clean offense. On Thursday, Penn State was far more assertive.
“You’ve got to go score points. If you want to win, you’ve got to score points. And so, we’ll just keep that rolling through tomorrow and Saturday,” Sanderson said.
Asked if he saw more aggression from his team, Sanderson pointed back to Penn State’s offensive mindset.
“I think I have to break it down individually. But yeah, I think so,” Sanderson said. “This is nationals, so you got to go do what you do, and go score points and find a way to win the match. Doesn’t really matter. I mean, all that matters is you just got to score points.”
Around the field, there were major storylines developing behind the Nittany Lions. Oklahoma’s Juan Mora scored one of the bigger upsets at heavyweight, knocking off Wisconsin’s Braxton Amos and later toppling Ohio State’s Nick Feldman. Arizona State’s Colton Hawks delivered one of the bracket-shaking results at 197 by beating Virginia Tech’s Sonny Sasso. Navy’s Danny Wask stunned Cornell’s Simon Ruiz at 174, while Columbia’s Cesar Alvan pinned Oklahoma State’s LaDarion Lockett in overtime at 165.
Still, the day belonged to Penn State.
Through two sessions, the Nittany Lions showed once again why they entered Cleveland as overwhelming favorites and built 40.5 team points, good for a 13.5-point lead over Nebraska. Penn State was efficient, explosive and ruthless with bonus points, and with nine quarterfinalists alive after Day 1, Sanderson’s team is once again in prime position to make another march toward team glory.
