It’s almost impossible for a college wrestler to finish his career unbeaten, and this is true even for generational wrestling talents such as Penn State freshman Marcus Blaze.
Blaze, seeded first at 133 pound, came into his Big Ten championship match against Ohio State’s Ben Davino, seeded second with a 21-0 record and 80% bonus point rate.
Blaze’s toughest match of the regular season took place against Davino at the Bryce Jordan Center, which Blaze won in sudden victory. This bout, also at the Bryce Jordan Center, which hosted this year’s Big Ten Championships, went to a second tiebreaker, which Davino won as a result of having more riding time.
The good news is that Blaze is more than capable of bouncing back.
He came to Penn State as the No. 1 wrestler in the 2025 recruiting class, and earlier season, coach Cael Sanderson described him as “as good a wrestler as there’s ever been.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“I think he’s just a tremendous competitor,” Sanderson said. “He stays in such good position as he’s competing,” Sanderson said. “I think he’s maybe a little under the radar if that’s even possible because he’s really really good. I mean I don’t know what else to say.”
Davino, a redshirt freshman, has been Blaze’s biggest rival so far, and with both having three years of eligibility after this season, we could be witnessing one of college wrestling’s great rivalries.
The next chapter could be written in two weeks at the national championships in Cleveland, where the two are likely to be the top two seeds.
