CLEVELAND– Penn State fans have been waiting for almost a year and a half to see what Masanosuke Ono can do, and he gave them a preview Saturday night in Cleveland.
Ono, wrestling at bantamweight, took on Ohio State’s Ben Davino, who just so happened to be a national runner-up at 133 pounds last season.
Ono shut him out, 4-0, to move to 1-0 in his RAF career.
Ono got off to a strong start, jumping to a 1-0 lead. He got two more points in the second period to remain in control going into the last two minutes. Taking a 4-0 lead in the third all but sealed the deal, and Ono didn’t let up at the end.
He committed to Penn State in March 2025 and redshirted his freshman season. Coach Cael Sanderson said he planned to have Ono compete without burning his redshirt, but an injury derailed those plans.
When Ono does make his Penn State debut, fans will be seeing one of the best in the world.
Ono won the Senior World Title at 61 KG in Albaina in October 2024.
Before committing, Ono had been training with Nittany Lion Wrestling Club since January, so people wondered if the 21-year-old would join Sanderson’s empire full-time. Earlier this week, 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 two days after Penn State won its 12th national title in 14 years.
Penn State is going for No. 14 this year, and Ono is poised to be a big part of that.
He told Nittany Sports Now after the win that he doesn’t know if he’s competing at 133 or 141.
