NCAA Wrestling Tournament 2023: Levi Haines punches ticket to finals as true freshman for Penn State

Levi Haines wouldn’t let the moniker of true freshman be an excuse to not make the NCAA finals. The 157 pound freshman from Penn State took down Nebraska’s Peyton Robb for the second time in two weeks to punch his ticket to the finals Saturday night.

Haines will meet 2021 champion, No. 1 Austin O’Connor (North Carolina), but it’s nothing the Nittany Lion hasn’t seen before. At least, that’s the way he’s coached.

Haines became just the third true freshman in Penn State history to make the finals.

This match was tied 2-2 after the second period. Robb chose down and escaped first before Haines notched a takedown to take the lead.

But Robb escaped again to tie it before the third period. Haines opened the third period on bottom and escaped to make it 3-2. His late takedown ended Robb’s hopes of avenging his lone loss on the season.

Robb did get a late escape but it was not enough for the Husker. Robb’s two losses in 2022-23 are to Haines.

Haines and O’Connor square off Saturday as the Tar Heel goes for his second title while Haines looks to add to a probable team title for Penn State.

More on the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships

The 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships were held March 16-18 at the BOK Center in Tulsa (Okla). The tournament consists of 330 wrestlers in total across 10 weight classes. Each weight class features wrestlers seeded No. 1 through No. 33.

Over the course of the three-day tournament, wrestlers can achieve national champion status by going 5-0 in their bracket, through Saturday night’s finals. The top eight placewinners in each bracket are considered All-Americans.

Losing one match does not eliminate a wrestler from competition. The consolation bracket is designed to determine the remaining spots on the podium (third through eighth place).

Since there are 33 wrestlers in each weight, the competitors seeded No. 32 and 33 compete in a “pigtail bout” prior to the first round to determine who matches up against the No. 1 seed in Round 1.

Losing the pigtail drops the wrestler to the consolation bracket where there is still opportunity to finish as high as third place in the weight class.

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The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Tournament is set to take place in Kansas City (Mo.).