Penn State wrestling puts 5 on U.S U20 team; 2 alive for U23 spot: Full results
Penn State wrestlers will make up half of the 10-man contingent that Team USA sends to the U20 World Championships in Bulgaria this August. Five Nittany Lions won titles at the team trials on Saturday to earn a spot on the national team. Freshman Marcus Blaze has the 61 kilogram spot, while classmates PJ Duke and William Henckel have the 70 and 79 kilogram spots, respectively. Then, Penn State redshirt freshman Connor and Cole Mirasola will man the 92- and 125-kilogram spots, respectively.
In other U20 team trials news, Lions redshirt freshman Joe Sealey finished third at 74 kilograms while Class of 2026 commit Jayden James finished second after beating Sealey in the challenge tournament semis before losing to Oklahoma State’s Ladarion Lockett in the finals. No other Nittany Lions placed at the event.
As for the U23 tournament, Penn State newcomer Rocco Welsh is alive in the 86-kilogram bracket for that age group’s World team spot. The same goes for Connor Pierce in the 70 kilogram bracket, who like Welsh, is in the quarters. They are back in action Sunday morning.
You can find a recap of Saturday’s action at the U20 Team Trials and U23 Nationals below.
Cole Mirasola is onto Worlds
05/31/2025 05:22:24 PMCole Mirasola sweeps Dreshaun Ross 5-2 and will represent Team USA at 125 kilograms this summer at U20 Worlds.
Connor Mirasola punches his ticket to U20 worlds
05/31/2025 04:58:32 PMPenn State redshirt freshman Connor Mirasola is back on the U20 Team USA after sweeping Bucknell’s Dillon Bechtold out of the 92 kilograms U20 team trial finals. He joins Marcus Blaze and PJ Duke as repeat U20 team members. They are joined by Class of 2025 signee William Henckel as the Lions’ four U20 reps so far.
Sealey takes third
05/31/2025 04:46:01 PMAfter losing to Penn State Class of 2026 Jayden James in the challenge tournament semis, Nittany Lion redshirt freshman Joe Sealey wrestled back for U20 team trials third at 74kg.
William Henckel is on the U.S. U20 team
05/31/2025 04:39:52 PMPenn State freshman Will Henckel is the third Nittany Lion to make the U.S. U20 team. He sweeps Michigan’s Brock Mantanona out of the 79 kilogram finals to claim the age group spot in his weight class, and joins Marcus Blaze and PJ Duke as the Lions on Team USA with the Mirasola twins still to wrestle.
Jayden James finishes second at U20 team trials
05/31/2025 04:30:23 PMPenn State Class of 2026 signee Jayden James, a member of the U17 World team. knocked out a pair of older wrestlers to reach the 74 kilogram U20 finals, but his run ends there. Oklahoma State’s Ladarion Lockett sweeps the best-of-three series to claim the Team USA spot.
PJ Duke is on the U.S. U20 team
05/31/2025 04:28:14 PMAfter beating Landon Robideau of Oklahoma State 7-0 in round one, Penn State freshman PJ Duke earned the 70 kilogram spot on the U20 Team USA by beating the Cowboy 9-4 in round two. He and Marcus Blaze will both compete at Worlds in Bulgaria later this year.
Marcus Blaze is on the U.S. U20 team
05/31/2025 04:07:14 PMPenn State freshman Marcus Blaze will represent Team USA at 61 kilograms at the U20 World Championships this summer. He won the best-of-three team trials final by beating Arizona State’s Kyler Larkin in back-to-back matches by a combined score of 14-1.
Penn State goes five of six in round one of U20 World Team Trials
05/31/2025 03:50:07 PMPenn State sent six connections to the finals of the U.S. U20 World Team Trials, and five of them need to win only one more match to punch their ticket to the world championships in Bulgaria this August. Marcus Blaze (61 kilograms), PJ Duke (70kg), William Henckel (79kg), Connor Mirasola (92kg), and Cole Mirasola (125kg) all won their first bout in a best-of-three finals. Penn State Class of 2026 Jayden James lost his opener and will need to win two in a row to make the team at 74 kilograms. You can see full results below and further updates will come above this post as they become available.
Cole Mirasola wins his opener
05/31/2025 03:48:27 PMPenn State redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola beat Oklahoma State’s Dreshaun Ross 4-1 in the first of a best-of-three finals at 125 kilograms. He’ll need one more win to punch his ticket to U20 Worlds as a member of Team USA.
Henckel needs one more win to make the U20 team
05/31/2025 03:33:26 PMWill Henckel made quick work of Michigan’s Brock Mantanona in the first finals match at 79 kilograms. He earned a 10-0 technical fall in 2:17 and will need to win one more to take the Team USA U20 spot.
James drops his opener
05/31/2025 03:28:02 PMOklahoma State’s Ladarion Lockett beat Penn State Class of 2026 commit Jayden James 6-1 in the first finals match at 74 kilograms. The Nittany Lion will need to win two in a row to claim the Team USA U20 team spot.
Connor Mirasola is a win away from a U20 spot
05/31/2025 03:21:09 PMPenn State redshirt freshman Connor Mirasola won his first finals match against Dillon Bechtold of Bucknell 10-0 in just 1:56. He’ll need to win one more to earn the Team USA U20 spot at 92 kilograms.
PJ Duke is a win away from a U20 spot
05/31/2025 03:17:30 PMPenn State freshman PJ Duke beat Landon Robideau of Oklahoma State 7-0 in his first match at 70 kilograms. He needs to win one more to claim the U20 Team USA spot.
Blaze is a win away from a U20 spot
05/31/2025 03:10:12 PMMarcus Blaze beat Kyler Larkin by technical fall 10-0 in the second period. He needs to win one more match (it’s a best-of-three) to claim the 61 kilogram U20 Team USA spot.
The U20 Finals are about to start
05/31/2025 02:51:44 PMBlaze-Lockett is first on mat four when the championship session starts. Duke-Robdieu follows. Then Connor Mirasola-Bechtold.
Jordan is in the hole on mat three.
No mat assignment yet for Will Heckel and Cole Mirasola.
Penn State connections in the U20 Finals
05/31/2025 01:10:10 PMHere’s a look at the Nittany Lions in the best-of-three finals, which start at 4 p.m. ET and run until 7 p.m. ET:
61 kilograms (134.4 pounds): Marcus Blaze vs. Kyler Larkin, Arizona State
70 kilograms (163.1 pounds): PJ Duke vs. Landon Robideau, Oklahoma State
74 kilograms (163.1 pounds): Jayden James vs. Ladarion Lockett, Oklahoma State
79 kilograms (174.1 pounds): William Henckel vs. Brock Mantanona, Michigan
92 kilograms (202.8 pounds): Connor Mirasola vs. Dillon Bechtold, Bucknell
125 kilograms (275.5 pounds): Cole Mirasola vs. Dreshaun Ross, Oklahoma State
Notes on other Nittany Lions
05/31/2025 01:14:31 PMNate Desmond has been eliminated from the tournament after losing in wrestlebacks at 57 kilograms. Joe Sealey will wrestle for a chance to be in the third place match later today at 74kg.
As for the U23 tournament, there’s nothing new to report on that front as of 2:15 p.m. ET beyond what is below.
Jayden James will be in the U20 finals
05/31/2025 12:59:08 PMAlready a U17 Team USA member, Penn State Class of 2026 commit Jayden James will wrestle in the U20 74 kilogram finals opposite Ladarion Lockett of Oklahoma State after building an 8-0 lead before going on to beat N.C. State Class of 2025 signee Will Denny 10-8 in the challenge tournament final.
Blaze earns a finals spot
05/31/2025 12:41:50 PMPenn State will have another wrestler in the U20 Team Trial finals. Marcus Blaze just took out Wisconsin’s Zane Fuggit with a quick 10-0 tech fall. He’ll face Arizona State’s Kyler Larkin in the 61 kilogram finals.
Results so far
05/31/2025 12:16:12 PMPenn State fared well in the first half of session one on Saturday morning. Marcus Blaze, a Class of 2025 signee, is one match away from reaching the 61 kilogram finals. The most notable result so far, meanwhile, saw Class of 2026 commit Jayden James of New Jersey knock out Penn State redshirt freshman Joe Sealey, by technical fall, 10-0 in just 1:40.
Here is where things stand as of 1:25 p.m. ET:
U20
57 kilograms (125.6 pounds): Nate Desmond — Wrestling for placing after losing on criteria by decision, 7-7, in the challenge tournament semifinals.
61 kilograms (134.4 pounds): Marcus Blaze — Will face Zan Fugitt of Wisconsin in the challenge tournament finals for a shot at Kyler Larkin of Arizona State in the finals after winning his first by a combined score of 15-1.
70 kilograms (163.1 pounds): PJ Duke — Sitting until the finals
74 kilograms (163.1 pounds): Jayden James, Joe Sealey — James and Sealey met in the semis, where the former scored a 10-0 technical decision triumph. He’ll face William Denny in the challenge finals for the right to see Ladarion Lockett of Oklahoma State in the finals. Sealey is still alive for placement.
79 kilograms (174.1 pounds): William Henckel — Sitting until the finals
92 kilograms (202.8 pounds): Connor Mirasola — Sitting until the finals
125 kilograms (275.5 pounds): Cole Mirasola — Sitting until the finals
U23
70 kilograms (154.3 pounds): Connor Pierce — Has Elijah Larsen of Grand View College in Round one
74 kilograms (173.1 pounds): Ty Watson — Has first round bye and then Ian Fritz in the Round of 32.
79 kilograms (174.1 pounds): Sam Beckett — Has Tyson Nisley of Wabash in round one.
86 kilograms (189.5 pounds): Rocco Welsh — First round bye
125 kilograms (275.5 pounds) Dawson Bundy — Has Bruce Wagers of the University of Rio Grande in round one
List of Lions entries
05/31/2025 12:15:29 PMHere it is, broken down by tournament, for your reference:
U20
57 kilograms (125.6 pounds): Nate Desmond — First round bye, then has Kody Tanimoto in the Round of 16
61 kilograms (134.4 pounds): Marcus Blaze — First round bye into the Round of 16, where he’ll face a TBD opponent. Sam Herring also has a first round bye and will draw Tyler Ferrara of Spartan Combat RTC in the Round of 16.
70 kilograms (163.1 pounds): PJ Duke — Sitting until the finals
74 kilograms (163.1 pounds): Jayden James — Has Laird Root of the Tar Heel Wrestling Club Round one. Joe Sealey has a first round bye and will face a TBD opponent in the Round of 8.
79 kilograms (174.1 pounds): William Henckel — Sitting until the finals
92 kilograms (202.8 pounds): Connor Mirasola — Sitting until the finals
125 kilograms (275.5 pounds): Cole Mirasola — Sitting until the finals
U23
70 kilograms (154.3 pounds): Connor Pierce — Pierce is in round of the championship bracket after winning his first two matches by a combined score of 27-6.
74 kilograms (173.1 pounds): Ty Watson — Watson fell by decision in the second round of the championship bracket and is now wrestling for placement.
79 kilograms (174.1 pounds): Sam Beckett — Beckett is wrestling for placement after losing in the second round of the championship bracket
86 kilograms (189.5 pounds): Rocco Welsh — Welsh won his first match of the day by technical fall, 10-0, and awaits a second-round championship bracket match later today.
125 kilograms (275.5 pounds) Dawson Bundy — Bundy won his opener and awaits a second-round championship bracket match later today.
