Luke Lilledahl is set for his first college match; what should Penn State wrestling fans expect?
Penn State wrestling fans — including Luke Lilledahl’s friends and family — did not get to see the star freshman make his complete college debut last Sunday when the Lions pounded Drexel 41-3. The 125-pound starter simply trotted out to the mat and had his hand raised as the Dragons did not have anywhere available to wrestle at that weight due to injury and thus had to forfeit. The St. Charles. Mo., native who wrestled at Wyoming Seminary in Pa., has won in all sorts of ways throughout an already decorated career. He is a U20 and U17 World champ. He has won numerous prep national titles. His list of honors can go on and on.
Undoubtedly, he has won by forfeit before. But, this time was different. It was supposed to be his first chance to compete in a blue and white singlet while experiencing the Rec Hall environment for the first time. The latter part of that sentence will have to wait until at least Dec. 15 when Nittany Lions host Wyoming. But, he will get to step on the mat and compete as a member of head coach Cael Sanderson’s program for the first time this weekend when he and numerous teammates enter the Army Black Knight Invitational on Sunday. He is No. 1 in the preseeds.
“I’m really excited to go and compete this weekend,” Lilledahl said this week. “It’ll be my first time actually wrestling in a Penn State singlet, so that’s another aspect that I am really going to enjoy.”
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Lilledahl will put his fast, aggressive style on display in West Point. He is currently ranked No. 33 by InterMat. The Penn State freshman will be a co-favorite to win the bracket along with Army junior Charlie Farmer, who is ranked No. 21, and Rutgers junior Dean Patterson, who is No. 17. Although, based on past success, Lilledahl should have a leg up on both. That’s true even if he does not have an age advantage. Nittany Lion fans should expect to see plenty of highlight reel moments from Lilledahl this weekend. He had many of them at the prep level, and they aren’t going to stop happening now.
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“He’s very constant and that’s easy to see if you have followed him throughout his career,” Lions coach Cael Sanderson said. “He learns, he gets better, and he competes hard. Obviously, I don’t want to talk him up too much, but we love having him here.
“He’s just very even-keeled and always consistent. It’s usually that the guys that end up being the best are the ones that are the same all the time. Always focused, always in a positive attitude. It’s not hard to make him smile.”
