Penn State sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink named Big Ten wrestler of the week

Penn State sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink has earned his second honor of the 2024-2025 college wrestling season. After securing the Outstanding Wrestler award at the Army Black Knight Invitational last Sunday, the 165-pound standout is now the Big Ten’s Wrestler of the Week. The conference announced the news on Wednesday.

Mesenbrink rolled to the 165-pound title in West Point, N.Y. He continues to hold the top spot in his weight class’ rankings this week. The Nittany Lion finished second at nationals a year ago and now looks to earn his first NCAA title during his second season in State College. He’s off to a great start. After beating Drexel’s Cody Walsh by technical fall 21-4 in 5:19 two Sundays ago, the Wisconsin native picked up four more dominating wins at the Black Knight Invite.

“Rolled to the 2024 Black Knight Invitational title at 165 pounds, going 4-0, all by technical fall, with two of his wins against ranked opponents and a pair of Big Ten foes,” the Big Ten writes in making Mesenbrink its wrestler of the week.

“Posted technical falls over Carter Baer of Binghamton, 18-3 (5:37), Cam Adams of Michigan State, 18-1 (4:01), No. 32 Tony White of Rutgers, 19-4 (5:46) and No. 14 Gunner Filipowicz of Army in the finals, 17-2 (4:50).”

The math is impressive. Throughout his 5-0 start, the Penn State standout is outscoring opponents 93-19.

More Penn State wrestling news

Penn State is amid its first off week of the season due to the Thanksgiving holiday. It returns to action next Sunday, Dec. 8, when it takes on Lehigh at the PPL Center in Allentown. To pass the time, a new episode of the BWI Penn State wrestling show is now live.

Host Thomas Frank Carr and reporter Greg Pickel had plenty to discuss after the Nittany Lions took nine of 10 titles at the Army Black Knight Invitational. You can watch it and find the podcast version below.

Luke Lilledahl won the 125-pound bracket, Shayne Van Ness took first at 149 pounds, Tyler Kasak beat Alex Fauncdo in the 157-pound first place bout, Mitchell Mesenbrink rolled to the 165-pound title, and Josh Barr beat Lucah Cochran by major decision in the 197-pound final. The team then split titles at 174, 184, and 285 pounds because matches against teammates do not count and that’s what the Lions had at weights that are not competitive from a starting lineup perspective. So, the finals in those weight classes were ruled a no contest.

You can watch this week’s Penn State wrestling show in the video player below and also on YouTube. Or, you can listen at your favorite destinations for audio like SPOTIFY and APPLE.

Carr and Pickel start the show by recapping the tournament. They discuss whether Penn State is ready to make starting spot decisions or not. Lilledahl, a freshman, is the man at 125 after beating the only other wrestler on the roster in his weight class, Kurt McHenry, by decision. Kasak beating Facundo gives him a leg up for the job. And, the same goes for Barr with a major decision over Cochran. From there, the duo discuss how the Lions freshmen performed overall. They close the show with general thoughts on where the team stands after three competitions this season.

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