Penn State wrestling at the 2025 NCAA championships: Time, TV info for session one, how to find results, more

The 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships start today in Philadelphia. Penn State will have entrants in all 10 weight classes once the action begins inside of the Wells Fargo Center this afternoon. Blue-White Illustrated will provide continuing coverage of the tournament from the first whistle on Thursday through the post-event news conferences late Saturday night.

“Every match, when you’re you’re trying to be the best you can be, it requires kind of that same effort,” head coach Cael Sanderson said this week. “I think our guys are ready to go. But they’re the ones that get to decide for themselves and go out there and choose to compete with enthusiasm and gratitude or not. But I think right now, things look really, really good.”

NCAA Championships: Day 1 schedule

Day one begins at Noon ET with the first session. It includes pigtail bouts and first round matches. It is scheduled to run until approximately 3:30 p.m.

Session two, which features second-round championship bracket matches plus first-round consolation bracket action, begins at 7 p.m. It is expected to go until approximately 10:30 p.m.

How to watch, follow the Lions at NCAAs

The NCAA Wrestling Tournament’s opening day will be a mixture of live television coverage and streaming. Penn State matches will be part of ESPNU’s over-the-air coverage of session one. ESPN, then, will carry session two. Specific mat cameras will be available to stream, as well, via ESPN+.

The Penn State Sports Network will be on the air with the prematch show at 11:40 a.m. for session one and 6:40 p.m. for session two on Thursday. Longtime broadcaster Jeff Byers will be on the call. Click here to access the free LionVision feed.

You can also follow along live and chat with other Penn State wrestling fans on Blue-White Illustrated’s The Wrestling Room forum. Access it by clicking here for live updates.

Who will each Nittany Lion face first in Philadelphia?

Here’s the breakdown. The Nittany Lions who have a top seed in their weight class will get the winner of a pigtail match as signified by the OR. And, the number listed next to each wrestler’s name is his tournament seed, not his InterMat ranking.

125 pounds: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl, PSU vs. No. 33 Caleb Weiand Michigan State OR No. 32 Marcelli Milani, Cornell

133 pounds: No. 8 Braeden Davis, Penn State vs. No. 25 Kurt Phipps, Bucknell

141 pounds: No. 2 Beau Bartlett, PSU vs. No. 31 Jordan Titus, West Virginia

149 pounds: No. 3 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State vs. No. 30 Gabe Willochell, Wyoming

157 pounds: No. 1 Tyler Kasak, PSU vs. No. 33 Richard Fedalen, Colorado vs. No. 32 Landon Johnson, Northern Illinois

165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State vs. No. 33 Chandler Amaker, Central Michigan vs. No. 32 Jared Keslar, Pittsburgh

174 pounds: No. 2 Levi Haines, PSU vs. No. 30 Avery Bassett, Lock Haven

184 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State vs. No. 33 TJ McDonnell, Oregon State vs. No. 32 Caden Rogers, Lehigh

197 pounds: No. 4 Josh Barr, PSU vs. No. 29 Tucker Hogan, Lehigh

285 pounds: No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State vs. No. 30 Sam Mitchell, Wyoming

See full brackets here.

Early storylines to follow

–Penn State has often built a strong team race lead on the first day by racking up bonus points in the first two sessions. Can they do so this time around?

–How will Josh Barr look in his opener? The 197-pound redshirt freshman hurt his left leg at Big Tens and medically defaulted to sixth place.

–Speaking of bonus points, Van Ness pinned Willochell back in December when the Nittany Lions and Cowboys met during the dual meet season. Can he do so again and score crucial team points for Penn State?