Penn State wrestling commits, target, set to compete at U20 Pan-Am Championships
The U20 men’s freestyle Pan-American Championships are set for Saturday. Penn State, as it is at most national and International wrestling events, will be well represented. In fact, the 10-man U.S. contingent competing in Lima, Peru is made up of four future Nittany Lions. And, a key Class of 2026 target is competing, as well.
Class of 2024 recruit Luke Lilledahl leads the Penn State group. Last year’s U20 World Championships silver medalist and U20 U.S. Freestyle Nationals’ most outstanding wrestler aims to defend the 57-kilogram (125.6 pounds) U20 Pan-Am title he won a year ago. And, he’s the favorite to do so. The possible starter for Penn State at 125 pounds this winter will open his tournament with either Matteo Romano of Canada) or Ricardo Pena Valencia of Mexico. He will need to win three bouts to take gold.
The next Nittany Lion of note is New York junior PJ Duke. He blew through the competition at U20 Freestyle Nationals to make the U.S. team. Duke will compete in the 70-kilogram (154.3 pounds) division. He is MatScouts’ No. 1 pound-for-pound wrestler in the Class of 2025 and won the WIN’s Junior Schalles Award as the nation’s top high school pinner in 2023. His tournament will start with Santiago Pinargote Sornoza of Ecuador. And, he must also win three bouts to take gold.
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Class of 2024 recruit Zack Ryder will represent Penn State in the 79-kilogram (174.1 pounds) weight class. The 2023 U17 Worlds bronze medalist sat out his senior season at Minisink Valley High School in New York to train at the M2 Training Complex in State College. He competed at the varsity level since seventh grade, however, and is a four-time state champ and multi-time U.S. Open gold medalist. His tournament starts with Hector Hernandez Castillo of Ecaudor. Ryder is the three seed in his bracket and would need to beat both Castillo and then No. 1 seed LJ Araujo of Brazil in the quarterfinals to stay in the championship bracket. Four bout victories would earn him a gold medal.
The final Nittany Lion commit in the lineup is Wisconsin four-time state champ Connor Mirasola. He will compete in the 92-kilogram (202.8 pounds) bracket. It is unique in that unlike the others before it, wrestlers in that weight class will compete in one of two round robin tournaments for a spot in the semifinals. The Penn State Class of 2024 signee is in Pool A, where he will face David Hildago Nunez of Peru, Alan Perez Uribe of Mexico, and Rafael Abrahams Delgado of Puerto Rico.
Last but not least, we’ll note that Pa., standout and Class of 2026 No. 1 recruit Bo Bassett competes in the 65-kilogram division for Team USA.
The men’s freestyle U20 Pan-American Championships start at 10 a.m. ET Saturday with qualification rounds and repechage, otherwise known as consolation bracket actions. The finals begin 2 p.m. ET. Live results can be found via the United World Wrestling page here, and FloWrestling subscribers can stream the action here.
