Penn State wrestling season superlatives: Best highlight, key moment, bold prediction, and more

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The 2024-2025 Penn State wrestling season is in the books. As Carter Starocci and Mitchell Mesenbrink vie with Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson for the Hodge Trophy, which is equivalent to the Heisman Trophy, we picked our top superlatives from the postseason. Check them out below.

Who were the three best Penn State wrestlers?

Carter Starocci | Gs. | 184

Starocci returned for a fifth and final college season with one goal in mind: Dominating the competition. The fact that he could become the first college wrestler to ever win five NCAA titles was just something he could accomplish along the way. The Nittany Lion checked both boxes. After cruising through the field at Big Tens, he took out his first two opponents at nationals by technical fall in just over a combined 10 minutes of mat time. After beating Oklahoma State’s Dustin Plott handily by decision, 9-3, in the semifinals, he beat defending weight class champ Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa 4-3 on the strength of a third period takedown in the final with less than a minute left to make history. 

More: Who could replace Carter Starocci, Greg Kerkvliet, and Beau Bartlett in the Penn State wrestling lineup?

Mitchell Mesenbrink | So. | 165

After beating him 19-4 in the regular season, Mesenbrink beat Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo 4-1 in the Big Ten finals. The Hawkeye was the only competitor to that point to hold the Nittany Lion to just a decision victory. It would not be the last time they met in 2024-2025. The Penn State star picked up his NCAA-best 17th and 18th technical falls of the season to start his time at the NCAA Tournament. After a not-as-close-as-it-looked 5-0 decision over Oklahoma State’s Cameron Amine in the quarterfinals, Mesenbrink handled Nebraska’s Christopher Minto by major decision, 13-2, in the semis. That set up his third meeting of the year with Caliendo. Mesenbrink led 1-0 after one, 4-2 after two, and added an escape and late takedown in the third to win, 8-2, and secure his first NCAA title. 

Josh Barr | R-Fr. | 197

Barr entered NCAAs as the four-seed. He also had a sleeve over his left hamstring after injury defaulting out of Big Tens with an injury. It did not slow him down in the opening round. He won by major decision before needing a takedown in sudden victory to fend off 12-seed Trey Munoz of Oregon State 5-2 in Round 2.

Barr found an easier task in the quarters. He pounded former Nittany Lion Michael Beard 14-3 before winning a season rubber match with top-seed Jacob Cardenas of Michigan by decision, 5-3. The second-year Nittany Lion put up a strong fight in the finals opposite Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan. But, he could not connect on a takedown en route to a 5-2 loss to finish second. 

Key moment

Penn State entered the tournament as a huge favorite to win the team title. But it was in doubt whether or not it could become just the second team ever to have 10 All-Americans. Seven Nittany Lions earned a top-eight finish by reaching the semifinals. It was then up to the other three Penn State starters to join them on the podium. They simply needed a victory in the blood round. Each of the trio was up to the task.

Freshman Luke Lilledahl shook off an upset loss in the 125-pound quarters to beat Wisconsin’s Nicolar Rivera en route to finishing third. Sophomore Bradeden Davis won his first 133-pound consolation match 4-2 over Iowa’s Evan Frost and ultimately finished fifth. And sophomore Tyler Kasak, who suffered an upset of his own in the 157-pound quarters, made a second period ride stand up to beat Pennsylvanis’s Jude Swisher 5-4 on the strength of a riding time point to secure a top-eight finish. He ultimately finished third, as well.

Best highlight

We’re going with the three moments that made history for Penn State in the NCAA tournament. Redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness pinned Ethan Stiles of Oregon State in the first period of a 149-pound consolation semifinal bout to secure the Lions’ fourth team title. Carter Starocci finished a scramble with a takedown with 50 seconds to go in the third period of his 184-pound and went on to beat Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen 4-3 to become the sport’s first five-time champ. And, Mitchell Mesenbrink took down Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo late in the third period of their 165-pound final to secure an 8-2 triumph that put Penn State’s team points total at 177. That is a new tournament record. 

Bold Penn State wrestling prediction

Penn State will have more than the two individual champions it had in 2024-2025 in 2025-2026.

Luke Lilledahl returns as the odds-on favorite at 125 pounds despite finishing third this year. Tyler Kasak can make the same claim at 157 pounds. And so can Levi Haines at 174 pounds. Mitchell Mesenbrink will be the biggest favorite out of the 10 champs this year to return and win one again next year. Shayne Van Ness will enter next winter as the second-ranked wrestler at 149 pounds behind Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett. Josh Barr will be No. 1 in the new rankings at 197.

All of that does not even account for any newcomers – like top Class of 2025 signee Marcus Blaze and Japanese World Champ Ono, who project to fill the 141-pound and/or 133-pound starting spots, respectively, if All-American Braeden Davis cannot fend them off – who could make noise at nationals next year, as well.