Penn State wrestling show: Mitchell Mesenbrink goes for a U23 title; preseason rankings are out
Oct. 25 update: After winning his first match of the day, Mesenbrink lost his quarterfinal match to Kota Takahashi of Japan. However, Takahashi would go on to win his semifinal match. That pulls Mesenbrink back into Saturday’s repechage bracket, where he will have the chance to wrestle for U23 World bronze.
Original story:
A new episode of the Penn State Wrestling Show from Blue-White Illustrated is now live. Host Thomas Frank Carr and reporter Greg Pickel are back with weekly episodes as the season quickly approaches. The duo discuss one final International event that’s on tap for this weekend before diving into some preseason chatter.
Second-year Nittany Lion, U20 World Champ, and 2023-2024 NCAA 165-pound runner-up Mitchell Mesenbrink is in action at U23 Worlds this weekend. He is in the 74-kilogram (163 pounds) division at the championships. Men’s freestyle action starts in Albania at 4:30 a.m. ET on Friday. Qualifying rounds take place first. Mesenbrink earned a bye out of those and instead opens his tournament in the first round opposite Murat Dzhakupov of Kazakhstan. He previously won silver at the 2023 Stepan Sargsyan Tournament. FloWrestling calls Mesenbrink the favorite to win his division.
“Mitchell Mesenbrink is Team USA’s best chance for gold at U23s and he should face a few worthy challengers in Albania,” Jon Kozak writes. “Azerbaijan’s Dzhabrail Gadzhiev might be the best of the bunch with some quality senior-level wins under his belt and plenty of experience internationally. After Gadzhiev, Iran’s Rezaei is coming off a U20 world title where he defeated Team USA’s LaDarion Lockett in the finals.
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“Kota Takahashi is another guy to watch out for – he defeated former Russian and Olympian Viktor Rassadin earlier this year in the finals of the 2024 Asian Championships. Even with all of these competitors in the field, I’m still picking Mesenbrink to come out on top for gold.”
It should be noted that Takahashi and Rezaei meet in a qualifying round bout. The winner could face Mesenbrink in the quarterfinals if all goes as planned for the Nittany Lion. Gadzhiev, then, is on the other side of the bracket.
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.
BWI will have continuing updates from Mesenbrink’s time at the U23 World Championships on Friday and Saturday. After that conversation concludes, Carr and Pickel move on to the latest college wrestling preseason rankings. What do they tell us about the possible Penn State lineup and also head coach Cael Sanderson’s team in 2024-2025? The pair discuss to round out this week’s episode.
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