Where is Penn State wrestling in its quest for 10 All-Americans and another team title?

PHILADELPHIA – Penn State was not perfect in session three of the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships as it was throughout a 20-0 opening day here on Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center. But, the No. 1 Nittany Lions still have plenty to celebrate. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s team has seven wrestlers in tonight’s semifinals after session three. They start at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. 

Here’s where things stand heading into Friday night. We review session three first before a look at the semifinals, the team race, and the Penn State quest for 10 All-Americans.

Penn State suffers three setbacks

The Lions will not be represented in the first two weight classes. Freshman Luke Lilledahl, the top seed at 125 pounds, was upset by Lehigh’s Sheldon Seymour in his quarterfinal in tiebreaker two. It reversed the outcome of the dual meet season, where Lilledahl beat Seymour 4-1.

“It was a close match back in December and that one, I just didn’t finish a couple more shots,” Seymour said.

“Even though I didn’t finish these ones here, just staying composed was the main thing. I was just building confidence the whole year.”

One weight class later, sophomore Braeden Davis was taken out of the championship bracket at 133 pounds by top-seed Lucas Byrd of Illinois. Byrd won by major decision, 12-1. 

Penn State is also in the consolation bracket at 157 pounds after sophomore Tyler Kasak, who is the No. 1 seed, fell by decision to No. 8 Joey Blaze of Purdue. He, of course, is the brother of top Nittany Lions Class of 2025 signee Marcus Blaze. 

Reviewing the Lions’ seven semifinalists

As noted above, Penn State did not hold serve in every quarterfinal in which it was favored. But, it did so in the majority of them. Beau Bartlett and Shayne Van Ness moved onto the semifinals with decision victories at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively. Mitchell Mesenbrink did the same at 165. And so, too, did Levi Haines at 174. There were eventually some bonus point triumphs. Carter Starocci and Josh Barr won by major decision in back-to-back bouts at 184 and 197 pounds, respectively. And, Greg Kerkvliet 

Here’s who each Lion faces in the semifinals:

141 pounds: No. 2 Beau Bartlett, PSU vs. No. 3 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State

149 pounds: No. 3 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State vs. No. 2 Ridge Lovett, Nebraska

165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State vs. No. 12 Christopher Minto, Nebraska

174 pounds: No. 2 Levi Haines, PSU vs. No. 3 Dean Hamiti, Oklahoma State

184 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State vs. No. 4 Dustin Plott, Oklahoma State

197 pounds: No. 4 Josh Barr, PSU vs. No. 1 Jacob Cardenas, Michigan

285 pounds: No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State vs. No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson, Oklahoma State

Where is Penn State on its quest for a team title and 10 All-Americans?

Penn State could still become the second team in NCAA history to have 10 All-Americans at one NCAA Championships. The 2000-2001 Minnesota team is the only one to do so. The Lions’ seven semifinalists in 2025 have already earned that status. Lilledahl, Davis, and Kasak must all win their first consolation bracket match tonight to guarantee a top-eight finish and earn All-American status.

Here’s who each faces:

125 pounds: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl, PSU vs. No. 11 Nicolar Rivera, Wisconsin

133 pounds: No. 8 Braeden Davis, Penn State vs. No. 11 Evan Frost, Iowa State

157 pounds: No. 1 Tyler Kasak, PSU vs. No. 14 Jude Swisher, Penn

Team race update

As for the team race, Penn State has a comfortable lead in that despite its three quarterfinal losses. The Lions lead with 90.5 points. That’s four more than they had at the end of session three when they set a new record in the team points race a year ago. Nebraska is second with 65.5. Oklahoma State is third with 63. Iowa is fourth with 42. And, Northern Iowa is fifth with 37.5.