Which Penn State wrestlers could attend the Army Black Knight Invitational Sunday?

Penn State wrestling will return to action Sunday at the Army Black Knight Invitational. It marks the Lions’ third straight appearance at the tournament in West Point, N.Y., and fourth trip to it in the Cael Sanderson era.

“We’re going to have a handful of guys in the lineup, and we’re trying to get as many as we can, and they’ve been gracious enough to work with us to help us get some guys into the tournament,” Sanderson said. “Most of it is set, but we’ll have things pending based on, we still have three or four days of preparation, practice, still but most of our squad will be there, for sure.”

The goal, as always, will be to get as many matches in as possible at the highest level possible. And, as is usually the case, there should be some Penn State vs. Penn State finals across the 10 weight classes.

“I think our best preparation is actually competition,” Sanderson said. “You know, we can get in here and wrestle year round, all summer long and spring, whatever. But the best practice is just out there against our opponents and different schools, and coming in with different game plans and techniques. So, yeah, we just look at everything as preparation for the next match.

“We’d love to have 20 guys in the finals. That’d be awesome. Not really going there to wrestle each other. We’re going there to wrestle outside competition. This tournament has really been good for us to get guys in the same bracket and see how they do against similar competition. And, if they run into each other, that gives us some information we need going forward, as well.”

Which Penn State wrestlers could compete at the Army Black Knight Invitational?

Penn State sent out its list of possible participants on Wednesday. It noted, as Sanderson did above, that a final decision won’t be made until Sunday morning at weigh-ins. Those will take place around 8 a.m. ET. The event starts at 10 a.m. ET. FLO Wrestling will stream it. Here’s the list of possibilities for each weight class:

125 pounds: Luke Lilledahl, Kurt McHenry

133 pounds: Braeden Davis, Gary Steen

141 pounds: Beau Bartlett, Cael Nasdeo

149 pounds: Shayne Van Ness, Connor Pierce

157 pounds: Tyler Kasak, Alex Facundo

165 pounds: Mitchell Mesenbrink, Aurelius Dunbar

174 pounds: Levi Haines, Matt Lee

184 pounds: Carter Starocci, Zack Ryder

197 pounds: Lucas Cochran, Josh Barr, Connor Mirasola

285 pounds: Greg Kerkvliet, Cole Mirasola

What could we learn?

First things first: Penn State will take every data point it can get this weekend to continue its evaluation of the starting spot battles at 157 and 197 pounds.

Second: Will Davis go? We somewhat doubt it after he fought through an injury to win his debut match at 133 pounds last week. But, Sanderson left the door open for it. So, time will tell.

Three: Obviously, the freshmen. Lilledahl should see his first action in a blue and white singlet after receiving a forfeit in his first match at Penn State back on Sunday. Ryder and the Mirasola twins, then, are all likely to redshirt but should see their first action in a blue and white singlet. In wrestling, freshmen can compete it up to five scheduled events before a six would equal them losing a year of eligibility.