Penn State Wrestling: Inside the Singlet – Wrestler Profiles for 174 and 184

Lucas Cochran

Year: Redshirt Freshman
Weight: 184/197
Major: Division of Undergraduate Studies
Hometown: Perry, Utah

Penn State Career

Cochran has been on the mat representing Penn State Wrestling in 25 career matches during his two years in Happy Valley.

His true freshman season he took part in 15 matches between the Clarion Open, David Lehman Open, and Mat Town Open.

Then in Lucas’ second Penn State campaign, he saw action in the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open, Black Knight Open, and in an extra dual meet match against Central Michigan in the 2022 National Collegiate Duals.

Prior to Penn State

Before making the trek from Utah to University Park, Cochran was a four year letterman and two time captain for his wrestling team at Box Elder High School.

Lucas compiled a career record of 169-17 and was a participant in the Utah All-Star Duals. Of his 17 career losses in high school, 16 of them came in his freshman season, he had a lone loss his sophomore year, and he went undefeated both his junior and senior campaigns.

And the end of Cochran’s sophomore, junior, and senior seasons came with him hoisting a state title in his respective weight class.

Lucas’ high school coach, Jed Craner, talks about the first time he saw him on the mat, “The first time I saw Lucas wrestle was at a dual meet where he absolutely annihilated a returning state placer from our rival school. I remember thinking ‘this kid is going to be a 3X state champ for sure’.”

Craner goes on to say that Cochran is a “once-in-a-career wrestler” and he truly cherishes the memories he has of coaching him.

Away from wrestling, Coach Craner describes what kind of person Lucas really is, “Off the mat, Lucas is extremely polite and friendly to anyone around him. He is a natural-born leader who always gives more than he takes. I remember him being one who watches out for others, including the less talented or ‘unpopular’ kids.”

In an interview Cochran did with Rokfin, he talks about how he took up wrestling around third grade and that it became his main focus shortly after he freshman year in high school. Lucas also played baseball and football until he decided to drop them in favor of wrestling.

“Growing up, like many other youth wrestlers, it was my dream to wrestle for Penn State. I loved watching them dominate their opponents and wanted to be just like them. I also grew up wrestling for coach Cyler Sanderson at Sanderson Wrestling Academy. I saw many similarities between the two programs and so Penn State just felt like the right fit.”

Lucas apparently likes to stay busy in his off time, “I enjoy golfing, camping, hiking, cliff jumping, and riding dirt bikes. I like to stay active and love spending time outdoors.”

According to Cochran, his favorite food is a tie between his dad’s pork belly burnt ends and a juicy steak. And while he enjoys delicious food, Lucas admits he doesn’t really cook on his own very much. But his dad is trying to teach him the art of Barbequing and Lucas says, “I can smoke a mean ham and cook a steak pretty well, but that’s about the extent of my cooking abilities.”

Cochran wants to pursue a finance degree because money, markets, and economies are interesting to him. He also says his favorite academic subject is math because he finds it to be challenging and rewarding.

After college, Lucas envisions a career path involving real estate investment, “I plan to own numerous rental properties and be financially free at a young age.”

The biggest fish Cochran ever caught was a yellowfin tuna in Hawaii the size of Coach Cody Sanderson and his favorite clothing piece is a Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) “Coming To America” t-shirt.

Lucas says he always strives to be the best he can possibly be and a quote from a current teammate really struck him.

“Earlier in the season Max Dean shared a quote by Marcus Aurelius that says ‘Just that you do the right thing. The rest doesn’t matter.’ This quote has stuck with me throughout the season and it’s a great reminder of how wins and losses are unimportant in an eternal perspective.”