No. 1 Penn State wrestling came out of the Big Ten Wrestling Tournament as champions, but the season isn't over yet. The undefeated Nittany Lions still have a national title on their minds.
Seven Penn State wrestlers earned No. 1 seeds in their respective weight classes: Luke Lilledahl (125 pounds), Shayne Van Ness (149 pounds), PJ Duke (157 pounds), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165 pounds), Levi Haines (174 pounds), Rocco Welsh (184 pounds), and Josh Barr (197 pounds).
Marcus Blaze (133 pounds) is the third-ranked wrestler in his weight class; Braeden Davis is the No. 14 seed of the 141-pound class; and Cole Mirasola is the ninth seed in the heavyweight class.
Davis has the most difficult path in the bracket as the 14th seed. After the first round, No. 3 Brock Hardy from Nebraska poses the first real threat as Hardy pinned Davis in the regular season. No. 1 Jesse Mendez and No. 8 Vance Vombaur also won by technical falls versus Davis are also in the Nittany Lions' bracket half.
The others either dominated or were close to doing so in their weight classes. In Mirasola's case, he finished third in the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, but has had momentum since the end of the regular season. The national stage is his chance to put it all together.
Penn State wrestling first-round NCAA Tournament matchups:
- Lilledahl vs. No. 32 Mack Mauger (Missouri) or No. 33 Jace Schafer (Bloomsburg)
- Blaze vs. No. 30 Gabe Whisenhunt (Oregon State)
- Davis vs. No. 19 Haiden Drury (Utah Valley)
- Van Ness vs. No. 32 Claytin Jones (Michigan State) or No. 33 (Austin McBurney (Brown)
- Duke vs. No. 32 Jeb Prechtel (Bellarmine) or No. 33 Yannis Charles (Morgan State)
- Mesenbrink vs. No. 32 Cody Walsh (Drexel) or No. 33 Ryan Vigil (Virginia Military)
- Haines vs. No. 32 Luke Condon (Wisconsin) or No. 33 Grant O'Dell (Bellarmine)
- Welsh vs. No. 32 Caleb Uhlenhoop (Utah Valley) or No. 33 Sam Goin (Indiana)
- Barr vs. No. 32 Blake Schaffer (Kent State) or No. 33 Karson Tompkins (Air Force)
- Mirasola vs. No. 24 Connor Barket (Duke)