No. 1 Penn State wrestling's 165-pounder Mitchell Mesenbrink earned his second individual national title of his collegiate career on Saturday night, defeating Iowa's Mikey Caliendo for first place in the championship matchup.
PSU wrestling sets team record, Mesenbrink makes Hodge Trophy-worthy case for himself
Following Mesenbrink's victory, a technical fall in 5:13 against Caliendo with a 20-4 score, the 165-pound wrestlers lined up on the podium. Mesenbrink went down the line, shaking each individual's hand before taking his spot labeled "165 National Champion."
Caliendo, who placed second due to his defeat in the final matchup, stood with his hands in his pockets the entire time.
While each other wrestler accepted Mesenbrink's handshake and congratulated him either verbally or via a respectful head nod, despite their individual desire to perform better, Caliendo remained motionless. He was the only wrestler who did not shake Mesenbrink's hand, not even taking a second to acknowledge him standing in front of him either.
Vid of Iowa’ Mikey Caliendo rejecting PSU’ Mitchell Mesenbrink’ handshake at 165-lb podium.
— Powers_Of_PSU (@powers_of_psu) March 22, 2026
Mikey (0-9) is going to wake up in an old folks home 50 years from now in a hot sweat mumbling “I could have been somebody. I could have been a champ.” pic.twitter.com/ZBYY3zQ1Dh
Fans immediately harped on Caliendo's poor sportsmanship, particularly noting his record versus Mesenbrink over his career. Head-to-head, the Nittany Lion holds a 9-0 record over the Hawkeye.
“I could see if it was a controversial match but damn man you got destroyed and aren’t you 0-9?" one fan wrote under the video posted on Twitter/X. "Just accept he’s better and move on.”
Perhaps the national title bout left a poor taste in Caliendo's mouth and he was finally fed up with losing to the best. On the other hand, it may have hit him that it was his final opportunity at winning an individual national championship given he's a senior.
Either way, it's not a good look for Caliendo or Iowa as a whole.
“Wow," another commented. "Impressive display of poor sportsmanship. Iowa style.”
“Iowa is a sore loser program and base. Only the worst choose to wrestle there. Caliendo seemed like a class act. [Mesenbrink] just destroyed his soul," said another fan. "He had nothing, he is second – and a distant second, that’s why he did what he did.”
Mesenbrink wasn't affected by Caliendo's response, or lack thereof, he simply moved onto the next wrestler. After the tournament, he also reflected on how winning titles might be a goal, but it is never what's most fulfilling; and maybe that's something Caliendo has yet to realize.