Penn State wrestling dominates at U20 Worlds, leads way for Team USA title clinch

Penn State wrestling dominated at the four-day U20 World Championships. The Nittany Lions started and finished with first-place champions.

Incoming freshman PJ Duke started the trail of Nittany Lion victories, winning gold in the 70 kg weight class. Fellow incoming freshman Marcus Blaze capped off the event with a first-place win in the 61 kg men's freestyle.

Penn State wrestling's PJ Duke and Marcus Blaze win gold at U20 World Championships

Duke and Blaze went through five matches each in their weight class to win gold.

The incoming freshman beat Umut Uslu by technical fall (11-0), Gabriel Alejandro Sanchez Zepeda by fall 43 seconds into the match, Abdoullah Nakaev by technical fall (14-4), Ebrahim Elahi Chouran by a 2-2 decision broken by criteria, Aleksandr Gaidarli by a 7-5 decision.

Blaze beat Sandro Hungerbuehler by technical fall (10-0), Sargis Begoyan by the Armenian wrestler being disqualified after three cautions, Askat Toktomatov by technical fall (11-1), Magomedkhan Magamedkhanov by technical fall (15-4), and Ahora Khateri by technical fall (11-0).

Three other Nittany Lions placed on the podium as well. Freshman William Henckel finished second in the 79 kg weight class, redshirt freshman Connor Mirasola finished third in the 92 kg weight class, and redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola finished third in the 125 kg weight class.

Henckel won matches over Maksat Tabyldyev in a 8-5 decision, Bohdan Oleksiienko by technical fall (10-0), Davit Tchetchelashvili by an 11-5 decision, and Amit by a 5-4 decision. Against Mahdi Yousefi Hajiva, he lost by an 8-6 decision and earned silver.

Connor Mirasola won his first round against Zixu Yuan by technical fall (10-0), but then lost to Kamil Kurugliyev in a 7-5 decision. He went on to beat Teimuraz Kochkiani by technical fall (12-2) and Anar Jafarli by a 10-0 decision.

Cole Mirasola also earned bronze at the event. He beat Sertac Aksoy by technical fall (10-0) and Inal Gagloev by a 3-0 decision. After losing to Yedige Kassimbek by technical fall (11-0), he beat Narantulga Darmaabazar for third place by technical fall (12-0).

All of the Nittany Lions helped secure the world championship title for Team USA before the fourth day of the event.

Duke and Blaze were two of five gold medals won by Team USA men's freestyle wrestlers. Lehigh's Luke Stanich won the 65 kg weight class, Minnesota's Max McEnnelly won the 86 kg weight class, and Oregon State's Justin Rademacher won the 97 kg weight class.

Penn State wrestling racks up championship wins at world tournaments

Alongside the U20 successes, Penn State wrestling has a chance to medal at the U23 World Championships with Duke, Blaze, Luke Lilledahl, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Levi Haines, Rocco Welsh, and Josh Barr. At the Senior World Championships, Duke and Haines. Class of 2026 commit Jayden James also won his bout at the U17 World Championships in the 71 kg weight class.