Penn State wrestling's Mitchell Mesenbrink wasn't focused on being No. 1 all season, but nonetheless, that's exactly where he ended up.
Mesenbrink finished his junior campaign undefeated and beat Iowa's Mikey Caliendo for the national title. He went 27-0 overall on the season and earned bonus points in all but one matchup. Mesenbrink had 11 technical falls, eight falls, and six major decision wins.
Putting a bow on all his accomplishments, Mesenbrink was announced as the 2025-26 Dan Hodge Trophy winner. He accumulated 66 of 71 potential first-place votes. A fellow Nittany Lion, Josh Barr, had one of the remaining five first-place votes. Oklahoma State's Jax Forrest picked up the other four.
“This is a very surreal come-to-fruition moment,” Mesenbrink told WIN Magazine, who announces the winner. “I’ve always had bonus [points], even throughout high school, but maybe I got overlooked because I never got OW awards. I went all throughout high school without getting one. I would rather have a Dan Hodge Trophy than the ‘Arrowhead Wrestling Invite OW,’ though, so at the end of the day, it was a good trade.
“With judgment awards, it is decided by someone else. I wrestle the way I do so I can take the interpretation out of the ref’s hands. I want to leave no doubt.”
Mitchell Mesenbrink wins Hodge Trophy as the 2025-26 best collegiate wrestler
After winning an individual Big Ten title, Mesenbrink reflected on the concept of winning and how he's detached from having physical and awarded expectations.
He said fulfillment doesn't come from where he places on a podium. Following winning the Hodge Trophy, Mesenbrink still has that mindset.
“The Hodge is such an opinionated thing, such a futile kind of thing at the end of the day that people vote on,” Mesenbrink said. “I’m not going to put my hope or well-being into something that people are going to vote and think about.It’s a cool thing, but yet again I think — it’s interesting because come Sunday night and Monday night or even when they crown the Hodge Trophy, then they’re going to be talking about who’s going to get it the next time."