Four Penn State wrestling team members competed at the United World Wrestling U20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain, this past weekend. Three true freshmen and one redshirt freshman brought home three medals, while all four placed top-five in their weight classes.

True freshman Luke Lilledahl won gold at 57 kg. The future Nittany Lion finished his run for the crown against Lev Pavlov in the finals. Lilledahl came out on top 2-1 after the two wrestlers traded passivity points.

The 57 kg gold was just one among many accolades for Lilledahl during this event, including a U17 Silver in 2021, U17 Gold in 2022, and a U20 Silver in last year’s World Championships. The Missouri native committed to Penn State last year after wrestling at Wyoming Seminary in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Lilledahl finished his high school career as the country’s No. 1 ranked 126-pound wrestler and No. 2 pound-for-pound wrestler. He was the No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2024.

True freshman Zack Ryder won the silver medal at 79 kg. The Penn State newcomer rolled to the semifinals with three technical superiority victories in a row. After a hard-fought semifinal win, Ryder dropped his finals matchup with Alp Begenjov of Turkmenistan 5-0. The New York native owns a decorated 160-7 record out of Minisink Valley High School. He is a three-time state title holder and four-time finalist.

Redshirt freshman Josh Barr took home the silver medal at 86 kg. The Nittany Lion started his tournament off hot with three straight major superiority. Barr dropped his final match against Ibragim Kadiev 8-2. Barr, who redshirted last year, hails from Michigan, where he rattled off four straight state titles and an impressive 125-1 record.

True freshman Connor Mirasola fell one match short of a medal in the 92 kg weight class. Mirasola, like his Penn State counterparts, won three straight matches to start the tournament. After falling one point short in his semi-final matchup, Mirasola lost his bronze medal match to Anar Jafari of Azerbaijan 6-2. Mirasola won four Wisconsin state titles in high school.