With a roster as deep as Penn State wrestling’s, head coach Cael Sanderson’s next-man-up mentality is in full swing with newcomer Luke Lilledahl’s addition to this year’s lineup.

Lilledahl came to Penn State after a successful high school campaign at Wyoming Seminary Preparatory School in Pennsylvania with a handful of state, national, and world titles at various weight classes. The 125-pound wrestler has quickly become a fan-favorite wrestler to watch for the Nittany Lion faithful.

The true freshman spoke to the media on Tuesday following his Penn State debut in Rec Hall, however, he never got the chance to wrestle.

“Coach Cody [Sanderson] got a call Saturday morning and [Drexel] told us that their guy got hurt, so it was a bit of a bummer, especially with some of my family and friends being at the dual, coming all that way and not being able to see me wrestle… I wasn’t too happy about that,” Lilledahl said. “It’s just rolling with the punches. It was still great to put the singlet on, run out in front of everyone [at Rec Hall], and get my hand raised… It was a bit of a dress rehearsal.”

Despite the forfeit in his Rec Hall debut, Lilledahl plans to get plenty of action in this weekend’s Army Black Knight invitational, a one-day tournament for wrestlers around the country to help shake off any rust developed during the offseason and compete for roster spots.

“I’m really excited to go and compete this weekend. It’ll be my first time actually wrestling in a Penn State singlet, so that’s another aspect that I am really going to enjoy,” Lilledahl said.

Lilledahl, a two-time world and Pan-Am champion in high school, was a highly recruited prospect who received attention from major programs all over the country, although Penn State’s newest wrestler was drawn to Happy Valley for one specific reason.

“It’s just the culture here. I feel like it’s a lot different than other programs out there, and the coaches are obviously all great, too. I just felt like home here to be honest, more than I did at other schools,” Lilledahl said. “I think here [Penn State], we are more focused on just having fun and learning. The winning just takes care of itself. So not being focused on just winning and losing, but instead on growing and how you wrestle, just going out there and competing and having fun.”

While being in a talented wrestling room such as Penn State’s may be daunting for a true freshman, Lilledahl has found training partners in teammates Beau Bartlett and Shayne Van Ness as they help each other prepare for the season.

“I try and go with them at least once a week, and I’m sure we will wrestle more together down the road,” Lilledahl said. “It has definitely helped me a lot learning from those guys and just talking to them about their experiences and what they’ve been through in college.”

Cael Sanderson also showed his praise to Lilledahl in media on Tuesday, commenting on his consistency.

“He’s very constant and that’s easy to see if you have followed him throughout his career. He learns, he gets better, and he competes hard….. Obviously, I don’t want to talk him up too much, but we love having him here,” Sanderson said. “He’s just very even-keeled and always consistent, it’s usually the guys that end up being the best are the same ones that are the same all the time, always focused, always in a positive attitude. It’s not hard to make him smile.”

Lilledahl will be in action next donning the blue and white singlet at 10 a.m. on Sunday, November 24, in the Army Black Knight Invitational in West Point, New York. The dual will be available to watch via stream on FloWrestling.