The Leadoff Guy: Luke Lilledahl Energizes In Bounce-Back Win

Luke Lilledahl doesn’t lose often.
In high school, the young Nittany Lion went 68-3 on his way to three straight Pennsylvania state titles, two national titles, and a handful of world titles. The list of accolades for a wrestler at just 19 years old is something special, and a big reason why Lilledahl chose to join Cael Sanderson’s seemingly unstoppable squad to further his athletic journey.
However, after an 11-0 start with the Nittany Lions, “Lightning” picked up his first collegiate loss to then-No. 19 Dean Peterson of Rutgers on January 24 by way of a 4-1 decision. The match, although close, was gut-wrenching for Penn State fans as Lilledahl gave up a takedown in the waning seconds of the match.
“I think he was disappointed that he didn’t fire away a couple more shots where he was covering some ground,” Sanderson said last week. “It’s just a great learning experience.”
Lilledahl’s shots were few and far between in the matchup. Peterson’s defense held strong, and in the end, allowed him to get in on the legs of the freshman and score the winning takedown with less than 30 seconds left in the match.
“He’ll be OK,” Sanderson said. “Whatever happens, win or lose, you got to learn from it and take it and run with it, and I think he’ll do that.”
Being a 125-pound wrestler often comes with a great amount of pressure. Being the first man up in a dual, and in Lilledahl’s case, being a true freshman phenom is a hard position to be in for any wrestler.
“Luke’s a great leadoff guy. He’s very consistent. He’s very calm,” Sanderson said. “He’s new to college wrestling. He’s just figuring things out, and he’s just going to get better as things go along.”
After the loss, Lilledahl had to quickly move his attention to Iowa. In a match that was never close, Lilledahl tech fell No. 26 Joey Cruz 23-6 with five consecutive takedowns in the third period.
“It’s kind of part of my job as a 125-pounder to get the team rolling,” Lilledahl said Monday. “It’s not hard on this team, though, because everyone pretty much does their own thing. But it’s definitely fun to do that as well and get everyone off on a good start.”
The freshman rolled to his win over Cruz with dominant mat positioning and aggression, leading to multiple opportunities to get to his offense and score points against the Hawkeye.
“After Rutgers, it was just like, what do I need to improve on to win the next one and to ultimately win nationals is my goal,” Lilledahl said. “Really just improving anytime I wrestle, not just with the losses but also with the wins.”
The Nittany Lion’s mindset directly mirrors that of Sanderson and the Penn State culture that drew Lilledahl to the program out of high school.
“[Penn State coaches and teammates] preach just getting better and not just focusing on the wins and losses as much, and just kind of having fun and improving,” Lilledahl said. “I think that was a really big aspect of why I came here, and I think I made the right decision.”
Sanderson had high praise for Lilledahl’s bounce-back win during Monday’s media availability, commenting on his competitive and consistent nature.
“He’s a winner. That’s what he does,” Sanderson said. “Nothing is going to hurt him. It’s just going to motivate him and inspire him, not that he needs that because he’s very consistent. He’s not a guy that you get too concerned about. He’s just going to keep getting better every week.”
Lilledahl and the rest of the Nittany Lions will be in action against No. 19 Michigan at 6 p.m. on Friday, February 7, in the Bryce Jordan Center followed by No. 29 Maryland on Sunday, February 9, at 1 p.m. in Rec Hall.
Your ad blocker is on.
Please choose an option below.
Purchase a Subscription!