After the first of three days of competition, including sessions I and II, the Nittany Lions are a perfect 20-0 in the NCAA Championships, collecting 13 bonus point victories and cementing themselves at the top of the team leaderboard with 39.5 points.

With all 10 wrestlers competing in the quarterfinals beginning at noon Friday, here is how the Penn State wrestling team stacks up heading into session III.

Note, if any wrestler wins their quarterfinal bout, they will become an automatic All-American regardless of the remainder of their bouts. If a Penn Stater were to lose in the quarterfinals, they would need to win one bout in consolations to become an All-American.

125 Pounds – No. 1 Luke Lilledahl

At his first NCAA Champships, Luke Lilledahl has been a bonus point machine. The true freshman won his first two bouts by tech fall, winning 19-4 at 4:25 against No. 32 Marcello Milani of Cornell in round one, and 19-3 at 6:53 over No. 16 Blake West of Northern Illinois in round two.

In his upcoming quarterfinals bout, Lilledahl will square off against No. 8 Sheldon Seymour of Lehigh. Until yesterday, Seymour had yet to beat a top-10 opponent in the 2024-2025 season, making up all three of his losses (beat No. 9 Caleb Smith of Nebraska in round two). At the same time, the Lehigh wrestler dropped his regular season bout against Lilledahl, with the Nittany Lion winning via a 4-1 decision.

If Lilledahl defeats Seymour once again, he will face either No. 12 Dean Peterson of Rutgers or No. 4 Vincent Robinson of NC State in the semi-finals. Notably, Peterson defeated 125-pound defending national champion No. 5 Richard Figueroa via fall in round two.

133 Pounds – No. 8 Braeden Davis

As the lowest seed in the Nittany Lion’s lineup, all eyes have been on Braeden Davis to see how the 133-pound wrestler will fare at nationals. So far, Davis defeated his round one opponent, No. 25 Kurt Phipps of Bucknell, via a 12-4 major decision, as well as No. 9 Braxton Brown of Maryland via a 5-3 decision in the second round.

However, Davis will truly be tested in the quarterfinals as he is slated to take on the defending Big Ten champion and No. 1 seed, Lucas Byrd of Illinois. Byrd took care of Davis with a 7-1 decision in their regular season bout and currently holds only one loss on the season.

If Davis were to lose in the quarterfinal bout, he would need only one win in consolations to become an All-American.

141 Pounds – No. 2 Beau Bartlett

After taking third place at the Big Ten Championships, Beau Bartlett drew the No. 2 seed at the NCAAs while Brock Hardy of Nebraska got the No. 1 seed. In his run so far, Bartlett won both of his bouts by decision, winning 4-2 over No. 31 Jordan Titus of West Virginia, and 4-1 against No. 18 Julian Tagg of South Dakota State.

In the quarterfinals, Bartlett will face off against No. 10 CJ Composto of Penn. Before the national tournament, Composto had only faced one top-10 wrestler in then No. 7 Andrew Allirez of Northern Colorda, losing the bout 8-2.

If Bartlett advances, he will face either No. 3 Jesse Mendez of Ohio State or No. 6 Vance VomBaur of Minnesota. Bartlett is 2-0 on the season against Mendez, while on the other hand, VomBaur claims Bartlett’s only defeat on the season in his final college campaign.

149 Pounds – No. 3 Shayne Van Ness

Contributing heavily to the team’s bonus point totals, Shayne Van Ness defeated his round one opponent, No. 30 Gabe Willochell of Wyoming, via a fall 4:12, and No. 19 Andrew Clark of Rutgers via an 11-1 major decision in round two.

In the quarterfinals, Vann Ness will take on No. 6 Lachlan McNeil of North Carolina. McNeil is currently 1-4 against top-10 wrestlers this season, with his only win in that category coming against then-No. 7 Kannon Webster.

If Van Ness were to advance into the semi-finals, he would take on either No. 2 Ridge Lovett of Nebraska or No. 7 Webster of Illinois, both wrestlers have defeated Van Ness so far this season.

156 Pounds – No. 1 Tyler Kasak

Tyler Kasak defeated his first opponent, No. 32 Landen Johnson of Northern Illinois, via a fall at 1:39, and No. 16 Cody Chittum of Iowa State with an 8-3 decision in the second round.

In the quarterfinals, Kasak will be facing off against No. 8 Joey Blaze of Purdue. While Blaze and Kasak have yet to face each other, Blaze has built some momentum in the post-season tournaments, defeating three top-10 opponents through his run in the Big Ten Championships and at the national tournament.

If Kasak advances, he will take on either No. 12 Caleb Fish of Oklahoma State. or No. 20 Trevor Chumbly of Northwestern, both wrestlers Kasak has yet to match up against.

165 Pounds – No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink

To no one’s surprise, Mitchell Mesenbrink tech falled both of his opponents in the first two rounds of NCAA action, beating No. 32 Chandler Amaker of Central Michigan and No. 16 Kyle Mosher of Hofstra by a combined margin of 38-6.

In the quarterfinals, Mesnebink will take No. 8 Cameron Amine of Oklahoma State. Mesenbrink is 2-0 against Amine in his career at Penn State, winning 11-1 and 6-1 respectively with both bouts taking place last season.

If the Nittany Lion beats Amine for the third time, he will take on either No. 12 Christopher Minto of Nebraska or No. 4 Terrell Barraclough of Utah Valley. While Mesenbrink has yet to face Minto, Barraclough, a former Penn State wrestler and teammate of Mesnebrinks, fell to the current Nittany Lion 8-5 in last season’s Black Knight Invitational.

174 Pounds – No. 2 Levi Haines

Levi Haines defeated No. 31 Branson John of Maryland via a fall at 2:46 in round one, and No. 18 Gaven Sax of Oklahoma with a 4-0 decision in the second round.

In the quarterfinals, Haines will be wrestling against No. 7 Danny Wask of Navy. The two wrestlers have never matched up against each other so far in their careers, and the wrestler from the Navy is 1-5 against top 10 opponents this season.

If Haines advances, he will take on either No. 3 Dean Hamitit of Oklahoma State or No. 14 Matthew Singleton of NC State in the semifinals.

184 Pounds – No. 1 Carter Starocci

In his quest for a fifth national title, Carter Starocci defeated his first two opponents, No. 32 Caden Rogers of Lehigh and No. 16 Shane Cartagena-Walsh of Rutgers by a combined score of 33-2.

In the quarterfinals, Starocci will take on No. 8 Jaxon Smith of Maryland. Starocci is 2-0 against Smith so far this season, winning by a tech fall and a major decision respectively.

If the Nittany Lion advances, he will take on either No. 12 Silas Allred of Nebraska or No. 4 Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State.

197 Pounds – No. 4 Josh Barr

Coming off an injury suffered at Big Tens, Josh Barr has bounced back nicely on the national stage. Barr took down No. 29 Tucker Hogan of Lehigh in round one, and No. 13 Trey Munoz of Oregon State in round two by major decision and sudden victory, respectively.

In the quarterfinals, Barr will take on No. 5 Michael Beard of Lehigh. Barr defeated Beard via an 11-3 major decision in the regular season.

If Barr advances, he will face either No. 1 Jacob Cardenas of Iowa or No. 24 Gabe Sollars of Indiana. Barr is 1-1 on the year against Cardenas, with both bouts requiring overtime to determine a winner.

285 Pounds – No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet

Greg Kerkvliet has been calm and collected so far at the national tournament, defeating No. 30 Sam Mitchell of Wyoming and No. 14 Gavin Hoffman of Lehigh, by tech fall and decision (with five minutes of riding time), respectively.

In the quarterfinals, Kerkliet is paired up against No. 6 Joshua Heindselman of Michigan. Kerkvliet is 2-0 against the Wolverine so far this season, winning by a decision and a major decision respectively.

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All 10 Nittany Lions will be in action again once the NCAA Championships resume at noon on Saturday with session III. All bouts will be broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN +.