And with that, the 2024-25 college wrestling season has come to an end.

In the final session of the 2025 NCAA Championships, the Nittany Lions went 2-1 as Carter Starocci and Mitchell Mesenbrink became national champions and Josh Barr took runner-up.

The effort aided Penn State in breaking the record for the highest team score at the national tournament, set previously by the blue and white last year. Penn State ended the weekend in front with a team score of 177.0 points, with Nebraska coming in second with 117.0 points and Oklahoma State coming in third with 98.5 points.

How It Happened

184 pounds

In the very first bout of the night, No. 1 Starocci faced off against No. 2 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa. A threatening shot late in the first from Starocci was defended nicely by Keckeisen as the bout score remained 0-0 heading into the second period.

Starocci began the second period in bottom position, escaping within the first 10 seconds to jump out to a narrow 1-0 lead. A handful of sporadic shots from each wrestler never amounted to anything due to a handful of stalemate calls from the referee, Starocci took his 1-0 lead into the final period of action.

Beginning the third in top position, Starocci allowed a quick escape to Keckeisen, which tied up the score at 1-1 with the majority of the third still to go. Starocci fought hard through a stuffed double leg, moving his feet around Keckeisen to finish on the bout’s first takedown to go up 4-1 with just 45 seconds remaining in the period. While Keckeisen escaped and drew a stalling penalty against Starocci, the Nittany Lion hung on for the 4-3 decision victory to win the 184-pound national title.

The win allowed Starocci to become the first Division I collegiate wrestler to win five national championships.

165 pounds

A bit later, No. 1 Mesenbrink shared the mat with No. 3 Mikey Caliendo of Iowa. After an almost immediate injury to Caliendo, Mesenbrink had the choice of position once the mat resumed, taking bottom position and escaping to go in front 1-0 with only 30 seconds spent in the first. No other points were totaled in the first three minutes as the scoreboard remained the same heading into the second.

Caliendo began the second in bottom position, escaping within the first 10 seconds to level the score at 1-1. Mesenbrink scored the bout’s first takedown with just under 60 seconds remaining in the period, carrying a 4-2 lead into the third after an escape from the Hawkeye.

To start the third period, Mesenbrink took bottom positon and quickly escaped to extend his lead back to 5-2 with a majority of the period remaining. A second takedown from Mesenbrink sealed the deal, winning the bout via an 8-2 decision.

Mesenbrink finished the season undefeated.

197 pounds

Wapping up the championship bouts for the Nittany Lions was No. 4 Barr taking on No. 2 Stephen Buchanan of Iowa. After a lackluster opening three minutes, no points were scored in the first as the bout total still stood at 0-0.

Barr began the second period in bottom position, drawing a locked-hands call against Buchanon to put himself in front 2-0 after the technical violation and escape. Shortly thereafter, Buchanan struck for the bout’s first takedown, taking a 3-2 lead over Barr into the final period.

Buchanan began the third in bottom position, quickly escaping to extend his lead to 4-2 with nearly 90 seconds remaining in the bout. Barr was unable to score any more points in the remainder of the bout as the Hawkeye took the 5-2 decision victory after riding time.

Barr finished his first full season as a Nittany Lion as runner-up in the 197-pound weight class.

With the conclusion of the NCAA Championships, the Nittany Lions won their fourth national title in a row to make it 12 in the last 14 years, bringing home two individual titles, 10 All-Americans, and a new scoring record.