Two Penn State Wrestlers Named 2025 Hodge Trophy Finalists
After winning the 2025 NCAA team championship title and two individual national championships, Penn State wrestlers Carter Starocci and Mitchell Mesenbrink were named Dan Hodge finalists.
The Hodge trophy is awarded annually to the nation’s best wrestler. The last two Nittany Lions to win the award were Aaron Brooks in 2024 and Bo Nickal in 2019.
The winner is whoever receives the most first-place votes from the fan vote and the Hodge Trophy Voting Committee’s vote, made up of former coaches, national media members, and a representative of each national wrestling organization.
Voting is based on the entire season but focused on record, dominance, bonus-point percentage, quality of competition, and sportsmanship.
Mesenbrink is a favorite for the award after an undefeated season that resulted in 18 tech-falls in 27 wins. While the sophomore competing at 165 pounds did not record a pin this year, his bonus-point percentage of 88.9 percent leads the pack.
Starocci also has a strong claim to the award after becoming the first-ever wrestler to win his fifth individual national championship. The senior also had six pins with 10 tech-falls in 26 matches. In 2025, he moved weight classes to 184.
The only non-Penn Stater named a finalist is Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson in the heavyweight division. Hendrickson stared in one of the biggest upsets in wrestling history, drafting Gable Stevenson in the National Championship.
Folks can vote here.
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