The 2025 U.S. Open Wrestling Championships are underway from April 23 to 27 at the Expo at World Market Center in Las Vegas. The event features seven age divisions and 14 tournaments, including the Senior Nationals in men’s freestyle. 

Five Penn State wrestlers — Luke Lilledahl, Marcus Blaze, Beau Bartlett, Mitchell Mesenbrink, and Rocco Welsh — have earned a seed in the senior men’s freestyle bracket this week and will compete for a chance to qualify for Final X, respresenting various wrestling clubs. Final X is the event that determines which wrestlers will make the Team USA lineup to compete for the World Championships and in the next summer Olympics.

Freshman Luke Lilledahl is the top seed at 57 kg representing the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and Titan Mercury Wrestling Club. As a true freshman, Lilledahl had an impressive 13-2 dual meet record, won the Big Ten title, and placed third at the NCAA Championships, making him an All-American. In 2024, Lilledahl secured the gold medal at the U20 World Wrestling Championships and is also fresh off a gold medal win at the U23 Pan American Championships. If Lilledahl wins this tournament, he will likely face off against Spencer Lee at Final X.  

Penn State has another top seed with recruiting class of 2025 signee Marcus Blaze at 61 kg, representing Titan Mercury Wrestling Club. In 2024, Blaze took home the bronze medal at the U20 World Championships, with his only loss coming from his new Penn State teammate, Masanosuke Ono. Blaze also had an impressive run in the Senior World Team Trials, where he lost in the finals to reigning world champion Vito Arujau.  

Senior Beau Bartlett is seeded third at 65 kg, representing the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and Titan Mercury Wrestling Club. Bartlett is a three-time NCAA All-American and had an exceptional 2024-25 season. Bartlett placed third this season in both the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Championships.  

Mitchell Mesenbrink will enter the tournament seeded second at 74 kg, representing the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and Titan Mercury Wrestling Club. This season, Mesenbrink dominated the collegiate level in the 165-pound weight class. Mesenbrink went undefeated this season, earning himself a Big Ten Championships title and an NCAA title. Mesenbrink also competed at the U23 World Championships back in October, where he claimed the bronze medal at 74 kg. 

Penn State’s newest edition, Rocco Welsh, will head to Vegas as a fifth seed at 86 kg, representing the KD Training Center. The former Ohio State wrestler recently transferred to Penn State after taking a redshirt year this past season. In the 2023-24 season with the Buckeyes, Welsh placed third at the Big Ten Championships and was runner-up at the NCAA Championships. Welsh also earned a bronze medal for Team USA at the 2025 Zagreb Open.  

Folks can watch the men’s freestyle division at the U.S Open on Friday through FloWrestling. The championship rounds are set to take place on Saturday.