Penn State is really good at wrestling, folks.

Seven Penn State-affiliated wrestlers took to the mat in Novi Sad, Serbia, to compete in the U23 World Championships from October 24-26. Penn State wrestlers Luke Lilledahl, Mitchell Mesenbrink, and Levi Haines took home gold medals in the event, with PJ Duke taking bronze.

How It Happened

Luke Lilledahl (57 kg)

Lilledahl started hot with a 10-0 technical fall over China’s Honghang Liao, moving into the quarterfinals. In his next match, the Nittany Lion defeated Milad Valizadeh of Iran in an 11-5 effort. The American’s semifinal matchup was against Aiandai Ondar. The contest went the distance, but Lilledahl stayed ahead for a 7-1 victory, propelling him to the U23 finals.

The Nittany Lion took on Yuta Kikuchi of Japan. The match went the distance, but Lilledahl managed to secure a four-point victory and earn his third gold medal on the freestyle circuit this year. In his career, Lilledahl has won a U17, U20, and U23 World Championship.

He’s only 20, folks.

Marcus Blaze (65 kg)

Blaze had a disappointing showing in the U23 World Championships, losing his first matchup to Kyrgyzstan’s Bilol Sharip Uulu 4-2. Uulu was going to need to make the finals for Blaze to be pulled into repechage, but fell in the semifinals to Uzbekistan’s Umidjon Jalolov 5-2.

Blaze won gold in the U20 World Championships in Bulgaria this summer.

PJ Duke (70 kg)

In his first matchup, Duke faced Begijon Kuldashev of Uzbekistan. The match took all six minutes, but the American prevailed in a 7-1 affair. In the round of 16, Duke took on Germany’s Rostislav Leicht. The Nittany Lion came out hot, scoring 10 unanswered points and securing the technical fall within the two-minute mark.

Duke’s quarterfinal matchup against Kaito Morita of Japan was a hard-fought 9-3 victory. The American’s semifinal matchup was a tough one against Azerbaijan’s Kanan Heybatov, a former U20 World Champion. Heybatov dominated the Nittany Lion in a 14-4 technical fall at the 5:15 mark, shattering Duke’s hopes for a gold medal.

In the bronze medal match, Duke took on Davit Margaryan of Armenia. It was a dominant showing for the Nittany Lion as he planted Margaryan at the end of the first period to bring home third place.

Duke competed in the Senior World Championships and the U20 World Championships this year, securing a gold medal in the latter.

Mitchell Mesenbrink (74 kg)

In his qualification match, Mesenbrink beat Aliaksandr Hulnik by fall at the 2:10 mark. The round-of-16 matchup against India’s Parvinder was also a short match, with Mesenbrink securing a 10-0 technical fall within the first period.

In the quarterfinal, Mesenbrink faced Omar Mourad of Egypt. This match was similar to the rest, with Mesenbrink winning by technical fall, within the two-minute mark. The victory set up a semi-final matchup against the 2025 Senior World champion Yoshinosuke Aoyagi of Japan.

Mesenbrink brought out the heroics in this thrilling matchup, scoring a clutch takedown as time expired, taking the lead 7-4 and booking his trip to the U23 World finals against Muhammed Ozmus of Turkey.

The Nittany Lion took it to Ozmus, outscoring his opponent 12-2 in a first-period technical fall. After finishing with a bronze medal in the tournament last year, Mesenbrink rolled his way to U23 gold.

Mesenbrink also won gold in the Junior Pan-American Games in Paraguay this year.

Levi Haines (79 kg)

Haines drew a tough first-round bout with the rising star Mahdi Yousefihajivar, who took home the U20 World Championship and Senior Asian Championship gold medals this year and was last year’s U23 World champion. The match went the distance, but Haines maintained a healthy lead, winning 7-0.

Haines then defeated Aykan Seid of Bulgaria in the quarterfinals by a 10-0 technical fall. In the semifinals, the American wrestled Davud Daudov. Haines again held his lead through the full six minutes, defeating his opponent 11-4 and advancing to the U23 finals.

Haines continued his superiority in the finals against Ibrahim Yaprak of Turkey. Yaprak, a bronze medalist in the U23 European Championships earlier this year, was no match for Haines as it only took one period for the Nittany Lion to secure an 11-1 technical fall and secure a gold medal in the U23 World Championships.

Haines also won a silver medal in the Senior World Championships and gold in the U23 Pan-American Championships this year.

Rocco Welsh (86 kg)

Welsh, a new acquire to the Penn State wrestling team and Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, started his tournament with a bang. The Nittany Lion beat Aaron Ayzerov of Israel in his qualifying matchup with a 10-0 technical fall at the 4:05 minute mark, sending Welsh to the round of 16.

Welsh would continue his dominance with a 10-0 technical fall over China’s Minghui Liang, good enough to propel him to the quarterfinals. The American would then fall in a close 7-4 match to Abolfazl Rahmani Firouzjaei of Iran. Unfortunately for Welsh, the Iranian would lose in the semifinals, ending the Nittany Lion’s chances of being pulled into the repechage bracket and competing for bronze.

Welsh finished with a gold medal in the Junior Pan-American Games in Paraguay this year.

Josh Barr (92 kg)

Barr started his tournament out red-hot with an 11-1 technical fall over Turkey’s Alperen Tokgoz, but was soon derailed by Iran’s Mohammadmobin Azimi in a 13-3 technical fall loss in the quarterfinals. The loss dropped Barr into the repechage bracket; however, due to an injury, Barr forfeited his next match, eliminating him from competition.

What’s Next?

Penn State wrestling is back, folks! The Nittany Lions will kick off their season against the Oklahoma Sooners on Friday, November 14, in the Bryce Jordan Center at 6 p.m.