Penn State Wrestling Remains At No. 1, Holds Eight In Top 10 In National Polls
Penn State wrestling scorched the competition at the Black Knight invitational, sending 15 of its 20 entries to the finals and winning nine of the 10 weight classes.
The Nittany Lions were ranked No. 1 in the fourth NWCA coaches poll on Tuesday, securing all but three first-place votes. No. 2 Ohio State received the rest after improving to 6-0 on the season by defeating Kent State 44-0 last Thursday.
As for Intermat’s individual rankings, there are a few changes heading into week three of Penn State’s season.
Luke Lilledahl dropped to the No. 2 spot in the 125-pound weight class after losing to teammate Nate Desmond in the finals of the Black Knight Invitational. The sophomore now sits below the defending national champion in Vincent Robinson of North Carolina State.
At 133 pounds, true freshman Marcus Blaze rose to No. 12 in the country after being unranked before the season. Blaze took first in the Black Knight Invitational after going 4-0 and beating No. 22 Ethan Berginic of Army in the finals by 21-6 tech fall.
At 157 pounds, PJ Duke has emerged as No. 16 on this week’s rankings after not having a ranking yet this year. The true freshman took first place in the Black Knight Invitational, going 4-0 and beating teammate Joe Sealey 2-1 in the finals. Although it wasn’t a definitive wrestle-off, it may have been just enough to take the starting job for the 2025-26 campaign.
Shayne Van Ness, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Levi Haines, and Josh Barr remain at the top spots for their respective weight classes.
The Nittany Lions return to dual action on Friday, December 5, when Penn State travels to Philadelphia to take on Drexel. The match is due to begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be streamed on FloWrestling.
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