Are you not entertained?!

The top-ranked Nittany Lions were as dominant as ever, taking the Big Ten Championships team title for the fourth straight year with program records in team points with 184 and individual champions with seven.

The final session crowned Luke Lilledahl, Shayne Van Ness, PJ Duke, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Levi Haines, Rocco Welsh, and Josh Barr as individual champions. Marcus Blaze was the lone runner-up, while Cole Mirasola took home fifth place in the heavyweight class.

The Nittany Lions finished atop the team score leaderboard with 184 points, the fourth-highest point total in Big Ten Championship history behind that of the 1983, 1985, and the 1992 and 1995 (tie) Iowa Hawkeyes. Second-place Ohio State finished with 148.5, Nebraska with 116.5, Iowa with 87, and Michigan with 86.5 to round out the top-5.

The Nittany Lions did not surrender a single takedown in the final session, as Penn State went 8-1 in matches. In all, Penn State put up two major decisions, a technical fall, and a pinfall victory in the conference finals.

Championship Finals

125 Pounds

Up first, No. 1 Luke Lilledahl faced off against No. 6 Jore Volk of Minnesota. Neither wrestler was able to establish any offense, leading to no points heading into the first. Volk escaped after onlyq4 seconds to take the lead 1-0 at the start of the second. The two engaged in a precarious scramble position after a near takedown from the Nittany Lion; however, no offensive points were scored.

Lilledahl escaped after 20 seconds to start the third to tie the match. Another scramble ensued on a Lilledahl attack, but no points were awarded as the two went to sudden victory. Lilledahl forced a stall warning out of the Gopher before taking Volk down to win 4-1 and claim his second straight Big Ten title.

133 Pounds

Next, No. 1 Marcus Blaze took on a familiar foe in Ohio State’s No. 3-ranked Ben Davino. After no significant offensive action in the first period, Davino started in bottom position for the second period. The Buckeye escaped after just 10 seconds to take the 1-0 lead. The referee gave both wrestlers a stall warning. Shortly after, Blaze was forced to defend a deep shot from Davino as the clock expired.

Blaze escaped quickly to tie the matchup early in the third. Davino was once again able to get to the leg of Blaze; however, the Nittany Lion continued to defend as the match went to sudden victory. After a long period of hand-fighting, the two went to the rideout periods.

Blaze escaped after 17 seconds to take the lead 2-1. Davino escaped almost instantly to take the lead in riding time, leaving Blaze as the runner-up as a true freshman.

149 Pounds

At 149 pounds, No. 1 Shayne Van Ness wrestled No. 2 Ethan Stiles of Ohio State. The two engaged in a couple of scrambles, but neither wrestler could pull out a takedown after one. In the second period, Van Ness was able to flip Stiles over for a pin, securing his first-ever conference title.

157 Pounds

Next, No. 2 PJ Duke faced off against the defending national champion, Nebraska’s No. 1-ranked Antrell Taylor. The Nittany Lion came out aggressive, pushing the Cornhusker around the mat and forcing a stall warning early in the bout. Duke secured a takedown to take the lead with a minute remaining. Taylor escaped to cut the deficit to two before the end of the period.

The Cornhusker escaped from bottom position after just a few seconds to limit Duke’s lead. The Nittany Lion was able to secure his second takedown of the match with just 30 seconds remaining in the period to make it a 6-2 lead. After Taylor escaped, the Nittany Lion assumed bottom position for the third period.

The Nittany Lion escaped early and tallied his third takedown of the match. After letting his opponent up, Duke forced a stall point to make it a 12-4 major decision victory for his first Big Ten title.

165 Pounds

At 165 pounds, No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink wrestled No. 3 Mikey Caliendo of Iowa. The Nittany Lion struck almost immediately, taking a 3-0 lead within the first few seconds of the match. Mesenbrink secured another takedown before the end of the first. The Nittany Lion escaped easily to start the second and added a third takedown and a stall point to his total, making it 11-2 heading into the final frame. Caliendo escaped, but no comeback was made, giving Mesenbrink his third straight Big Ten title with a 12-3 major decision.

174 Pounds

In the last match of his college career in the Bryce Jordan Center, No. 1 Levi Haines faced off against Nebraska’s No. 2-ranked Christopher Minto. Neither wrestler scored points in the first period. Minto opened up the score by escaping after 26 seconds of control by the Nittany Lion. Haines received a penalty point to tie the match before the end of the second.

In the third, Haines escaped within 10 seconds to take the lead, which ended up being the difference. Haines claimed his fourth consecutive Big Ten title, making him the fourth Penn Stater in history to do so.

184 Pounds

At 184 pounds, No. 1 Rocco Welsh took on No. 2 Max McEnelly of Minnesota. Welsh forced a stall warning near 30 seconds into the opening period. Neither wrestler scored points in the first; however, Welsh escaped from bottom position just four seconds into the second period. McEnelly escaped from bottom position to tie the match with 1:45 left in the third.

After no score changed during sudden victory, the two went to the rideout periods. Welsh escaped in three seconds and was close to getting taken down, but after review, it came to be after the period had ended, keeping the Nittany Lion ahead. The Gopher was unable to take Welsh down, giving the Nittany Lion his first Big Ten title with a 2-1 decision victory.

197 Pounds

In the final championship match of the evening, No. 1 Josh Barr wrestled No. 2 Camden McDanel of Nebraska. The Nittany Lion scored first with a takedown with 1:20 left in the first. Before the end of the period, Barr hit his second takedown to take a 6-1 lead. In the second, McDanel escaped but was taken down a third time to make it 9-2. Barr escaped to start the third and hit his fourth takedown, taking a commanding 13-2 lead. Barr piled on two more takedowns and a stall call to win by 19-4 technical fall.

Fifth-Place Matchups

Heavyweight

No. 4 Cole Mirasola took fifth place at heavyweight due to a medical forfeit from Wisconsin’s No. 5 Braxton Amos.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will be in action for the last time when Penn State travels to Cleveland, Ohio, to compete in the 2026 NCAA Championships from March 19-21. The top-ranked Nittany Lions will be chasing a program record fifth consecutive team national title.