As PJ Duke stood in the center of the mat and raised the championship belt above his head, the only thing echoing through the Bryce Jordan Center was the roar of fans chanting, “DUUKKEEE.” Moments like that don’t happen often.  

Winning the Big Ten Championships as a true freshman is no easy task. But Penn State wrestling’s PJ Duke made it look that way, capturing the Big Ten title and earning the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler honors.  

“You know, in four hours we are rolling these mats up, so let’s take advantage of this and go get what we want,” Cael Sanderson said in a post-tournament press conference.  

That is exactly what Duke did. He left nothing on the mat, dominating opponent after opponent. In the quarterfinals, he earned a commanding 20-7 major decision over Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon, who entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in the country.  

Duke’s closest match came in the semifinals, where he defeated Illinois’ Kannon Webster in a 4-2 decision before capping off the tournament with a statement win over Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor in the finals.  

The two had already met once in the regular season, when Taylor came away with a 2-1 win over Duke in a second tiebreaker. This time, however, Duke set the tone early, scoring the first takedown. He continued to push the pace, adding two more takedowns and a stall call to secure a 12-4 major decision victory.  

“PJ looked good and determined to score points,” Sanderson said. “He made some small adjustments and went out there and took care of what he needed to take care of.”

With his dominant performance, Duke will likely earn the No. 1 seed at the NCAA Championships, where he will look to capture his first national title. The tournament is set to take place at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, beginning Thursday, March 19, and running through Saturday, March 21.