The 2026 NCAA Championships are underway, folks.

The first of six sessions in the national tournament kicked off for Penn State wrestling on Thursday afternoon at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. All 10 Nittany Lions wrestled during Session I, which included round one of championship bouts as well as the pigtail matches.

Penn State went a perfect 10-0 during the session, with eight bonus-point victories. The Nittany Lions are far and away in front with 22.5 team points. Highlights of the session included falls by PJ Duke and Levi Haines.

How It Happened

125 Pounds

At 125 pounds, No. 1 Luke Lilledahl faced the 32-seed, Missouri’s Mack Mauger. The match remained scoreless after a defensive opening period. A quick escape after starting on bottom gave Lilledahl the first point of the match. The Nittany Lion soon extended his lead to four with the bout’s first takedown. Lilledahl amassed over 40 seconds of riding time before the end of the period.

Mauger escaped almost instantly, starting the third before Lilladahl managed his second takedown to make it 7-1. Another escape by Mauger and a quick takedown by Lilledahl made it 10-2, where the match remained, as Lilledahl moves on with an 11-2 major decision after the riding time point was awarded.

133 Pounds

No. 3 Marcus Blaze took on No. 30 Gabe Whisenhunt of Oregon State in the first round of the championship bouts. After a defensive first couple of minutes, Blaze opened up scoring with a takedown and held his position on top for the remainder of the opening period.

Blaze made it 4-0 with an escape to start the second, before racking up another takedown. Whisenhunt escaped quickly to get on the board. The Nittany Lion got his third takedown and added four near-fall points late in the middle period.

Blaze let go of Whisenhunt at the start of the third, allowing him to strike for his fourth takedown, ending the match with a 17-2 tech fall at 5:30.

141 Pounds

No. 14 Braeden Davis wrestled No. 19 Haiden Drury of Utah Valley. The first period went without points as both wrestlers got a feel for each other. An impressive period by Davis followed as he amassed a full two minutes of riding time after starting on top. An escape by Davis opened up scoring in the third. The match remained defensive until the clock expired, with Davis winning a 2-0 decision.

149 Pounds

No. 1 Shayne Van Ness went up against No. 33 Austin McBurney of Brown at 149 pounds. Van Ness struck first with an early takedown. He stayed on top for the rest of the first period. The Nittany Lion made it 4-0 with an escape, kicking off the second. Van Ness got his second takedown almost immediately after, before McBurney got on the board with an escape. Van Ness rattled off three more takedowns in rapid succession, taking a 16-3 lead into the third.

McBurney gained his fourth point after escaping to begin the final period, but Van Ness ended the match prematurely with yet another takedown, giving him the 19-4 tech fall at 5:34.

157 Pounds

Then, No. 1 PJ Duke hit the mat against No. 33 Yanniss Charles of Morgan State. Duke started the bout with an early takedown. A Charles escape gave way for a second takedown by Duke. The Nittany Lion quickly let go of Charles before taking him down again and pinning the Morgan State wrestler soon after. Duke moves on with the first period fall at 1:55.

165 Pounds

At 165 Pounds, No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink took on the 32-seed in Drexel’s Cody Walsh. Mesenbrink came out on fire, tallying five takedowns in the opening period and taking a 15-4 lead with nearly two and a half minutes in the second.

After starting in neutral, Mesenbrink wasted no time getting his sixth takedown early in the second period, before cutting Walsh loose and ending the match with a seventh and final takedown. The Nittany Lion takes the match with a 21-5 tech fall at 4:45.

174 Pounds

Next up for the Nittany Lions was No. 1 Levi Haines, who was challenged by No. 33 Grant O’Dell of Bellarmine. Haines came out of the gates fast, getting an early takedown and working for the pin soon after. Haines got the win by fall at 1:33.

184 Pounds

No. 1 Rocco Welsh went up against No. 32 Caleb Uhlenhopp of Utah Valley at 184 pounds. Welsh started strong, getting on the board with a quick takedown. Uhlenhopp escaped before a second takedown by Welsh soon after. Welsh stayed on top for the remainder of the first, amassing nearly a minute of riding time.

Uhlenhopp made it 6-2 with an escape, starting the second period. Welsh struck again for his third takedown before another escape by Uhlenhopp. The Nittany Lion attacked again late in the second, securing a fourth takedown, giving him a 12-3 lead going into the final period.

Anpe and takedown by Welsh kicked off the third. The Nittany Lion let Welsh go before ending the match with a final takedown to win the match 19-4 by tech fall at 6:31.

197 Pounds

The final top-seeded Nittany Lion, Josh Barr, wrestled No. 32 Blake Schaffer of Kent State. Barr struck early with a takedown in the opening minute. After some struggle, Schaffer managed to escape before Barr scored his second takedown. Another Schaffer escape, and Barr takedown followed, with the Nittany Lion also scoring two near-fall points before the end of the first.

Barr made it 14-2 with a takedown after starting in neutral to begin the second. A third escape by Schaffer paved the way for yet another takedown by Barr. Barr remained on top and amassed nearly four minutes of riding time before Schaffer escaped halfway through the third. Barr landed one more takedown to roll to a 20-4 tech fall at 5:43.

Heavyweight

Wrapping up the session for the Nittany Lions was No. 9 Cole Mirasola, as he took on No. 24 Connor Barket of Duke. Mirasola started the bout with a takedown early. Barket escaped soon after, before another strike by Mirasola. A second escape by Barket and a late takedown by Mirasola gave the Nittany Lion a 9-2 lead after one.

After starting on the bottom to begin the second, Barket scored his third escape of the match. The score remained 9-3 for the remainder of the middle period. Mirasola worked an escape of his own to start the third. Barket escaped another Mirasola takedown and got a takedown of his own late, making it 13-7. That remained the score to give Mirasola the win by decision.

What’s Next?

Session II will continue at 7 p.m. at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. It will feature the second round of the championship bouts as well as the pigtail and first round matches in the consolation bracket. All sessions will be broadcast on ESPN.