Penn State Wins 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championship

Graphic courtesy of Penn State Athletics

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS CENTRAL

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Penn State has captured the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championship, which concluded Saturday evening at Rocket Arena. It is the Nittany Lions' fifth-straight national championship and their 13th in 15 seasons, all under Head Coach Cael Sanderson. The Big Ten Conference has now claimed 19-consecutive crowns in the sport.

Six Big Ten teams finished in the top 10 in team scoring. Penn State broke its own school record for points for the third consecutive year, scoring 181.5 to outdistance runner-up Oklahoma State (131). Nebraska placed third (100.5), Iowa finished fourth (92.5), Ohio State claimed fifth (84.5), Michigan claimed seventh place (66) and Minnesota finished ninth (48.5). Penn State took the team lead Thursday morning and clinched the title during Saturday's consolation bouts with a victory from Marcus Blaze at 133 pounds.

The Big Ten crowned five individual champions on Saturday. Penn State claimed four titles behind undefeated seasons from Luke Lilledahl (25-0) at 125, Mitchell Mesenbrink (27-0) at 165, Levi Haines (26-0) at 174 and Josh Barr (24-0) at 197 while Minnesota's Max McEnelly took home the 184 title.

Mesenbrink received the NCAA's Most Dominant Wrestler Award, for averaging 5.04 team points per match, and was named Most Outstanding Wrestler. Teammate PJ Duke collected the Gorriaran Award for most falls in the least amount of time.

In addition, the Big Ten led all conferences with 40 All-American recipients, seizing half the honors.

2025-26 ALL-AMERICANS

Jacob Moran, Indiana, 125
Jore Volk, Minnesota, 125
Luke Lilledahl, Penn State, 125

Lucas Byrd, Illinois, 133
Drake Ayala, Iowa, 133
Jacob Van Dee, Nebraska, 133
Ben Davino, Ohio State, 133
Marcus Blaze, Penn State, 133

Brock Hardy, Nebraska, 141
Jesse Mendez, Ohio State, 141

Ryder Block, Iowa, 149
Lachlan McNeil, Michigan, 149
Chance Lamer, Nebraska, 149
Shayne Van Ness, Penn State, 149

Kannon Webster, Illinois, 157
Cameron Catrabone, Michigan, 157
Antrell Taylor, Nebraska, 157
Brandon Cannon, Ohio State, 157
PJ Duke, Penn State, 157

Mikey Caliendo, Iowa, 165
Andrew Sparks, Minnesota, 165
Paddy Gallagher, Ohio State, 165
Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State, 165
Joey Blaze, Purdue, 165

Patrick Kennedy, Iowa, 174
Beau Mantanona, Michigan, 174
Christopher Minto, Nebraska, 174
Carson Kharchla, Ohio State, 174
Levi Haines, Penn State, 174

Angelo Ferrari, Iowa, 184
Brock Mantanona, Michigan, 184
Max McEnelly, Minnesota, 184
Rocco Welsh, Penn State, 184

Gabe Arnold, Iowa, 197
Branson John, Maryland, 197
Camden McDaniel, Nebraska, 197
Josh Barr, Penn State, 197

Ben Kueter, Iowa, 285
Taye Ghadiali, Michigan, 285
AJ Ferrari, Nebraska, 285