Penn State wins fourth straight NCAA wrestling championship
For the fourth striaght year, Penn State is celebrating a wrestling national championship. Penn State clinched the NCAA Division 1 wrestling team national championship on Saturday afternoon, extending one of the most dominant runs in collegiate athletics regardless of sport.
Penn State still has a few wrestlers ready to compete for NCAA gold on Saturday night, but the team title was clinched in the consolation rounds on Saturday following victories by Luke Lilledahl (125 lb) and Shayne Van Ness (149 lb). Penn State came into Saturday owning a 34-point lead in the team standings over Nebraska. Now, everyone else is wrestling for second place, as is typically the case in the sport.
Penn State has won 12 national titles under head coach Cael Sanderson, all within the last 15 years. Penn State's wrestling program has won 13 national titles in program history, but this incredible display of dominance on the mat has been something truly amazing to see developed. To turn a good wrestling program into one of the best programs in NCAA history has continued to raise the bar every step of the way, every single year.
And this time, they did it all before lunch time.
The Penn State Nittany Lions have officially clinched their 12th NCAA Championship under Cael Sanderson, and 13th overall, at 11:14 a.m., March 22, 2025!#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/AfDxRQA7tm
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 22, 2025
Penn State can add some cherries on top of this championship sundae on Saturday night when Carter Starocci (184 lb), Josh Barr (197 lb), and Mitchell Messenbrink (165 lb) all compete in the finals. Starocci and Messenbrink are No. 1 seeds and Barr is the No. 4 seed, but he reached the finals by taking out the No. 1 seed, Jacob Cardenas of Michigan.
Penn State had 10 wrestlers earn All-American status this weekend, making the Nittany Lions just the second team in NCAA wrestling history to secure 10 All-Americans (Minnesota in 2001).
TITLE NUMBER 13 🏆@pennstateWREST has clinched the 2025 NCAA DI Men's Wrestling National Championship title, their 12th under Cael Sanderson and 13th overall.#NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/IVvuZaNBOU
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) March 22, 2025
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State wrestling clinches another NCAA championship
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