By: Pat Donghia

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (14-0, 8-0 B1G) hosts Princeton (4-10) in the dual meet finale for head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad on Friday, Feb. 20. The dual is set for 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. All rankings are InterMat/InterMat TPI.

The Nittany Lions are coming off a lopsided 36-5 rout of Ohio State last Friday night in the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State won nine of ten bouts and clinched the 2026 Big Ten Regular Season Championship with the victory, the sixth straight and 12th overall for the Nittany Lions (all since Sanderson’s arrival in 2009-10). The win improved Penn State to 14-0 overall and 8-0 in Big Ten duals.

Penn State has ten wrestlers ranked by InterMat. Luke Lilledahl is 16-0 and No. 1 at 125. Marcus Blaze is 18-0 and No. 2 at 133. Braeden Davis is 8-3 and No. 12 at 141. Shayne Van Ness is 17-0 and No. 1 at 149. PJ Duke is 15-1 and No. 4 at 157. Mitchell Mesenbrink is 18-0 and No. 1 at 165. Levi Haines is 17-0 and No. 1 at 174. Rocco Welsh is 16-0 and No. 1 at 184. Josh Barr is 15-0 and No. 1 at 197. Cole Mirasola is 13-4 and No. 6 at 285.

A reminder that per NCAA rules, when two wrestlers from the same team meet in a tournament, the result is not official as THEY ARE NOT OFFICIAL MATCHES. It does not count as a win or a loss. Please see rule 9, section 6, article 4, found on page 79 of the official 2025-26 NCAA Wrestling rule book.
“Art. 4. Non-Allowable ISRF Matches. Matches between teammates, against opponents who are not listed on an institutional roster, a club-level wrestler, a prospective student-athlete or an armed services student-athlete shall not be counted.”

Princeton enters the dual with a 4-10 record, coming off Monday night’s 28-9 loss to Rutgers. The Tigers have four ranked wrestlers. Marc-Anthony McGowan is No. 12 at 125. Ethan Rivera is No. 32 at 133. Eligh Rivera is No. 14 at 149. Ty Whalen is No. 19 at 165. Penn State leads the all-time series 13-4-1.

Penn State will host the 2026 Big Ten Championships on Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8. The event takes place in the Bryce Jordan Center with sessions at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday and a combined session on Sunday starting at 12 p.m.

Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via X/twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. The 2025-26 Penn State Wrestling Season is sponsored by The Family Clothesline. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.

1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (14-0, 8-0 B1G)

2026 B1G REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS

125 #1 Luke Lilledahl So. Weldon Spring, Mo./Wyoming Seminary 16-0
133 #2 Marcus Blaze Fr. Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg 18-0
141 #12 Braeden Davis Jr. Belleville, Mich./Dundee 8-3
149 #1 Shayne Van Ness Jr. Somerville, N.J./Blair Academy 17-0
157 #4 PJ Duke Fr. State Hill, N.Y./Minisink Valley 15-1
165 #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink Jr. Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead 18-0
174 #1 Levi Haines Sr. Arendtsville, Pa./Biglerville 17-0
184 #1 Rocco Welsh So. Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg Central 16-0
197 #1 Josh Barr So. Davison, Mich./Davison 15-0
285 #6 Cole Mirasola R-Fr. Jackson, Wis./West Bend 13-4

PRINCETON TIGERS (4-10)

125 #12 Marc-Anthony McGowan So. Tampa, Fla./Blair Academy 12-5
133 #32 Ethan Rivera So. Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep 11-10
141 Matthew Martino Fr. Eagle, Idaho/Bishop Kelly 12-12
149 #14 Eligh Rivera Jr. Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep 11-6
157 Rocco Camillaci Jr. Hilton, N.Y./Hilton Central 13-8
165 #19 Ty Whalen Jr. Mullica Hill, N.J./Clearview Regional 19-5
174 Holden Garcia So. Phillipsburg, N.J./Notre Dame 15-8
184 Xavier Giles So. Bronx, N.Y./Greens Farms Academy 13-13
197 Conor McCloskey Fr. Buford, Ga./Buford 3-16
285 Sebastian Garibaldi Fr. Long Beach, N.Y./Greens Farms Academy 7-12

Individual rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat TPI (as of 2/17/26)