Penn State Wrestling Fans!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are back and into week three of the new school year. Students coming back and Penn State Football kicking off has brought a lot of energy to campus. It has been another great summer, and we are excited for another new year, but we still have 2 more competitions before we begin competing in the 2026-27 college season. We will have two guys competing in the U23 World Championship October 12-18 in Las Vegas, NV and six Nittany Lion Wrestling Club/PSU guys competing in the Senior World Championships on October 24 to November 1, 2026 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Summer goes really fast as guys are training, working camps, spending time with family and also competing in international tournaments, and RAF (Real American Freestyle) events around the country and the world. Levi Haines won a Pan American title at 79KG in dominant fashion in May. In June five guys from the NLWC/Penn State made the World Team (Marcus Blaze 61KG, Zain Retherford 70KG, Levi Haines 79KG, Kyle Dake 86KG, Kyle Snyder 97KG) to go along with Roman Bravo Young who already made Team Mexico’s World Team at 57KG. After the trials we had guys competing in RAF events in Cleveland, OH, Tbilisi, Georgia, and Moscow, Russia. RAF is a new professional wrestling league that has allowed guys to continue to compete during down times while also being compensated for competing and/or for appearances. There have been a lot of great matches that our guys have been able to participate in because of this new organization. Jayden James competed in the U20 World Championship in August bringing home the silver medal in his first appearance in the U20 age group. We also had five guys compete in Warsaw, Poland in August with Marcus Blaze, Zain Retherford, Levi Haines winning Gold, and Josh Rodriguez and Cole Mirasola finishing in 5th place. It was a busy summer as it usually is.
Like was mentioned above we have two guys (Luke Lilledahl and Jayden James) competing in the U23 World Championships in the United States in October. If you have never been to a World Championships this would be a great opportunity to go watch these guys compete against the best in the World. If Las Vegas is not your desired destination, then maybe Astana, Kazakhstan at the end of October is a better fit to watch 6 of our guys lay it on the line to try to win a world title. It is always fun to see Penn State fans around the world.
With all the questions we have been getting about the new rule changes in regard to the 5 for 5, is Levi getting another year, who is going what weight, etc. I figured I would address some of that now. As most of you now know the new rule of 5 for 5 is that there are no longer redshirts, Olympic Redshirts(Athletics Activity Waiver), or Medical Waivers for athletes. Once you turn 19 or start college your five-year clock begins and you do not get extra years. There was not a grace period for this, so everybody must adjust accordingly regardless of what previous plans were for guys. As of right now the NCAA has said Levi will not get another year but there are still ongoing lawsuits so we do not know when that will be finalized. So, to answer the question of who is going what weight- we don’t know yet : ). We feel like at some weights we potentially have 2 or 3 guys that could contend for a National Title so that makes it a lot of fun to go into the room everyday and watch these guys compete with each other. Often times going into competition allows them a real chance to see how much they have improved because they are not competing against World, Olympic, and National Champions like they are on a daily basis in our room. We have a great group of kids that are going to be exciting to watch again this year. Last year at the NCAA tournament our average points per match was 10 points, which was far above any other team nationally, and we look to continue to raise that standard this year. The final schedule will be out soon so let’s continue to sell out Rec Hall and the Bryce Jordan Center when we compete over there as well.
In closing, Pat Donghia, who has been our sports information director since we arrived in Happy Valley retired this summer. He did a great job over the past 17 years and he will be missed. He is still going to be around the area so I am sure we will see him often. With that being said, we are also excited about our new Sports information Director and what he has planned for the upcoming year with our guys so stay tuned.
Thank you for all your support and we look forward to seeing you all soon.
GO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
