By: Pat Donghia
THIS WEEK’S ACTION:
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025 — Penn State (6-0, 0-0 B1G) will open up Big Ten wrestling dual meet action by hosting Rutgers (6-2, 0-0 B1G) on Saturday, Jan. 10, in Rec Hall. The dual meet is a B1G Network national telecast and begins at 4 p.m. All rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat TPI.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a two dual shutout sweep at the Collegiate Duals on Dec. 20. Penn State blanked North Dakota State 46-0 and ninth-ranked Stanford 42-0 in Nashville, Tenn. to improve to 6-0 on the year. Penn State posted 59-2 takedown advantage between the two duals, picked up four pins and six tech falls and outscored both teams by a combined score of 88-0. The Nittany Lions also sent 13 wrestlers to the Southern Scuffle and three to the Kauffman Open at Edinboro the weekend of Jan. 3-4 and came away with six individual titles and the Scuffle team crown.
Penn State has ten wrestlers ranked by InterMat. Luke Lilledahl is 8-0 and No. 2 at 125. Marcus Blaze is 10- and No. 5 at 133. Aaron Nagao is 5-2 and No. 9 at 141. Shayne Van Ness is 9-0 and No. 1 at 149. PJ Duke is 8-0 and No. 4 at 157. Mitchell Mesenbrink is 10-0 and No. 1 at 165. Levi Haines is 9-0 and No. 1 at 174. Rocco Welsh is 8-0 and No. 4 at 184. Josh Barr is 7-0 and No. 1 at 197. Cole Mirasola is 7-2 and No. 15 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.”
Rutgers will enter the dual meet with a 6-2 overall record. The Scarlet Knights last wrestled the weekend of Dec. 13 and 14. Rutgers dropped a tough 19-14 dual to Oklahoma and Dec. 13 and then downed Drexel 28-12 on Dec. 14. The Knights also have ten ranked wrestlers. Ayden Smith is No. 29 at 125. Dylan Shawver is No. 24 at 133. Joseph Olivieri is No. 5 at 141. Andrew Clark is No. 31 at 149. Anthony White is No. 32 at 157. Andrew Barbosa is No. 21 at 165. Lenny Pinto is No. 9 at 174. Shane Cartagena-Welsh is No. 15 at 184. Remy Cotton is No. 18 at 197. Hunter Catka is No. 21 at 285. Penn State leads the all-time series with RU 25-0, including a 35-3 win last year at Rutgers on Jan. 24, 2025.
Penn State continues conference action next weekend with two dual meets. The Nittany Lions are at Iowa on Friday, Jan. 16, for a 7 p.m. Eastern dual and then at Northwestern on Sunday, Jan. 18, for a 3 p.m. Eastern match-up. 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 (6-0, 0-0 B1G)
125 #2 Luke Lilledahl So. Weldon Spring, Mo./Wyoming Seminary 8-0
133 #5 Marcus Blaze Fr. Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg 10-0
141 #9 Aaron Nagao Jr. La Habra, Calif./Esperanza 5-2
Nate Desmond Fr. Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic 6-0
Cael Nasdeo R-Fr. Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport 2-6
149 #1 Shayne Van Ness Jr. Somerville, N.J./Blair Academy 9-0
157 #4 PJ Duke Fr. State Hill, N.Y./Minisink Valley 8-0
Joe Sealey R-Fr. Bear Creek Township, Pa./Wyoming Seminary 12-1
165 #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink Jr. Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead 10-0
174 #1 Levi Haines Sr. Arendtsville, Pa./Biglerville 9-0
184 #4 Rocco Welsh So. Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg Central 8-0
197 #1 Josh Barr So. Davison, Mich./Davison 7-0
Connor Mirasola R-Fr. Jackson, Wis./West Bend 6-1
285 #15 Cole Mirasola R-Fr. Jackson, Wis./West Bend 7-2
Lucas Cochran Sr. Perry,Utah/Box Elder 8-1
19 RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (6-2, 0-0 B1G)
125 #29 Ayden Smith Fr. Allentown, Pa./Notre Dame-Green Pond 9-2
133 #24 Dylan Shawver Gr. Lorain, Ohio/Elyria 11-4
141 #5 Joseph Olivieri Gr. East Hanover, N.J./Hanover Park 9-0
Tahir Parkins Fr. Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth 5-6
Mason Gibson Fr. Johnstown, Pa./Bishop McCort 8-3
149 #31 Andrew Clark Gr. Collingswood, N.J./Collingswood 7-5
Devon Magro Fr. Johnstown, Pa./Bishop McCort 7-4
157 #32 Anthony White Gr. South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield 7-4
165 #21 Andrew Barbosa Fr. Riverdale, Calif./Palm Desert 8-3
Ryan Ford Fr. Mahwah, N.J./Bergin Catholic 11-2
174 #9 Lenny Pinto Gr. Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg 7-3
184 #15 Shane Cartagena-Walsh So. Ocean Township, N.J./Ocean 14-2
197 #18 Remy Cotton So. Traverse City, Mich./Davison 6-2
285 #21 Hunter Catka Gr. Brookhaven, Pa./Sun Valley 10-4
Individual rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat TPI (as of 1/6/26)
