What We Learned About Penn State Wrestling at the Big Ten Championships
Penn State wrestling predictably rolled to its third straight team title at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, crowning five individual champs in the process. The Nittany Lions have won nine Big Ten team titles under head coach Cael Sanderson, the eight-time conference coach of the year who politely views the tournament as a means to an end.
Penn State’s prize-fight weekend really arrives in late March, when the Nittany Lions head to the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia. As the preferred betting favorite to win a fourth straight team title, Penn State still needed to compile data at Big Tens to study for the season’s finale. So what did the Nittany Lions learn about themselves at the Big Ten Championships? Here’s a look.
Luke Lilledahl is an NCAA contender
Sanderson has pitched the true freshman as an NCAA title contender this year, and Lilledahl took a major step in proving that at Big Tens. As the tournament’s No. 4 seed, Lilledahl beat the first- and second-seeded wrestlers en route to the 125-pound title.
Lilledahl (19-2) went 4-0 at the conference tournament, including an impressive 12-4 major decision over previously unbeaten Matt Ramos of Purdue. The freshman has earned the nickname “Lightning Luke” by demonstrating a skill for quick offense and indefensible shots. This weight class can be wildly unpredictable on the national level, but Lilledahl emerged from Big Tens as a leading wrestler to watch in Philadelphia.
Carter Starocci makes veteran moves
Starocci has all the hard and soft skills to win a fifth NCAA title. He’s strong, relentless, technically sound, supremely confident and a proven winner. Further, Starocci doesn’t panic, which he demonstrated in the 184-pound final against Minnesota’s Max McEnelly. Starocci gave up a takedown for the first time this season and went to overtime for the first time since the 2022 NCAA final. But the contender for the NCAA’s Most Dominant Wrestler Award did not buckle in the moment.
Starocci, who has 99 career victories, made a savvy counter move to McEnelly’s shot in overtime and scored the winning takedown. McEnelly, who brought a 20-0 record to his bout with Starocci, is young, skilled and relentless. But he couldn’t catch the veteran in the Big Ten final.
An injury looms over Penn State’s trip to nationals
Redshirt freshman Josh Barr, the nation’s second-ranked wrestler at 197, sustained a leg injury in Sunday’s consolation round. He took two injury defaults to place sixth, which likely will affect his NCAA seeding. Of course, Barr’s health is much more important. Penn State seeks to become just the second team in NCAA Championships history to place 10 All-Americans on the podium. A healthy Barr is a lock to medal.
Levi Haines is poised for a rematch
Haines blistered the 174-pound weight class to win his third Big Ten title, punctuating his weekend with a 12-1 major decision over Nebraska’s Lenny Pinto. Haines (20-1) lost his only bout of the season to Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole, a two-time NCAA champ who missed time this season with an injury.
O’Toole defeated Haines 4-1 in sudden victory at a December duals event. O’Toole then misssed some time with an injury but returned to win the Big 12 title, scoring a 7-4, sudden-victory decision over Oklahoma State’s unbeaten Dean Hamiti. Since that loss to O’Toole, Haines is 12-0 with five bonus-point wins. His major in the final proved he’s ready for the rematch.
Greg Kerkvliet faces an uphill climb to repeat
Kerkvliet was the overwhelming favorite to repeat as NCAA heavyweight champ until late November, when Minnesota’s Gable Steveson announced his return to college wrestling. Steveson, a two-time NCAA champ and 2020 Olympic gold medalist, spent time in WWE and Buffalo Bills training camp during his two years away. But he returned looking every bit as dominant, proving that against Kerkvliet in the Big Ten final.
Kerkvliet did not allow a takedown during the dual-meet season. Steveson scored three in a 10-3 decision that looked rather easy against a returning NCAA champ. In any other year, Kerkvliet becomes a two-time winner. This year, the Penn State senior will need two impeccable weeks of prep to pull the NCAA upset.
