The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team will have seven top seeds at the 2026 Big Ten Championships, which will take place at the Bryce Jordan Center on March 7-8. The team, led by head coach Cael Sanderson, finished its regular season undefeated with a 15-0 record overall and an 8-0 mark in the Big Ten Conference.
Sophomore Luke Lilledahl, ranked first at 125 pounds by InterMat as of February 24, holds a perfect 17-0 record entering the tournament and will be the No. 1 seed with a first-round bye. True freshman Marcus Blaze is also unbeaten at 19-0 and will be seeded first at 133 pounds.
At 141 pounds, junior Braeden Davis (9-3) is ranked No. 14 and will compete as the No. 6 seed against Maryland’s Dario Lemus in the opening round. Junior Shayne Van Ness remains undefeated at 18-0 and is the top seed at 149 pounds with a first-round bye.
True freshman PJ Duke, ranked fourth nationally at 157 pounds, enters his first Big Ten tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face Mekhi Neal of Maryland in his opening match. Junior Mitchell Mesenbrink (19-0), senior Levi Haines (18-0), sophomore Rocco Welsh (17-0), and sophomore Josh Barr (16-0) are all No. 1 seeds in their respective weight classes—165, 174, 184, and 197—and each has earned a first-round bye.
Redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola rounds out Penn State’s lineup as the No. 4 seed at heavyweight (285 pounds). He holds a record of 14-4 going into his first conference tournament and faces Gabe Christenson from Northwestern in his initial bout.
The championship schedule features two sessions on Saturday—at 10 a.m. and again at 5 p.m.—with finals scheduled for Sunday beginning at noon.
Penn State fans can follow updates on X/twitter (@pennstateWREST), Facebook (www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling), or Instagram (www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest). The Family Clothesline sponsors this season for Penn State Wrestling.
Cael Sanderson said: “This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.”