The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team concluded its regular season with a 50-0 shutout against Princeton at Rec Hall on February 20, 2026. This victory marks the eighth shutout for Penn State this season and the 33rd since Cael Sanderson became head coach in the 2009-10 season.
Penn State won all ten bouts in the dual meet, securing nine victories with bonus points. The match began at 125 pounds, where Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 1, defeated No. 12 Marc-Anthony McGowan by disqualification due to stalling penalties. Marcus Blaze followed with an 11-3 major decision over Ethan Rivera at 133 pounds. Braeden Davis earned an 11-8 win at 141 pounds.
At 149 pounds, Shayne Van Ness secured a major decision over Eligh Rivera, while PJ Duke achieved a technical fall against Gavin Hawk at 157 pounds. After halftime, Mitchell Mesenbrink pinned Ty Whalen at 165 pounds. Levi Haines recorded another pin in his final home dual meet at Rec Hall, defeating Cody Tavoso at 174 pounds.
Rocco Welsh posted a technical fall over Xavier Giles at 184 pounds. Josh Barr pinned Conor McCloskey early in their bout at 197 pounds, and Cole Mirasola closed out the meet with a technical fall over Sebastian Garibaldi at heavyweight.
The Nittany Lions dominated takedowns by a margin of 39-2 and accumulated three pins (Mesenbrink, Haines, Barr), one default win (Lilledahl), three technical falls (Duke, Welsh, Mirasola), and two major decisions (Blaze, Van Ness). Attendance for the event was reported as 6,356. The program has seen significant fan support with sellouts in most recent home events.
With this result, Penn State finished the regular season undefeated with a record of 15-0 overall and an unblemished Big Ten record of 8-0. Princeton ended its season with a record of 4-11.
Next for Penn State is hosting the Big Ten Championships on March 7-8 at the Bryce Jordan Center. The tournament will feature multiple sessions across both days.
Coach Cael Sanderson’s squad will now focus on postseason competition after completing another dominant regular season campaign.