Thirteen members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team participated in the 2026 Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga on January 3 and 4, while three others competed at the Bobby Kauffman Open at Edinboro on January 4. Six wrestlers from Penn State won individual titles across both events.
At the Southern Scuffle, Connor Pierce secured a title at 149 pounds with a perfect 6-0 record, defeating No. 24 Max Petersen of North Dakota State in the semifinals and No. 26 Brock Herman of Little Rock in the finals. Joe Sealey claimed the championship at 157 pounds, also going undefeated and winning his final match against Daniel Zapeda of North Carolina State.
William Henckel took first place at 174 pounds after beating No. 22 Aidan Wallace of Duke in the semifinals and Caden Bellis of Penn in the finals. Asher Cunningham won at 184 pounds with two major decisions and two pins during his run, culminating with a victory over No. 25 Caleb Campos of American University.
Josh Barr, ranked No.1 at 197 pounds, achieved five wins—all by bonus points—defeating No.3 Stephen Little of Little Rock decisively in the finals and pinning No.15 Branson John of Maryland earlier in the tournament.
Lucas Cochran finished sixth at heavyweight (285), starting strong but ending his run after a medical forfeit loss following three wins, including one over Army’s Brady Colbert.
Other participants included Aaron Nagao (141), who returned to competition but exited after a medical forfeit; Cael Nasdeo (141), Kyison Garcia (141), Ty Watson (165), Sean Degl (174), Mason Ellis (197), and Dawson Bundy (285). Despite not having entrants in two weight classes, Penn State captured the team title with a total score of 143.5 points.
At Edinboro’s Bobby Kauffman Open, Braeden Davis went undefeated to win the title at 141 pounds with two pins followed by two major decisions. Hayden Cunningham placed third at that weight class with three wins including a pin, while Brock Weiss finished with three victories—including one by technical fall—at 149 pounds.
Penn State is scheduled to host Rutgers on January 10 to begin Big Ten competition at Rec Hall.
“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,” according to team officials. “The Family Clothesline is the presenting sponsor for the 2025-26 Nittany Lion wrestling season.”