Penn State wrestlers in the latest rankings: Where are the Lions after the Black Knight Invite?
Penn State wrestlers are on the move in the latest national media rankings following a nine-title day at the Army Black Knight Invitational. You can see where each member of head coach Cael Sanders’s starting lineup is now below. The number in parenthesis is where the wrestler was ranked last week.
| Weight | Name | FLO | InterMat | The Open Mat |
| 125 pounds | Luke Lilledahl | No. 2 (1) | No. 2 (1) | No. 1 (1) |
| 133 pounds | Marcus Blaze | No. 7 (9) | No. 12 (14) | No. 7 (8) |
| 141 pounds | Aaron Nagao | No. 12 (12) | No. 10 (10) | No. 10 (10) |
| 149 pounds | Shayne Van Ness | No. 1 (1) | No. 1 (1) | No. 1 (1) |
| 157 pounds | PJ Duke | 29 (NR) | 16 (NR) | No. 5 (3) |
| 165 pounds | Mitchell Mesenbrink | No. 1 (1) | No. 1 (1) | No. 1 (1) |
| 174 pounds | Levi Haines | No. 1 (1) | No. 1 (1) | No. 1 (1) |
| 184 pounds | Rocco Welsh | No. 4 (4) | No. 4 (4) | No. 4 (4) |
| 197 pounds | Josh Barr | No. 1 (1) | No. 1 (1) | No. 1 (1) |
| 285 pounds | Cole Mirasola | No. 10 (10) | No. 10 (10) | No. 13 (13) |
What changed this week?
The biggest change sees Luke Lilledahl drop out of the No. 1 spot at 125 pounds according to two of the three outlets after losing to freshman teammate Nate Desmond by decision, 5-3, in the Army Black Knight Invite finals.
“Vincent Robinson takes over the top spot once again after Luke Lilledahl lost to his teammate,” Jon Kozak writes for Flo. “When comparing resumes, Robinson has the best of the field, with his only college losses coming against Eddie Ventresca. Lilledahl has now lost to Desmond, Sheldon Seymour, Brendan McCrone, and Dean Peterson.”
Speaking of Flo, it also now ranks PJ Duke, albeit much lower than its peers after he won his first collegiate title by beating teammate Joe Sealey.
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Did Saturday's win help?
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“PJ Duke enters the rankings at #29 after defeating #30 Kaleb Burgess,” Kozak writes. “Obviously, many fans have high expectations for Duke, but this is a great time to remind everyone that rankings are not predictions, but are based on the results of collegiate folkstyle matches. Therefore, Duke will rise and/or fall with the level of competition he faces.”
Looking ahead to the Penn State weekend
This is a rare weekend off for the Penn State wrestling team. However, the Lions have long been idle during Thanksgiving week from a competition perspective. However, they will be practicing to prep for a double dual weekend next Friday and Sunday.