Penn State wrestling U23 Worlds preview: Bracket draws and medal predictions for the Lions

Penn State is gearing up for its 2025-2026 regular season. First, though, seven Lions will compete at the U23 World Championships. And two future Nittany Lions just took the mat at the prestigious Super 32 high school tournament last weekend in North Carolina. This week’s Blue-White Illustrated wrestling show covers it all with host Thomas Frank Carr and reporter Greg Pickel. You can view it in the embedded video player below. It is also available on BWI’s YouTube page and wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s episode starts with a Super 32 recap. Standout junior and Class of 2027 Penn State commit Landon Sidun did not compete after winning Who’s Number One two weekends ago in Iowa. But, two other future Nittany Lions did take the mat. Class of 2026 commit Sam Herring, who is from Johnstown, Pa., Bishop McCort, beat New York native and Class of 2027 Lions pledge Gavin Mangano in the 138-pound semifinals, 4-2. From there, he lost 1-0 to Minnesota commit Tyler Dekraker in the finals. Mangano, meanwhile, would go on to finish third.

From there, the show moves into a preview of the U23 World Championships. The men’s freestyle action is broken up over four days. Early matches, plus the semifinals, all take place on day one for each weight class. Repechage, which helps set the third place matches, and the finals then take place on Day 2. Here is the breakdown for Penn State:

Friday/Saturday: Mitchell Mesenbrink at 74 kilograms (163.1 pounds) and Josh Barr at 92 kilograms (202.8)

Saturday/Sunday: Luke Lilledahl at 57 kilograms (125.6 pounds), PJ Duke at 70 kilograms (154.3), Levi Haines at 79 kilograms (174.1)

Sunday/Monday: Marcus Blaze at 65 kilograms (143.3 pounds) and Rocco Welsh at 86 kilograms (189.5).

Penn State bracket draws and predictions for U23 Worlds

First, a schedule note: Qualification rounds start at 4 a.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The semifinals on those days are at Noon ET. And the medal matches are at 1 p.m. ET.

A bracket breakdown and prediction for each Nittany Lion:

Penn State junior Mitchell Mesenbrink (74 kilograms)

First match: Aliaksandr Hulnik of UWW in the qualification round

Prediction: We expect Mesenbrink to make the semis on the bottom half of this half-bracket. The same is likely on the top half of it for Yoshinosuke Aoyagi of Japan. Assuming they meet in the semis, it will be one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament regardless of weight class. Aoyagi already won Senior Worlds at 70 kilograms this year. He is a multi-time age group medalist otherwise in that weight class. We’ll give Mesenbrink the edge based on the bump in weight for Aoyagi, and he’ll win in the finals to take gold after finishing third a year ago.

Nittany Lions redshirt sophomore Josh Barr (92 kilograms)

First match: Sali Saliev of Bulgaria OR Alperen Tokgoz of Turkey in round one

Prediction: Saliev is a 2024 U20 Worlds silver medalist and the likely winner of the qualification round clash that will set up Barr’s opening match, though Tokgoz did qualify for Senior Worlds and is no pushover. I have Barr exiting the championship bracket at the hands of Iran’s Mohammad Mobin Azimi in the quarters. But, the Iranian will push through to the finals, giving Barr a chance to win bronze.

Penn State sophomore Luke Lilledahl (57 kilograms)

First match: Honghang Liao of China in the Round of 16

Prediction: Lilldahl, who already has gold medals at U17s and U20s on his resume, projects to face Iran’s Milad Valizadeh, the 2025 Senior Asian silver medalist who previously competed at both U20s and Senior Worlds, in the quarterfinals. If he gets by him, a date with U23 Russian champ Aiandai Ondar of UWW in the semis. It’s not the best or worst draw for Lilledahl, who will either win gold or bronze. We’ll go with the former.

Nittany Lions freshman PJ Duke (70 kilograms)

First match: Begijon Kuldashev of Uzbekistan in the qualification round

Prediction: Duke starts his tournament with 2025 U23 Asian bronze medalist Kuldashev. The winner faces 2024 U20 Worlds participant Rostislav Leicht of Germany. Kanan Heybatov of Azerbaijan projects as a possible semifinal opponent. They are the favorites, meaning a gold or silver following a win in the semis is the best-case result, with a path to bronze via repechage likely available otherwise. We will predict Duke to take first.

Penn State senior Levi Haines (79 kilograms)

First match: Mahdi Yousefihajivar of Iran in the first round

Prediction: This is an absolutely brutal draw for both wrestlers. The Iranian already won gold at U20 Worlds this year. And, he also took first at the 2024 U23 Worlds in this weight class. Haines, of course, finished second at Senior Worlds earlier this year. This is a true coin flip. I don’t like taking the easy way out, but I will: The winner of this match goes on to win gold. The loser winds up wrestling his way to bronze.

Nittany Lions freshman Marcus Blaze (65 kilograms)

First match: Bilol Sharip Uulu of Kyrgyzstan in the qualification round

Prediction: Blaze did not get the easiest opening opponent imaginable. Uulu is a 2024 U23 bronze medalist at this weight and U17 silver medalist at 60 kilograms. His past success and the fact that Blaze is bumping up in weight make him an underdog here. The winner gets U20 fifth-place finisher Nikolov Beshidze of Georgia. And, multi-time age group medalist and 2022 U20 gold winner Umidjon Jalolov of Uzbekistan likely awaits someone from Blaze’s side of the bracket in the semis.

Getting pulled into repechage may be the best path Blaze has to a medal in the end. You count against him at your own risk. But, I have him outside the top three to start.

Penn State redshirt sophomore Rocco Welsh (86 kilograms)

First match: Aaron Ayzerov of Iarael

Prediction: Ayzerov finished eighth at U23 Worlds. That gives him an advantage over Welsh in terms of International competition. The new Nittany Lion is competing at his first world championship. If he gets by Ayzerov, who wrestles collegiately for Columbia, there is likely going to be someone who trips him up before the semis. A bronze looks to be the best-case result. But, I predict Welsh to be off the medal stand.