Where are Penn State wrestlers in the first InterMat rankings of the year?

Penn State wrestling has put another strong International event in the books. Three members of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club – Kyle Snyder, senior Levi Haines, and freshman PJ Duke – just competed at the 2025 Senior World Championships. Snyder won gold at 97 kilograms. Haines took silver at 79 kilograms. And, Duke went 1-1 and thus missed the medal stand at 70 kilograms.

Next up for head coach Cael Sanderson’s program is the U23 Championships next month. We cover that, the first InterMat rankings of the year, and more in our latest offseason roundup.

Where are Penn State wrestlers in the first InterMat rankings?

Flo was first to market with 2025-2026 preseason college wrestling rankings. Those were posted over the summer. Now, InterMat is joining the party. The long-running website that covers the sport released its early look at all 10 weight classes, along with the team rankings, in September. Penn State is the No.1 team in the country in both its dual rankings and its tournament ones. As for the weight-by-weight breakdown, it is as follows and did come with this disclaimer from InterMat: “These rankings will be updated at least once, perhaps twice, before the first matches. There are plenty of coaches I’ve spoken with who are uncertain about weight changes and have multiple rankable wrestlers vying for the starting role. So, there could be a lot of movement before November.”:

125 pounds: Luke Lilledahl, So., No. 3

133 pounds: No Penn State wrestler

141 pounds: Braeden Davis, Jr., No. 9

149 pounds: Shayne Van Ness, Jr., No. 2

157 pounds: Tyler Kasak, Jr., No. 2

165 pounds: Mitchell Mesenbrink, Jr., No. 1

174 pounds: Levi Haines, Sr., No. 1

184 pounds: Rocco Welsh, So., No. 2

197 pounds: Josh Barr, So., No. 1

285 pounds: Cole Mirasola, R-Fr., No. 12

And, as a reminder, here is how Flo ranked the Lions:

125 pounds: Luke Lilledahl, So., No. 3

133 pounds: Marcus Blaze, Fr., No. 12

141 pounds: Braeden Davis, Jr., No. 6

149 pounds: Shayne Van Ness, Jr., No. 2

157 pounds: Tyler Kasak, Jr., No. 3

165 pounds: Mitchell Mesenbrink, Jr., No. 1

174 pounds: Levi Haines, Sr., No. 1

184 pounds: Rocco Welsh, So., No. 3

197 pounds: Josh Barr, So., No. 1

285 pounds: Cole Mirasola, R-Fr., No. 11

RAF 2 is coming to Penn State

Real American Freestyle, the startup professional league that bills itself as the “first unscripted pro wrestling league for the best athletes in the world,” is coming to Penn State. After the company held its inaugural event in Cleveland in late August, it announced on Thursday that its second will take place at Rec Hall. The card, which is sure to feature former Nittany Lions but has not yet been announced, will take place on Sat., Oct. 25. Information about the start time and ticket availability is also not yet available. FOX Nation will stream the event live from State College.

“After the love we felt in Cleveland, we knew we had to raise the bar,” RAF co-founder and CEO Chad Bronstein said in a statement to The Associated Press. “Penn State is more than just a wrestling school, it’s a proving ground. The intensity, the fans and the tradition show there is no better place for RAF02 than the famous Rec Hall.”

On RAF’s first card, Penn State great Bo Nickal beat Michigan’s Jacob Cardenas to become the league’s first world heavyweight champion. Fellow former Nittany Lion Jason Nolf lost in the middleweight world title match to Cal Poly’s Evan Wick. And, NLWC member Kyle Dake won the world cruiserweight title.

Fans can visit RAF’s website to input their email address to learn information about tickets, including pricing and when they will go on sale by visiting realamericanfreestyle.com

Latest schedule updates

Per the usual, Penn State has not yet put out its 2025-2026 schedule. But, we do know some dates already. The Lions will host Oklahoma in State College on Nov. 14. They will travel to Drexel on Dec. 5. And, they will complete a two-year home-and-home series with a trip to Wyoming on Dec. 13 after the Cowboys came to the Bryce Jordan Center a year ago.

Penn State is also likely to return to the Army Black Knight Invitational. That is set for Sun., Nov. 23 in West Point, N.Y. And, we believe the Lions will host Lehigh on Dec. 7.

As for the Big Ten schedule, it has not been released yet. But, we do know who head coach Cael Sanderson’s team will face.

Home Big Ten duals: Ohio State, Nebraska, Indiana, and Rutgers.

Away Big Ten duals: Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, and Northwestern.

Two PSU wrestlers claim Pan-Am gold

Two Nittany Lions, reigning NCAA champ Mitchell Mesenbrink and newcomer Rocco Welsh, won gold at the 2025 Junior Pan-American Games in Paraguay. Both were in an eight-man bracket, with Mesenbrink competing at 74 kilograms (163.1 pounds) and Welsh at 86 kilograms (189.5 pounds). The former beat Orislandy Perdomo Brooks of Cuba in the 74-kilogram finals 10-0 by technical fall early in the first period. The latter beat Geannis Garzon Tamayo of Cuba by decision, 5-2, to earn his title.

Lions dominate at U20s

Penn State freshman Marcus Blaze is a U20 World Champ. The new Nittany Lion capped off his domination of the 61-kilogram (134.4 pounds) men’s freestyle division by winning the gold medal match by technical fall, 10-0, over Iran’s Ahora Khateri. A Perrysburg, Ohio native, Blaze scored first and then built a 5-0 lead by the end of the first period. He then quickly netted five points in the second period to stop the match and earn his second world title. His first came a year ago at U17 Worlds, where he won gold before taking bronze at last year’s U20 tournament.

Blaze is one of five Penn State wrestlers who hit the medal stand at this year’s U20s in Bulgaria. Teammate PJ Duke won 70-kilogram gold. Their classmate, William Henckel, took silver at 74 kilograms. And, redshirt freshman Connor and Cole Mirasola took bronze at 92 and 125 kilograms, respectively.

The Penn State contingent made up half of the full 10-man Team USA roster, which crushed the competition to take the team title.

U23s are next

Who will join Haines, Snyder, and Class of 2026 commit Jayden James, who won U17 gold earlier this year, in hitting the International medal stand? The U23 Championships are in October. Penn State reps include:

57 kg – Luke Lilledahl (St. Charles, Mo./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

65 kg – Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg WC/Titan Mercury WC)

70 kg – PJ Duke (Slate Hill, N.Y./KD Training Center)

74 kg – Mitchell Mesenbrink (Bellefonte, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

79 kg – Levi Haines (Arendtsville, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

86 kg – Rocco Welsh (Fredericktown, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

92 kg – Josh Barr (Davison, Mich./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)