Penn State Wins the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Title with Four
Among Penn State’s champions, Mitchell Mesenbrink won at 165 pounds with a 20-4 technical fall over Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo, and Levi Haines won the 174-pound final 2-1 over Nebraska’s Chris Minto. Josh Barr added the 197-pound title. Stanford’s Aden Valencia won at 149 pounds, defeating Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness 8–5 in sudden victory.
The championship closed a tournament that had started March 19 and concluded with finals on March 21. Penn State clinched the team title during the consolation medal rounds, then added its individual titles in the finals. The NCAA’s final bracket and results are the authoritative reference for every weight class.
Source: NCAA 2026 Division I wrestling brackets and results.
Penn State’s Four Individual Champions
The four Penn State wrestlers who won NCAA titles were Luke Lilledahl at 125 pounds, Mitchell Mesenbrink at 165, Levi Haines at 174 and Josh Barr at 197. Stanford’s Aden Valencia won the 149-pound championship, Minnesota’s Max McEnelly captured 184, and NC State’s Isaac Trumble took the heavyweight title. This completes the individual-title picture and distinguishes the four Nittany Lion champions from the other six weight-class winners.
Penn State’s team score was 181.5, ahead of Oklahoma State at 131. The NCAA tournament ran March 19–21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The NCAA’s championship results page provides the final brackets and official placements for each weight class.
Sources
Tags: MMA, Combat Sports
