Talk about charging into the season! The Penn State Nittany Lions wrestlers are riding high on an 8-0 record, and are looking like an unstoppable force already. If the dawn is any sign of the day to come, one could safely speculate that Cael Sanderson‘s 16th year at the helm of the NLWC would be another fantastic season. But Sanderson’s boys are making waves on other fronts as well!

Earlier this month, Penn State started off its Big 10 journey emphatically. Defeating Michigan State by a whopping 55-0, Sanderson & Co. proved they were on top of things firmly. Now, as they clinched another victory on the road from under Rutgers’ nose to retain the winning streak, it looks like an additional boost to the system is giving the NLWC more motivation to keep pushing onward.

Penn State wrestlers show their elite status, again

The NLWC dismantled the Rutgers squad tonight and won by a hefty margin of 35-3. However, that was probably already foretold, thanks to the NCAA’s newest ranking. An article by The Mat from January 23 (just a day before Penn State’s tryst with the Scarlet Knight) shared the details of the first coaches’ rankings for the 2025 NCAA D1 Championships. Unsurprisingly, Penn State wrestlers’ names show up several times on the list, once again proving the squad’s dominant status in the USA’s collegiate wrestling circuit. The NLWC athletes top four of the ten weight classes, while Big Ten conference members lead eight classes altogether.

2023 All-American Tyler Kasak caught the attention of the country’s wrestling fans with his spectacular performance in his true freshman year. In the 2023-24 season, Kasak lost his opening match but bounced back in stellar style by winning seven matches in a row. This year, he’s bumped up a weight class (from 149 to 157) and is at the top of the bracket in the NCAA coaches’ rankings. His Penn State comrade Mitchell Mesenbrink, the 2024 Big Ten champ, leads the pack in the 165lb class.

4x NCAA gold medalist Carter Starocci‘s presence on the coaches’ ranking list (184lb) shouldn’t at all be surprising. After all, the four-time All-American Penn State star is hoping to make history by becoming the first-ever college wrestler to win 5 individual golds, and the NCAA ranking is like a nod of the hat toward his excellent skills on the mat. Heavyweight Penn State athlete Greg Kerkvliet is the fourth chart-topper on the ranking, bolstering the NLWC’s reputation once again. However, these four aren’t the only members of Cael Sanderson’s squad to have made it to the latest NCAA rankings list.

The NLWC’s high seat gets more backing

Freshman recruit Luke Lilledahl ranked fourth in the 125lb class, while Braeden Davis is the seventh name in the 133lb bracket. Beau Bartlett (141), Shayne Van Ness (149), Levi Haines (174), and Josh Barr‘s (197) inclusion in the list only shows the depth Penn State has in its roster and why it’s rightfully considered a wrecking machine that often makes its opponents squeamish in their stomachs. It was again thanks to some of these incredible athletes that the NLWC trounced Rutgers in Jersey Mike’s Arena at Piscataway, N.J.

Lilledahl dropped the first bout to Rutgers’ Dylan Shawver and the hosts led the night with 3-0. But the freshman’s Penn State colleagues were quick to regain their footing, and the Scarlet Knights couldn’t bag another point tonight afterward. Good way to keep the Big Ten freight train going, wouldn’t you agree?

The NLWC will return home after two weeks on the road to host Iowa this Friday at the Bryce Jordan Center. With stars like Caleb Rathjen, Jake Howell, and Drake Ayala in their ranks, the Hawkeyes are a force to be reckoned with, and Penn State shouldn’t feel too confident after its recent success. On the other hand, with Cael Sanderson being vehemently against the NCAA’s decision to revive the National Duals Invitational, one would think he’s determined to prove his point in the regular season itself, and Iowa should brace themselves for a storm ahead. What are your thoughts? Tell us in a comment!