The number of U-23 world champions in Penn State’s wrestling lineup increased to three on Sunday when Luke Lilledahl and Levi Haines joined Mitchell Mesenbrink as gold medalists.
Lilledahl captured the 57-kilogram title while Haines, from Biglerville High, won at 79kg. Lilledahl became the first American male to win world gold in U-17, U-20 and U-23 age groups, and Lilledahl, remarkably, has been in five straight age-level world finals.
Haines will be a favorite to win the NCAAs this season at 174 pounds; he is a three-time finalist and one-time champ.
Penn State freshman PJ Duke earned a bronze medal at 70kg, which means four of the seven Nittany Lion entrants earned medals.
Lilledahl’s aggressiveness paid off early against Japan’s Yuta Kikuchi as Kikuchi was put on the 30-second passivity clock twice, netting two points for the Nittany Lion 125-pounder. Lilledahl worked the edge of the mat for a single-leg on Kikuchi at the 1:01 mark of the second period for a dominant 4-0 victory.
Like Mesenbrink on Saturday, Lilledahl took a lap around the mat while holding the American flag, and later flashed a big smile while receiving his gold medal on the award stand.
“I’ve been working on getting to my attacks and my offense and making guys react a bit more to my offense and not being afraid to let it rip,” Lilledahl told USA Wrestling after his Saturday matches. “I’m not looking for the perfect shot all the time.”
Haines yielded an early pushout and then became the pusher, dominating Ibrahim Yaprak of Turkey 11-1 in just 3:23. Yaprak was attempting to score on a second pushout when Haines had an underhook and pancaked Yaprak for a takedown and two exposure points.
Haines’ next four-point flurry was defensive as Yaprak had the underhook and was trying to throw Haines but Haines deftly slipped it and scored four more on the same combination. Another takedown and bout-ending pushout gave the former Biglerville High athlete the 10-point margin.
A big smile and a thumbs-up gesture was what Haines offered at center mat and the, like other champions, donned his country’s flag and took a lap after a hug with Penn State coach Casey Cunningham.
Duke, a freshman 157-pounder, lost in the semis on Saturday and automatically qualified for a bronze medal match. He faced Davit Margaryan and the Armenian took Duke down but Duke later knotted the score off of a reshot.
Duke became the aggressor and locked his hands on Margaryan’s back and tossed Margaryan onto his shoulders. The match was stopped at the 3:01 mark, giving Duke the bronze in his first U-23 outing. Kaman Heybatov of Azerbaijan, who defeated Duke in the semifinals, won the gold medal.
Freshman Marcus Blaze (65kg) lost his first match, 4-2 to Biloi Sharip Uulu of Kyrgyzstan and Uulu was a few seconds short of making the finals, which would have sent Blaze back into the repechage for a chance at a bronze medal. But Uulu dropped a 5-2 semifinal match in the waning seconds and that spelled doom for Blaze’s opportunity.
Blaze and Uulu were all about the pushout and when Uulu went up 3-2 on a pushout, Penn State coach Cody Sanderson called for a challenge on a singlet pull. That challenge failed and Blaze trailed 4-2 with :03 left and a desperation leg attack fell short.
A similar fate met sophomore Rocco Welsh (86kg), the Ohio State transfer who in 2024 lost 2-0 in the NCAA finals to Penn State’s Carter Starocci. Welsh won two technical falls, each 10-0 over Aaron Ayzerov of Israel and Minshui Liang of China, respectively, but lost 7-4 to Abolfazl Rahmani Firouzjaei of Iran.
Rahmani yielded a point for a pushout with about 35 seconds left and fell 2-1 to finalist Eugeniu Michalcean of Moldova, and that spelled the end for Welsh as well.
Mesenbrink, meanwhile, won on Saturday and later told USA Wrestling that earning a bronze medal at the U-23s last year was a learning experience. “I feel like I’m becoming a more emotionally sound and fearless competitor out there,” he said. “Kind of a controlled force, and a by-product of that is just enjoying it more.”
Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members this fall won a combined 11 world medals at the Senior World Championships, U-20s and U-23s.
Bishop McCort High School senior Jax Forrest, an Oklahoma State recruit, posted 13-0 and 10-0 shutouts at 61kg over Vasile Marco of Moldova and Mykyta Abramov of Ukraine to reach the semifinals against Akito Mukaido of Japan.
Mukaido took Forrest down a couple of times but basically was no match for Forrest, who is an incredible talent. Forrest won 15-5 in 5:03 and will go for gold on Monday against another Uulu from Kyrgyzstan, this one Omurbek Asan Uulu.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.