Penn State moves eight to finals, takes commanding lead at 2026 Big Ten Championships
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by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
Levi Haines of Penn State shoots of Carson Kharchla of Ohio State in the 174-pound semifinals of the 2026 Big Ten Championships.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Top-ranked Penn State flexed its muscle at the 2026 Big Ten Championships in front of its home crowd at Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions had eight-of-10 wrestlers advance to the championship finals—Luke Lilledahl (125), Marcus Blaze (133), Shayne Van Ness (149), PJ Duke (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), Rocco Welsh (184) and Josh Barr (197).
With 146.5 team points amassed, Penn State is well out in front of second-place Ohio State, which collected 115 points through day one of the event. Three Buckeyes qualified for a championship match— Ben Davino (133), Jesse Mendez (141) and Ethan Stiles (149).
Rounding out the top five in the team standings are Nebraska with 112 points, Iowa with 70 points, and Illinois and Minnesota tied in fifth place at 69.5 points.
Every No. 1 seed made it to the finals, as did seven No. 2 seeds. The outliers were No. 3 seeds Davino and Mikey Caliendo of Iowa at 165 pounds, plus No. 6 Jore Volk of Minnesota at 125 pounds.
Championship match parings, semifinal results and updated team scores after day one are available below.
The Big Ten Championships continue at Noon (ET) on Sunday with the consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches. The first, third and fifth place matches are set for 4:30 p.m. (ET). Catch all the action live on BIG+ and Big Ten Network.
More information about the 2026 Big Ten Championships is available at bigten.org.
1. Penn State, 146.5
2. Ohio State, 115
3. Nebraska, 112
4. Iowa, 70
T5. Illinois, 69.5
T5. Minnesota, 69.5
7. Michigan, 68.5
8. Rutgers, 56.5
9. Wisconsin, 43.5
10. Indiana, 33
11. Maryland, 31
12. Purdue, 23
13. Northwestern, 14.5
14. Michigan State, 10.5
Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) vs. Jore Volk (Minnesota)
Marcus Blaze (Penn State) vs. Ben Davino (Ohio State)
Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) vs. Brock Hardy (Nebraska)
Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) vs. Ethan Stiles (Ohio State)
Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) vs. PJ Duke (Penn State)
Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) vs. Mikey Caliendo (Iowa)
Levi Haines (Penn State) vs. Christopher Minto (Nebraska)
Rocco Welsh (Penn State) vs. Max McEnelly (Minnesota)
Josh Barr (Penn State) vs. Camden McDanel (Nebraska)
Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) vs. AJ Ferrari (Nebraska)
Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) maj. dec. Jacob Moran (Indiana), 11-3
Jore Volk (Minnesota) dec. Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State), 8-1
Marcus Blaze (Penn State) dec. Drake Ayala (Iowa), 4-1, SV
Ben Davino (Ohio State) tech. fall Blake Boarman (Purdue), 21-5
Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) tech. fall Nasir Bailey (Iowa), 19-4
Brock Hardy (Nebraska) dec. Vance Vombaur (Minnesota), 9-2
Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) dec. Lachlan McNeil (Michigan), 11-10
Ethan Stiles (Ohio State) dec. Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin), 4-3
Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) dec. Cameron Catrabone (Michigan), 7-1
PJ Duke (Penn State) dec. Kannon Webster (Illinois), 4-2
Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) tech. fall Andrew Sparks (Minnesota), 19-4
Mikey Caliendo (Iowa) maj. dec. Andrew Barbosa (Rutgers), 11-3
Levi Haines (Penn State) dec. Carson Kharchla (Ohio State), 5-1
Christopher Minto (Nebraska) dec. Patrick Kennedy (Iowa), 5-1
Rocco Welsh (Penn State) dec. Brock Mantanona (Michigan), 8-5, SV
Max McEnelly (Minnesota) inj. def. Silas Allred (Nebraska), 0:01
Josh Barr (Penn State) tech. fall Luke Geog (Ohio State), 18-3
Camden McDanel (Nebraska) dec. Wyatt Ingham (Wisconsin), 10-3
Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) dec. Cole Mirasola (Penn State), 5-2
AJ Ferrari (Nebraska) dec. Nick Feldman (Ohio State), 2-1
