Penn State run continues with fourth straight Big Ten title, seven individual champions
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by Brian Reinhardt
PJ Duke (Penn State) finishes a single leg trip on Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) in the 157-pound Big Ten finals.
Penn State checked off another box this weekend, leading up to what could be a historic run in two weeks in Cleveland.
After dominating the Big Ten all year in dual action, the Nittany Lions once again flexed their muscles against their conference foes in capturing their fourth straight Big Ten championship in their home gym this weekend.
Penn State won the team race, out-distancing itself from second-place Ohio State 184 to 148.5. Nebraska, in third with 116.5 points, was the final team to score more than 100 points.
Penn State had eight wrestle in the finals, and seven claimed the championship belt. Only Iowa in 1983 won more individual Big Ten titles in a single year (nine).
Senior Levi Haines cemented his name in Big Ten history by becoming only the third wrestler all-time to win four Big Ten championships, and the first since 2014. At 174 pounds, he outlasted Christoper Minto of Nebraska, 2-1.
Freshman PJ Duke had a run to remember at 157 pounds, defeating three top-10 foes. In his first bout, he handed Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon his first loss of the season, a 20-7 major decision. In the semifinals, it was a gritty 4-2 win over Illinois’ Kannon Webster.
In the final, it was revenge for his lone loss of the year. He did it in style, with a 12-4 major decision over reigning national champion Antrell Taylor of Nebraska.
The championship run began with Luke Lilledahl claiming his second straight title at 125 pounds, a takedown in extra time over Minnesota’s Jore Volk. Shayne Van Ness scored the lone fall of the finals, ending his bout at 149 pounds with Ethan Stiles of Ohio State just 29 seconds into the second period.
Penn State went for bonus in two other championship matches. A dominating 19-4 technical fall at 197 pounds by Josh Barr over Nebraska’s Camden McDanel, and Mitchell Mesenbrink getting past Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo by major decision, 12-4.
Rocco Welsh added to Penn State’s trophy total, a gritty 2-1 win in ride outs over Minnesota’s Max McEnelly.
Penn State qualified all 10 starters for the NCAA Championships.
The only two finals that did not feature a Penn State wrestler were at 141 pounds and heavyweight. Reigning two-time NCAA champion Jesse Mendez took his second career Big Ten title at 141 pounds with a 7-2 decision over rival Brock Hardy of Nebraska. In the final bout of the tournament, Michigan’s Taye Ghadiali collected his fourth career conference championship by taking out Nebraska’s AJ Ferrari, 5-2. Ghadiali’s first three came from the SoCon while at Campbell.
Ohio State’s other individual title came at 133 pounds, as R-Fr. Ben Davino reversed a dual loss from earlier this year and handed Penn State’s Marcus Blaze his first collegiate loss, 3-2 in ride outs.
Final brackets from the 2026 Big Ten Championships can be found at FloWrestling.com. Video archives from the event are available on BIG+ and Big Ten Network.
1. Penn State, 184
2. Ohio State, 148.5
3. Nebraska, 116.5
4. Iowa, 87
5. Michigan, 86.5
6. Illinois, 78
7. Minnesota, 76.5
8. Rutgers, 63.5
9. Wisconsin, 55
10. Indiana, 40
11. Maryland, 35.5
12. Purdue, 29.5
13. Northwestern, 14.5
14. Michigan State, 10.5
1st – Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) dec. Jore Volk (Minnesota), 4-1 (SV)
3rd – Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) dec. Jacob Moran (Indiana), 4-2
5th – Dean Peterson (Iowa) dec. Diego Sotelo (Michigan), 5-2
7th – Kael Lauridsen (Nebraska) dec. Ayden Smith (Rutgers), 6-3
1st – Ben Davino (Ohio State) dec. Marcus Blaze (Penn State), 3-2 (TB2)
3rd – Drake Ayala (Iowa) dec. Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin), 4-2
5th – Lucas Byrd (Illinois) dec. Blake Boarman (Purdue), 5-2
7th – Sean Spidle (Northwestern) med. for. Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska)
1st – Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) dec. Brock Hardy (Nebraska), 7-2
3rd – Nasir Bailey (Iowa) dec. Vance Vombaur (Minnesota), 7-4
5th – Joey Olivieri (Rutgers) dec. Dario Lemus (Maryland), 5-2
7th – Braeden Davis (Penn State) dec. Billy DeKraker (Northwestern), 8-1
1st – Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) fall Ethan Stiles (Ohio State), 3:29
3rd – Lachlan McNeil (Michigan) dec. Carter Young (Maryland), 1-0
5th – Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) dec. Michael Gioffre (Illinois), 9-3
7th – Andrew Clark (Rutgers) med. for. Clayton Jones (Michigan State)
1st – PJ Duke (Penn State) maj. dec. Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), 12-4
3rd – Kannon Webster (Illinois) dec. Brandon Cannon (Ohio State), 9-2
5th – Cameron Catrabone (Michigan) med. for. Bryce Lowery (Indiana)
7th – Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) med. for. Charlie Millard (Minnesota)
1st – Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) maj. dec. Mikey Caliendo (Iowa), 12-3
3rd – Joey Blaze (Purdue) inj. def. LJ Araujo (Nebraska), 3:47
5th – Andrew Sparks (Minnesota) dec. Andrew Barbosa (Rutgers), 8-6
7th – Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State) med. for. Braeden Scoles (Illinois)
1st – Levi Haines (Penn State) dec. Christopher Minto (Nebraska), 2-1
3rd – Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) dec. Patrick Kennedy (Iowa), 7-3
5th – Beau Mantanona (Michigan) dec. Lenny Pinto (Rutgers), 7-5
7th – Colin Kelly (Illinois) dec. Brody Baumann (Purdue), 11-5
1st – Rocco Welsh (Penn State) dec. Max McEnelly (Minnesota), 2-1 (TB1)
3rd – Brock Mantanona (Michigan) dec. Chris Moore (Illinois), 4-1 (SV)
5th – Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers) med. for. Silas Allred (Nebraska)
7th – Dylan Fishback (Ohio State) med. for. Angelo Ferrari (Iowa)
1st – Josh Barr (Penn State) tech. fall Camden McDanel (Nebraska), 19-4
3rd – Luke Geog (Ohio State) dec. Gabe Sollars (Indiana), 7-5
5th – Wyatt Ingham (Wisconsin) fall Remy Cotton (Rutgers), 4:11
7th – Branson John (Maryland) med. for. Ben Vanadia (Purdue)
1st – Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) dec. AJ Ferrari (Nebraska), 5-2
3rd – Nick Feldman (Ohio State) dec. Ben Kueter (Iowa), 6-2
5th – Cole Mirasola (Penn State) med. for. Braxton Amos (Wisconsin)
7th – Koy Hopke (Minnesota) dec. Luke Luffman (Illinois), 4-2
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