YOUR 2024-25 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS ?@pennstateWREST wins the national championship for the 13th time, with a team score of 177.0. #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/0DdAX5keJL
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) March 23, 2025
PHILADELPHIA — In historic fashion, the Penn State Nittany Lions claimed their four consecutive NCAA team title and the 13th in program history. Five-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci led the way for the Nittany Lions with his 4-1 win over reigning NCAA champion Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa, but he was far from the only Nittany Lion to cement himself in history tonight.
Mitchell Mesenbrink joined Starocci as a Penn State national champion after he beat Iowa's Michael Caliendo 8-2 for his first individual title.
The Blue and White also put eight additional athletes on the podium over the course of these three intense days in Philly, becoming just the second team in history to accomplish this feat. Freshman Josh Barr took second at 197 pounds, Luke Lilledahl took third at 125 pounds, Braeden Davis took fifth at 133 pounds, Beau Bartlett took third at 141 pounds, Shayne Van Ness took third at 149 pounds, Tyler Kasak took third at 149 pounds, Levi Haines took third at 174 pounds and Greg Kerkvliet rounded out the All-Americans with his sixth-place finish at 285 pounds. The team scored a total of 177 points to break the all-time scoring record for the NCAA tournament.
FIVE TITLES: How Carter Starocci capped off his legendary Penn State career with his title win over Parker Keckeisen
The Nebraska Cornhuskers — who secured two national champions in Ridge Lovett at 149 pounds and Antrell Taylor at 157 pounds — took second as a team with 117 points. Lovett enacted revenge on reigning national champion Caleb Henson 1-0 for his win while Taylor topped No. 8 Joey Blaze of Purdue 4-2 for his title. This is the first time Nebraska has had two NCAA champions in the same tournament since 1984.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys finished behind the Cornhuskers in third with 102.5 points and two champions: Dean Hamiti and 174 pounds and Wyatt Hendrickson at 285 pounds. Hamiti beat two-time NCAA champion Keegan O'Toole 4-1 to claim his first title and head coach David Taylor's first at the helm of Oklahoma State. Hendrickson followed with an epic finish against No. 1 Gable Steveson, taking down the Olympic champ 5-4 to earn his first title. He also earned Most Dominant Wrestler honors for average 5.15 points per dual meet this season.
The Iowa Hawkeyes, the fourth-place team with 81 points, also had a national champion in 197-pounder Stephen Buchanan who held off Penn State's Josh Barr 5-2. This is Buchanan's first national title and allows him to end his career on the top of the podium.
NC State and Illinois also had champions in Vince Robinson at 125 pounds and Lucas Byrd at 133 pounds respectively.
Kelvin Griffin of Lehigh also earned recognition at the end of the tournament for leading the country in falls with 18. Luca Augustine of Pitt earned Elite 90 honors for having the highest cumulative GPA amongst the competitors at the national tournament with his 3.94 GPA in Biology.
Complete individual results below:
WEIGHT Result
125 No. 4 Vince Robinson (NC State) tops No. 7 Troy Spratley, 2-1
133 No. 1 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) beats No. 2 Drake Ayala (Iowa), 3-2
141 No. 3 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) outscores No. 1 Brock Hardy, 12-9
149 No. 2 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) upsets No. 1 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech), 1-0
157 No. 3 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) tops No. 8 Joey Blaze (Purdue), 4-2
165 No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) outlasts No. 2 Michael Caliendo (Iowa), 8-2
174 No. 3 Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State) upsets No. 1 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri), 4-1
184 No. 1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) beats No. 2 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa), 4-3
197 No. 2 Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) tops No. 4 Josh Barr (Penn State), 5-2
285 No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State) shocks No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota), 5-4