Penn State Wrestling Loses An All-america Candidate, Fills With An All-american

The top-ranked Penn State wrestling squad mislaid an All-America campaigner to a season-ending injury, caput coach Cael Sanderson said this week. But underscoring why they're No. 1, nan Nittany Lions person an All-American fresh to return his place.

Aaron Nagao, a elder who was classed arsenic precocious arsenic seventh astatine 141 pounds, will miss nan remainder of nan play pinch a enarthrosis injury, Sanderson said astatine his play media availability. Nagao had missed nan full 2024-25 play owed to wounded but appeared to return patient this season.

However, Nagao was forced to return an wounded default Nov. 23 successful a bout astatine nan Army Black Knight Invitational and has not wrestled since. Sanderson said that, arsenic overmuch arsenic Nagao wanted to compete this season, nan lingering wounded did now let it.

"It's conscionable nan reality of what Aaron was coming backmost from," Sanderson told reporters successful State College connected Wednesday. "It's conscionable an uphill battle. Shoulders are really challenging successful our sport. It's complicated, [but] if anyone could do it, it was Aaron. So we wanted to springiness him nan champion support and opportunity we could springiness him."

As a result, inferior Braeden Davis shed his planned redshirt and returned to Penn State's dual lineup. And this is 1 logic Penn State has won an NCAA-record 78 consecutive matches making love to 2000.

Davis was nan Big Ten champion astatine 125 pounds arsenic a freshman and an NCAA All-American astatine 133 arsenic a sophomore past season. But Penn State's exceptional extent astatine nan mediate weights allowed Sanderson and his unit to redshirt Davis and hole him to wrestle astatine 141 adjacent season.

Though adjacent play came early, Penn State was ready. Davis returned to action astatine an unfastened tourney successful early January, going 4-0, and scored a awesome determination against Rutgers' Tahir Parkins connected Saturday.

Davis (5-0) instantly entered nan InterMat Wrestling rankings astatine No. 7, replacing Nagao, and will look his first classed force of nan play Friday erstwhile nan Nittany Lions sojourn Iowa. Davis is scheduled to meet 11th-ranked Nasir Bailey (9-3) successful Iowa City. Davis won their 2024 gathering 1-0 erstwhile some were astatine 133 pounds and Bailey was astatine Little Rock.

At 1 constituent during his freshman season, Davis was nan nation's top-ranked wrestler astatine 125, yet going 2-2 astatine NCAAs. He returned to 133 past season, going 17-7 and placing 5th astatine NCAAs. Sanderson pointed to Davis' acquisition successful large matches arsenic a logic he'll beryllium fresh to compete astatine 141.

"I deliberation Braeden, from nan beginning, he was alert to beryllium fresh to go," Sanderson said. "... Breaden is conscionable a tremendous competitor. He’s going to springiness it everything he has each clip he steps connected nan mat."

Penn State successful nan nationalist rankings

Penn State's full starting lineup is classed successful nan apical 13 astatine their weight classes, according to InterMat, pinch 9 classed among nan apical 7. Further, 4 Nittany Lions are classed No. 1, and 3 others are classed successful nan apical 4. Nine are unbeaten.

The biggest movers this play person been freshmen Marcus Blaze and PJ Duke, who person gone from unranked to top-4 successful astir 2 months. Blaze is 11-0 and classed 4th astatine 133 pounds, wherever he has won each bout pinch prize points. Duke, 3rd astatine 157, is 9-0 pinch 7 bonus-point victories.

Penn State's top-ranked wrestlers are Shayne Van Ness (10-0 astatine 149), Mitchell Mesenbrink (11-0 astatine 165), Levi Haines (10-0 astatine 174) and Josh Barr (8-0 astatine 197). Sophomore Luke Lilledahl (9-0) is 2nd astatine 125 to North Carolina State's Vincent Robinson, nan weight class' defending champ.

Rocco Welsh (9-0) is 4th astatine 184, and heavyweight Cole Mirasola (8-2) is classed 13th. Penn State's projected 10 starters will bring a mixed grounds of 90-2 to nan Iowa match.

Up next

No. 1 Penn State (7-0) visits third-ranked Iowa (8-2) connected Friday for 1 of nan Big Ten's biggest assemblage wrestling matches of nan season. The lucifer is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET connected Big Ten Network.

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