Penn State Wrestling: Levi Haines Sweeps Final X, Earns Bid to Worlds

Haines, the 2024 NCAA champ at 165 pounds, placed third at the 2025 tournament at 174. He rebounded from a semifinal loss to Oklahoma State's Dean Hamiti to become a three-time All-American. Haines has placed top-3, making two NCAA finals, in his first three seasons at Penn State.

Mesenbrink and Carr continued their fierce duel at Final X. Carr defeated Mesenbrink 9-8 in the 2024 NCAA final at 165 pounds, the weight class in which Mesenbrink went unbeaten and won this past season.

Mesenbrink won the second round at the 2025 U.S. Open, scoring an impressive 16-6 technical fall over Carr. But at Final X, Carr held off the offensive-minded Mesenbrink, winning the best-of-three series 4-3 and 4-4 on criteria. Carr rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the first match and fended off Mesenbrink's late attack in the second.

Barr fell 6-1 in his best-of-three opener to Trent Hidlay and couldn't make the rally to force a deciding third match. Hidlay swept the series with a 3-2 victory in the second match. Barr, an NCAA runnerup at 197 pounds, becomes a first-time member of the U.S. Senior National Team.

Lilledahl, who placed third at NCAAs as a freshman, ran into a buzzsaw in reigning Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee. The three-time NCAA champ from Iowa swept the series 7-2 and 6-0 to return to worlds. Lilledahl won a Big Ten title in his first season at Penn State.

Elsewhere at Final X, two Nittany Lion Wrestling Club athletes had different results. Kyle Snyder, a three-time world champ and Olympic gold medalist, swept his 97 kg series against Hayden Zillmer 8-0, 8-2. But four-time world champion Kyle Dake lost 5-3 and 4-1 in the 86 kg series to Zahid Valencia.

The 2025 World Wrestling Championships are scheduled for September in Zagreb, Croatia.