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PJ Duke, pictured at the 2025 New York state wrestling championships, won his first world title at the U20 World Championships in Bulgaria. John Meore/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State Wrestling's PJ Duke Wins World Title; Is a Second Coming in September?

Originally posted on Penn State Nittany Lions on SI
By Mark Wogenrich | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 4:10 PM ET

PJ Duke won the first of potentially numerous career world wrestling titles Monday, doing so before some of his Penn State wrestling coaches for the first time. It's a unique spot for the 19-year-old from New York who has become the biggest freestyle wrestling story of the year.

"I've dreamed about winning a world title, but just that feeling you get when you're on the podium when they're playing the national anthem, it's something I've never felt before," Duke told reporters at the U20 World Wrestling Championships in Bulgaria. "... That moment, I'm going to always remember it, and it's going to stay with me."

Duke, who recently enrolled at Penn State and will be a freshman for the Nittany Lions next season, won the 70 kg men's freestyle title at the U20 World Championships with a 7-5 decision over Alexandr Gaidarli of Moldova. Duke won an entertaining match in which he took a 5-0 lead, then gave up a takedown and turn that tied the score with 1:20 remaining. But Duke didn't panic, clinching the gold medal on a takedown with 45 seconds remaining.

"I know that’s plenty of time to score, so I’m not stressing about that," Duke said during his post-match press conference. "Guys tend to wear as the match goes on, and I’m always going to thrive in that later end of the match."

PJ Duke Is A 2025 U20 World Wrestling Champion For Team USA! pic.twitter.com/3bD8YJpssx
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) August 18, 2025

Penn State claimed two medals Monday at U20 Worlds, with more potentially to come. Redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola won bronze in the 125 kg men's freestyle weight class, scoring a 12-2 technical decision in the third-place bout.

Penn State freshman William Henckel looked exceptional Monday in reaching the 79 kg freestyle final. Henckel went 4-0 with two technical decisions and a 5-4 win in the semifinals. Henckel will meet Iran's Mahdi Yousefi Hajivar, a 2024 U23 world champ, in Tuesday's final. Penn State freshman Marcus Blaze begins his tournament Tuesday.

For Duke, U20 worlds marked the start of his next career phase. Duke won the 2025 Junior Hodge Trophy after completing a 152-1 career at Minisink (N.Y.) Valley High with his fourth straight state title. Since then, Duke has qualified for three world championships, including the U.S. team that will compete at Senior Worlds in Croatia in September. Duke has a chance to become a three-time world champ in one year, as he also has qualified for the U23 Worlds in October in Serbia.

Meanwhile, Duke has enrolled for his freshman year at Penn State and is beginning workouts with the Nittany Lions, who seek to win their fifth straight NCAA team title. Duke will wrestle at 157 pounds for Penn State, a weight class that returns two-time All-American Tyler Kasak.

"Most of the work has been done," Duke said of his September return to Europe for Senior Worlds. "Defininitely have a few things I need to tweak, and those are pretty easy fixes. Besides the minor technical changes, my body's in good shape. I feel fine, I'm not too beat up from this [stretch of competition]."

Duke qualified for Senior Worlds by pinning Yianni Diakomihalis, a four-time NCAA champ at Cornell whom Duke followed as a kid. He was a favorite at U20 Worlds but will compete in a much strong field in Croatia. He's looking forward to becoming the hunted at the senior level as well.

"I would say, most of my life I’ve had that target on my back," Duke told reporters in Bulgaria. "... Being an underdog is nice, but I would rather be that guy everyone is coming after. Hopefully one day, my picture will be on someone's wall, and they're chasing me. That would be pretty sick."

Watch Duke's interview from Bulgaria here, courtesy of USA Wrestling.

Hear from U20 world champ PJ Duke after his run to gold in Bulgaria. #WrestleSamokov pic.twitter.com/7Nf541Uqoq
— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) August 18, 2025