Luke Lilledahl of Penn State wrestles Marcello Milani of Cornell during the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Center. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Penn State's Luke Lilledahl Makes USA Wrestling History

Originally posted on Penn State Nittany Lions on SI
By Mark Wogenrich | Last updated Oct 26, 2025 7:41 PM ET

Penn State's Luke Lilledahl made USA Wrestling history Sunday, becoming the first American to win age-group titles at the U17, U20 and U23 world championships. The Nittany Lions sophomore won the 57 kg men's freestyle title at the U23 World Wrestling Championships, his third gold medal in a world competition.

The Nittany Lions were the dominant story at U23 worlds, winning three gold medals and four medals in all. Levi Haines (79 kg) and Lilledahl joined Mitchell Mesenbrink, who won a world title Saturday, atop the podium in Serbia. Freshman PJ Duke won a bronze medal at 70 kg, adding that to the U20 gold medal he won in August.

Lilledahl, who will be a sophomore for the Nittany Lions, had a phenomenal tournament, going 4-0 with three preliminary rounds by a combined score of 28-6. In Sunday's final, Lilledahl scored the match's only takedown to defeat Japan’s Yuta Kikuchi 4-0.

The world gold medal was Lilledahl's third and his fifth world medal overall. He won a U17 world title in 2022 and a U20 championship in 2024. No other American wrestler has won U17, U20 and U23 world championships.

Luke Lilledahl used a beautiful takedown sequence to secure. 4-0 victory in the U23 World finals! #u23worlds pic.twitter.com/2OztwJU5m2
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) October 26, 2025

Lilledahl returns for his sophomore season as the defending Big Ten champion at 125 pounds. He placed third at the NCAA Championships to become an All-American.

Haines won his first world title, adding the medal to the silver he won at Senior Worlds in September. The 2024 NCAA champion blitzed through the field in Serbia, winning his four bouts by a combined score of 39-5. Haines won gold with an 11-1, first-period technical superiority over Ibrahim Yaprak of Turkey.

Levi Haines didn’t even need a full period to pull off a tech in the finals at #u23worlds ‼️ pic.twitter.com/kPGvubzX60
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) October 26, 2025

Haines put together a strong freestyle season in his first world appearances since competing at the Cadet championships in 2021. The three-time NCAA medalist has a gold, silver and bronze in his career.

Duke won his second world medal and was the only U.S. wrestler to compete on three freestyle teams (Senior, U23 and U20) this season. Duke, who won a U20 gold medal. Duke pinned Armenia’s Davit Margaryan late in the second period to win his third medal on the world stage. He went 4-1 at the U23 worlds.

Seven Nittany Lions competed at the U23 World Championships. Rocco Welsh went 2-1 at 86 kg with a pair of victories by technical superiority. He lost in the quarterfinals and did not make the repechage round.

Freshman Marcus Blaze lost his opener at 65 kg and did not get pulled into the repechage. Josh Barr, a returning NCAA runner-up, sustained an injury in the 92 kg weight class and was unable to compete for a medal.

Penn State opens the 2025-26 season Nov. 14 against Oklahoma at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions seek to win their fifth consecutive NCAA team title.

This article first appeared on Penn State Nittany Lions on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: