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Penn State wrestling has four No. 1 seeds for NCAAs

Iowa State's David Carr, back, takes on Penn State's Mitchell Mesenbrink in their 165-pound match in the finals of the NCAA wrestling championships, Saturday, March 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

For the 330 wrestlers who were fortunate to earn a berth in the 2025 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships, all that’s left is rest and recuperation.

The NCAA announced Wednesday night the seeds and pairings for the tournament, which is set for next Thursday through Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia

Penn State’s 10 wrestlers were all seeded in the top eight of their respective weight classes.

Four Nittany Lions — Luke Lilledahl (125), Tyler Kasak (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) and Carter Starocci (184) — were seeded No. 1.

Beau Bartlett (141) and Levi Haines (174) were seeded second. Shayne Van Ness (149) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) earned No. 3 seeds. Josh Barr (197) was seeded fourth. Braeden Davis (133) was seeded eighth.

Lilledahl (19-2), fresh off his Big Ten championship as a freshman, will face the winner of a pigtail bout in the Round of 32. That matchup features No. 33 Caleb Weiand (12-16) of Michigan State vs. No. 32 Marcello Milani (16-11) of Cornell.

Davis (12-5), a sophomore, was seeded first at 125 a year ago but did not place. This year, as the eighth seed, he faces No. 25 seed Kurt Phipps (22-8) of Bucknell, the senior EIWA champion.

Senior Bartlett (21-1), the NCAA runner-up a year ago, will try to make it to the top of the podium in his final tournament. He is paired with No. 31 seed Jordan Titus (12-16) from West Virginia.

Van Ness (20-2), a redshirt sophomore, placed third two years ago at the NCAA tournament. He will face Wyoming No. 30 seed Gabe Wilochell (17-12) of Wyoming, who Van Ness pinned in 4:27 in the December dual meet.

Kasak (17-1), a sophomore who lost his first match at the 2024 tournament and then reeled off seven straight wins to place third, will face the winner of a pigtail bout between No. 33 seed Richard Fedalen (20-13) of Columbia and No. 32 seed Landen Johnson (16-11) of Northern Illinois.

Sophomore Mesenbrink (22-0), the defending NCAA runner-up, also awaits the winner of a pigtail match. He’ll face the winner of No. 33 Chandler Amaker (14-12) of Central Michigan and Jared Keslar (10-11) of Pittsburgh.

Junior Haines (20-1), a two-time finalist and 2024 NCAA champion at 157, meets Lock Haven No. 31 seed Avery Bassett (25-8).

Four-time NCAA champion Starocci (21-0) starts his march toward an unprecedented fifth title against the winner of a pigtail match pitting No. 33 T.J. McDonnell (7-13) of Oregon State vs. No. 32 Caden Rogers (14-6) of Lehigh.

Barr (16-3), a redshirt freshman, is paired with Lock Haven No. 29 seed Tucker Hogan (22-6).

Kerkvliet (18-1), a senior and defending NCAA champion, starts the defense of his title against Wyoming No. 30 seed Sam Mitchell (27-10).

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