Six past NCAA champions advance to finals, Penn State leads team race after day two in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.— The finals are set, and Penn State continues to lead the team race, as the 2025 NCAA Div. I National Championships continued on Friday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Penn State made history on Friday night, with 10 wrestlers earning All-American honors. This is just the second time in NCAA DI history, after Minnesota accomplished the feat in 2001.

In the team race, the Nittany Lions hold a 34-point lead over second place Nebraska. Oklahoma state sits in third with 91 points. Rounding out the top five after the fourth session is Iowa with 73.5 points, and Minnesota with 47 points.

In addition to the dominant team performance, the evening featured two of the most exciting showcases in college wrestling, the semifinals round, and the consolation “blood round” which determines who will advance to Saturday as All-Americans.

There are six past NCAA champions that return to the finals, Jesse Mendez of Ohio State (141), Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech (149), Keegan O’Toole of Missouri (174), Carter Starocci of Penn State (184), Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa (184) and Gable Steveson of Minnesota (285).

Three past NCAA champions fell in the semifinal round, Levi Haines of Penn State (174), AJ Ferrari of CSU Bakersfield (197) and Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State (285).

Finalists represent 12 different schools. Penn State, Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma State each have three finalists.

Below is a summary of all of the semifinal matches on Friday night.

Semifinal summaries

125 pounds

No. 4 Vince Robinson of NC State was the first wrestler of the night to advance to the championship finals with a 4-2 victory over No. 8 Sheldon Seymour of Lehigh. A first period escape and takedown provided Robinson a 4-0 lead, an two escape points from Seymour would be the only points scored in the match.

Meeting Robinson in the finals will be No. 7 Troy Spratley of Oklahoma State. Spratley went to sudden victory overtime with No. 3 Eddie Ventresca of Virginia Tech in a 2-2 match at the end of regulation. Ventresca was able to add a point for an escape, but Spratley reattacked and secured the takedown. He advanced to the finals with a 6-4 victory.

133 pounds

No. 1 Lucas Byrd of Illinois reached the finals at 133 pounds with a 2-0 victory over No. 4 Zeth Romney of Cal Poly. Byrd’s first period escape provided him an early lead, and a point for riding time pushed him ahead 2-0. Byrd celebrated as time expired, giving a fist pump to the crowd.

For the 35^th straight year, Iowa will have a national finalist. No. 2 Drake Ayala, a returning national finalist at 125 pounds and now competing at 133 pounds, defeated No. 14 Zan Fugitt of Wisconsin, 6-1. A second period takedown and two nearfall points for Ayala sent him to the championship finals for the second year in a row.

141 pounds

No. 1 Brock Hardy of Nebraska reached the championship finals at 141 pounds with an 11-4 decision over No. 5 Cael Happel of Northern Iowa. Hardy controlled the match from start to finish, scoring two takedowns in the first period and one in the third. Hardy is a 2023 U23 World bronze medalist for Team USA.

In a rematch of last year’s championship final at 141 pounds, No. 3 Jesse Mendez of Ohio State defeated No. 2 Beau Bartlett of Penn State in a tiebreaker. The score was 1-1, and as time expired, Mendez was close to scoring a takedown, but it wasn’t confirmed, and it was on to bonus wrestling. Mendez secured a takedown in overtime, punching his ticket to the finals for the second straight year.

149 pounds

Returning National champion and top seed of the tournament Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech made his way back into the championship finals, defeating No. 13 Dylan D`Emilio of Ohio State, 6-2.

2025 Big Ten champion and No. 2 seed Ridge Lovett of Nebraska meets Henson in the finals. Lovett bested No. 3 Shayne Van Ness of Penn State in the semifinals, 14-8. Lovett scored 10 points in the first period, building an early lead that was too much for Van Ness to overcome.

157 pounds

No. 8 Joey Blaze of Purdue defeated No. 20 Trevor Chumbley of Northwestern to advance to the finals at 157 pounds. Blaze’s first period takedown was enough for the Boilermaker in the semifinals, as he won 4-2.

No. 3 Antrell Taylor of Nebraska secured two takedowns in the third period en route to a 7-2 decision over No. 2 Meyer Shapiro of Cornell, advancing to the finals.

165 pounds

No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink is back in the finals at 165 pounds. He defeated No. 12 Christopher Minto of Nebraska, 13-2, in the semifinals on Saturday night. Mesenbrink piled on the takedowns, leading 8-0 after two frames. The 2022 U20 World Champion added five points in the third with a takedown, a penalty point and a point for riding time. 

No. 3 Mike Caliendo of Iowa got on the board first in the semifinal match at 165, taking a 3-0 lead. He added to his total with three nearfall points, taking a 6-0 lead. No. 2 Peyton Hall of West Virginia tried to close the gap, but Caliendo added another takedown to jump ahead 9-2. Hall countered with a late first period takedown and five points in the third, but Caliendo’s early lead was enough to build on for the 14-10 win.

174 pounds

Two-time National champion Keegan O’Toole of Missouri is back in the championship finals at 174 pounds. O’Toole pulled ahead in a close match against No. 13 Cade DeVos of South Dakota State, winning 7-6. Through one period, O’Toole took a 3-1 lead, but DeVos flipped the script to lead 5-4. In the third period, O’Toole captured the 6-5 lead with a reversal and tallied over a minute of riding time.

Advancing to the finals for the first time in his career, No. 3 Dean Hamiti of Oklahoma State defeated last year’s NCAA National champion at 157 pounds, No. 2 Levi Haines of Penn State. Hamiti scored the only takedown in the match, shutting down Haines’ offense, and winning 4-2.

184 pounds

On his way back to the finals for the fifth time in his college career, four-time NCAA champion No. 1 Carter Starocci of Penn State defeated No. 4 Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State, 9-3. It was Starocci who struck first and controlled the offense, taking an early 6-1 lead in the first period. Starocci started the second period with a reversal, and Plott wasn’t able to generate enough to catch Starocci’s lead.

No. 2 Parker Keckeisen, the NCAA National champion at this weight in 2024, returns to the finals after defeating No. 3 Max McEnelly of Minnesota, 4-1. After a 1-1 score at the end of regulation, Keckeisen scored a takedown in sudden victory to claim a spot in the finals.

197 pounds

No. 4 Josh Barr of Penn State made his way into the finals with a 5-3 win over No. 1 Jacob Cardenas of Michigan. A takedown in the first period proved to be the difference maker in the match. Both are age-group World medalists for Team USA.  

In a low scoring semifinal match, No. 2 Stephen Buchanan defeated No. 3 AJ Ferrari of CSU Bakersfield, 3-0. Buchanan’s points came from stalling calls on Ferrari, an escape and a riding time point.

285 pounds

No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) scored a major decision over No. 4 Owen Trephan of Lehigh, 13-5. Steveson is a 2021 Tokyo Olympic Champion and will wrestle for his third NCAA title for Minnesota on Saturday night.

No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State finds his way in the finals for the first time after defeating defending NCAA champion No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State, 8-2. It was Hendrickson with an early takedown for a 3-0 lead, and he was able to build on his lead with a takedown in the third period. Both Hendrickson and Kerkvliet are age-group World Champions for Team USA.

Team Standings

1               Penn State, 135.5 points

2               Nebraska, 101.5 points

3               Oklahoma State, 91.0 points

4               Iowa, 73.5 points

5               Minnesota, 47.0 points

6               Cornell, 46.0 points

7               Northern Iowa, 44.5 points

8               Ohio State, 44.0 points

9               Illinois, 40.5 points

10             Virginia Tech, 40.0 points

Finals Pairings

125 pounds – Vincent Robinson (NC State) vs. Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State)

133 pounds – Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs. Drake Ayala (Iowa)

141 pounds – Brock Hardy (Nebraska) vs. Jesse Mendez (Ohio State)

149 pounds – Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) vs. Ridge Lovett (Nebraska)

157 pounds – Joey Blaze (Purdue) vs. Antrell Taylor (Nebraska)

165 pounds – Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) vs. Mike Caliendo (Iowa)

174 pounds – Keegan O`Toole (Missouri) vs. Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State)

184 pounds – Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)

197 pounds – Josh Barr (Penn State) vs. Stephen Buchanan (Iowa)

285 pounds – Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State)

Semifinal Results

125 pounds

Vincent Robinson (NC State) dec. Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh), 4-2

Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) won in tie breaker over Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech), TB-1 6-4

133 pounds

Lucas Byrd (Illinois) dec. Zeth Romney (Cal Poly), 2-0

Drake Ayala (Iowa) dec. Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin), 6-1

141 pounds

Brock Hardy (Nebraska) dec. Cael Happel (Northern Iowa), 11-4

Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) won in tie breaker over Beau Bartlett (Penn State), TB-1 2-1

149 pounds

Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) dec. Dylan D`Emilio (Ohio State), 6-2

Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) dec. Shayne Van Ness (Penn State), 14-8

157 pounds

Joey Blaze (Purdue) dec. Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern), 4-2

Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) dec. Meyer Shapiro (Cornell), 7-2

165 pounds

Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) maj. dec. Christopher Minto (Nebraska), 13-2

Mike Caliendo (Iowa) dec. Peyton Hall (West Virginia), 14-10

174 pounds

Keegan O`Toole (Missouri) dec. Cade DeVos (South Dakota State), 7-6

Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State) dec. Levi Haines (Penn State), 4-2

184 pounds

Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec. Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), 9-3

Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) won in sudden victory over Max McEnelly (Minnesota), SV-1 4-1

197 pounds

Josh Barr (Penn State) dec. Jacob Cardenas (Michigan), 5-3

Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) dec. AJ Ferrari (CSU Bakersfield), 3-0

285 pounds

Gable Steveson (Minnesota) maj. dec. Owen Trephan (Lehigh), 13-5

Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State) dec. Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State), 8-2