Michigan
Penn State
Michigan to Wrap Home Slate Against No. 1 Penn State
2/4/2026 1:16:00 PM | Wrestling
Promotions
Feb. 6
• Light Up Crisler -- Don't miss an electric atmosphere at Michigan Wrestling. Takedown fan signs will be available to the first 1,500 fans, and students will receive a free slice of Buddy's Pizza.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (8-3, 4-1 Big Ten) will close out the home portion of its 2025-26 schedule on Friday (Feb. 6) when it hosts No. 1 Penn State (12-0, 6-0 Big Ten) at 6 p.m. at Crisler Center. The dual will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
Notes
• The Wolverines carry a 4-1 record in Big Ten duals and hold sole possession of third place in the conference standings behind unbeaten Penn State (6-0) and Ohio State (5-0). Michigan earned a 38-4 win over Northwestern last Friday (Jan. 30) before dropping its first conference dual of the season to No. 2 Ohio State, 26-16, on Sunday (Feb. 1) in Columbus.
• The Wolverines have eight wrestlers ranked nationally at their respective weight classes, including five in the top 15 according to InterMat: No. 13 Lachlan McNeil (149 pounds), No. 13 Cameron Catrabone (157), No. 11 Beau Mantanona (174), No. 7 Brock Mantanona (184) and No. 5 Taye Ghadiali (Hwt).
• Penn State owns a perfect 12-0 record this season and is 6-0 in Big Ten duals after defeating Nebraska, 26-12, last Friday (Jan. 30). All 10 Nittany Lion starters are ranked by InterMat, including eight in the top 10 and six ranked No. 1 at their respective weights: Luke Lilledahl (125), Shayne Van Ness (149), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), Rocco Welsh (184) and Josh Barr (197). Michigan trails 24-37-0 in the all-time series, with Penn State winning the last 13 meetings, including a 39-0 decision last season in State College.
• Redshirt freshman Brock Mantanona (184) won a late scramble to secure a 4-1 decision against Ohio State's No. 7 Dylan Fishback. It marked his sixth ranked win of the season and second over a top-10 opponent, adding to a 10-8 decision against Nebraska's sixth-ranked Silas Allred at the National Duals. Brock Mantanona is 13-3 on the season with eight bonus wins, including his first pin against Northwestern's J.D. Perez, and climbed to No. 7 -- his highest ranking to date -- at 184 pounds in InterMat's latest rankings.
• Graduate student heavyweight Ghadiali secured his seventh ranked victory of the season with a 4-1 overtime decision against Ohio State's No. 3 Nick Feldman. He is 3-1 all-time against Feldman, including an 8-3 decision at the 2024 NWCA All-Star Classic. With the win, Ghadiali moved back up to No. 5 in the latest heavyweight rankings. He leads the team with a 16-2 record and has earned bonus points in 11 wins -- one fall, seven technical falls and three major decisions.
• Redshirt freshman Beau Mantanona added a ranked victory -- his third straight -- with a 13-3 major decision over Northwestern's No. 30 Eddie Enright last Friday before falling to Ohio State's No. 5 Carson Kharchla, 9-6, on Sunday. Beau Mantanona is 15-4 on the season with four falls, including a wrestleback pin against Iowa State's No. 8 MJ Gaitan at the CKLV. He owns two wins over top-10 opponents and two one-score losses to top-five wrestlers, including a 4-1 sudden-victory loss to Nebraska's No. 4 Christopher Minto.
• The Mantanona brothers have combined for a 27-7 record and 17 bonus wins at back-to-back weights in the Wolverine lineup.
• Redshirt freshman Catrabone leads the Wolverines with six pins this season and has scored bonus points in six of his last seven matches, owning a 13-4 overall record. Catrabone added two bonus wins last weekend with a 12-2 major decision over Northwestern's Gunnar Myers and a first-period pin (1:36) against Ohio State's Landon Deselle. He is 5-0 in Big Ten action and climbed to No. 13 in InterMat's latest rankings. His father, three-time Michigan All-American Jeff Catrabone (1995-98), graduated as U-M's career pins leader and now ranks second with 55.
• Graduate students McNeil and Dylan Ragusin are both nearing the 100-win milestone. McNeil owns a 93-28 career record, including an 11-3 mark this season at Michigan, while Ragusin is 91-33 over his six seasons in Ann Arbor.
• Freshman Cooper Hilton secured his first career dual win in his collegiate dual debut at 149 pounds with an 11-5 decision over Northwestern's August Hibler, using two takedowns and a second-period rideout. Michigan's lineup against Northwestern featured six freshmen.
• Hilton is the eighth different Wolverine to make his debut in Michigan's starting lineup this season. Redshirt freshman Justin Gates also debuted this semester after moving up to 165 pounds following Dylan Gilcher's season-ending injury. The previous six debuted in U-M's dual opener against VMI (Nov. 9). Freshmen Gauge Botero and Eren Sement made their collegiate debuts at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively, while graduate students Diego Sotelo (125), McNeil (149) and Ghadiali (Hwt) all made their official Michigan debuts. Walters, who opened his career with back-to-back redshirt seasons after arriving with an injury, made his long-awaited varsity debut at 197 pounds.
Players Mentioned
