Undefeated Penn State NCAA Champion Reveals Moment That Made Him Quit Wrestling

An NCAA Championship win with record points – Cael Sanderson’s Penn State is a dynasty that keeps delivering the goods. They sent 10 wrestlers to the podium; that’s how dominant they have been. While 5-time Champion Carter Starocci has become the most popular name in the collegiate circuit, the Nittany Lions have produced yet another youngster who didn’t just go all the way, he stayed undefeated in 2025 while becoming the NCAA Champion in the 165 lbs weight class.

Mitchell Mesenbrink entered the Finals as No. 1 in his category, and there was no upset. Even Penn State coach Sanderson talked about his consistency and how confident Mesenbrink is as a competitor. But that’s not how it’s always been. In fact, the NCAA Champion contemplated not pursuing wrestling professionally for a while. Yep, the 21-year-old laid bare how it all unfolded for the ones following his steady rise. So, let’s dive in.

The Penn State junior was the guest on Bo Nickal’s podcast, Nickals and Dimes, on May 23. And that’s where he shared the details. When asked if wrestling was always his passion, given that his father is also a wrestling icon, Mitchell Mesenbrink said, “I was actually, interesting enough, I was about to quit.” Continuing, he explained, “Not, maybe not quit, but I didn’t want to, like, compete. Competing, like, made me so nervous and I just didn’t like it.”

Wow, the guy who can’t stop winning used to get nervous while competing? Well, it was back when he was still in middle school. The 21-year-old told a story about how, despite having the ability, he was always iffy about making a career in wrestling. “It was in my, like, sixth grade middle school, and I had made, like, state, youth state or whatever … I had qualified, and he, like, jokingly was like, “Hey you want to go to state?””.

And Mesenbrink’s response? “I was like, ‘Yeah. I don’t know, maybe.'” In fact, it needed discussion at home. “When we got back home, we, like, sat down. We talked about it with my mom and my dad.” He did face his fears and ended up conquering them, as we all know. But back then? “I didn’t enjoy it because I was so nervous … like so nervous, I’d puke.”

And now, he keeps racking up accolades one after another, be it national or global.

Mitchell Mesenbrink is not only a Penn State Champion, but also a World Champion

The Wisconsin native won the 2025 NCAA title undefeated, going 19-0 in the regular season. And that included technical falls, over 15 of them, the most in the nation. He got the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Most Technical Falls award, and followed it up with the US Open Title in Las Vegas. But that’s just his National Quests. The guy has already become a US sensation globally.

Mitchell Mesenbrink is a U20 World Champion at the 74 kg weight class, winning the World Championships held in Jordan in 2023. Besides that, he has also scored a silver medal in the 2022 U20 World Championships (70 Kg), which took place in Sofia, Bulgaria. He is also a 2-time U20 Pan American Champion.

While he has been a consistent performer, slowly developing into one of the best wrestlers in the country, it was his 2025 season that showed everybody how special he is. His smallest margin of victory in the NCAA was 9 points, and the Penn State wrestler had 55 takedowns without allowing one. He even led Penn State in dual points (75) and dual bonus points (30). All this led to him being in the running for the Most Dominant Wrestler award.

We will be hearing more of Mitchell Mesenbrink, and maybe one day in the Olympics. But for now, he is expected to dominate the NCAA with Penn State.

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