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PRINTER'S NO. 1729
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 323
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY MARTIN, DUSH, LANGERHOLC, BAKER, MASTRIANO,
BOSCOLA, BROOKS, BROWN, CAPPELLETTI, COLEMAN, FARRY, GEBHARD,
KANE, KEEFER, LAUGHLIN, ROBINSON, ROTHMAN, STEFANO, STREET,
VOGEL AND J. WARD, MAY 20, 2026
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, MAY 20, 2026
A RESOLUTION
Congratulating The Pennsylvania State University wrestling team
on its 14th National Collegiate Athletic Association Division
I Championship and congratulating both the residents of this
Commonwealth and the student athletes of Pennsylvania
universities who competed and placed both during the National
Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Men's Wrestling
Championship and the inaugural National Collegiate Athletic
Association Women's Wrestling Championship.
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) wrestling
team won its 13th National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) Division I Wrestling Championship in the past 15
Championship Tournaments, its fifth consecutive championship and
14th team title overall; and
WHEREAS, PSU has the third-most team titles in history behind
Oklahoma State University with 34 and the University of Iowa
with 24; and
WHEREAS, PSU set a new NCAA tournament scoring record with
181.5 points, more than 50 points higher than its second-place
competitor, adding to its historic dominance by also holding the
second and third highest team scores in tournament history,
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earned in the previous two years with 177 points in 2025 and
172.5 points in 2024; and
WHEREAS, The PSU wrestling team had 8 of its 10 wrestlers
earn the title of All-American and tied their record of 6
national finalists; and
WHEREAS, PSU now has 272 individuals who have earned the
distinction of All-American, 109 of which have wrestled under
PSU Wrestling Head Coach Cael Sanderson; and
WHEREAS, PSU has a total of 65 NCAA titles in school history
spread amongst 40 individuals, 44 titles of which occurred since
2011 and Coach Sanderson's arrival; and
WHEREAS, The PSU wrestling team has won the most individual
titles in the nation since 2011, nearly tripling the next
closest teams in that time span with Oklahoma State earning 15,
Cornell earning 14, Ohio State earning 11 and Iowa earning 8;
and
WHEREAS, Coach Sanderson and his coaching staff won their
13th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship; and
WHEREAS, Coach Sanderson is the second-winningest coach in
NCAA history, trailing only Iowa's Dan Gable, who secured 15
national championships; and
WHEREAS, The PSU wrestling team's coaching staff has been
instrumental in the team's multiple successes; and
WHEREAS, PSU is the only team since Coach Sanderson's arrival
in 2011 with at least one championship victor from each
individual weight class in the NCAA Championship Tournament; and
WHEREAS, In his second appearance at the NCAA Championship
Tournament, PSU wrestler Luke Lilledahl of Wyoming Seminary
College Preparatory School placed first in the 125-pound
division for the first time, earning the All-American
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distinction for the second time; and
WHEREAS, In his first appearance at the NCAA Championship
Tournament, PSU wrestler Marcus Blaze placed fourth in the 133-
pound division, earning the All-American distinction for the
first time as a true freshman; and
WHEREAS, In his third appearance at the NCAA Championship
Tournament, PSU wrestler Shayne Van Ness placed second in the
149-pound division, earning the All-American distinction for the
third time; and
WHEREAS, In his first appearance at the NCAA Championship
Tournament, PSU wrestler PJ Duke placed third in the 157-pound
division, earning the All-American distinction for the first
time; and
WHEREAS, PJ Duke earned the 2026 Gorriaran Award for
achieving the most falls in the least amount of time during the
tournament; and
WHEREAS, In his third appearance at the NCAA Championship
Tournament, PSU Wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink placed first in the
165-pound division for the second time, earning the All-American
distinction for the third time; and
WHEREAS, Mitchell Mesenbrink earned the NCAA 2026
Championship Outstanding Wrestler award, an award given to the
wrestler with the best performance at the championship
tournament as decided by coaches and the media; and
WHEREAS, In 2026, Mitchell Mesenbrink led the nation with an
average 5.04 points per match, earning him the NCAA Most
Dominant Wrestler Award; and
WHEREAS, Mitchell Mesenbrink earned the 2026 Dan Hodge
Trophy, an award given to the nation's best overall wrestler
based on one's season record, dominance/bonus rate, level of
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competition and sportsmanship; and
WHEREAS, In his fourth appearance at the NCAA Championship
Tournament, PSU wrestler Levi Haines of Arendtsville placed
first in the 174-pound division for the second time, earning the
All-American distinction for the fourth time; and
WHEREAS, In his second appearance at the NCAA Championship
Tournament, PSU wrestler Rocco Welsh of Waynesburg placed second
in the 184-pound division, earning the All-American distinction
for the second time; and
WHEREAS, In his second appearance at the NCAA Championship
Tournament, PSU wrestler Josh Barr placed first in the 197-pound
division for the first time, earning the All-American
distinction for the second time; and
WHEREAS, The 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling
Championship featured 50 individuals who were native to
Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, The total number of wrestlers out of the 330
qualifiers in the tournament who were either native to
Pennsylvania or wrestled for a program or university based in
Pennsylvania totaled 77, further solidifying this Commonwealth's
dominance in the sport; and
WHEREAS, Of the 77 Pennsylvania-related wrestlers, 5 earned
national titles out of the 10 separate divisions, and 19 earned
the distinction of All-American in the 2026 NCAA Division I
Men's Wrestling Championship; and
WHEREAS, Oklahoma State University wrestler Jax Forrest of
Johnstown placed first in the 125-pound division, earning the
All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, Virginia Tech University wrestler Aaron Seidel of
Fredericksburg placed third in the 133-pound division, earning
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the All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, Nebraska University wrestler Jacob Van Dee of Union
City placed seventh in the 133-pound division, earning the All-
American distinction; and
WHEREAS, Lehigh University wrestler Luke Stanich placed third
in the 141-pound division, earning the All-American distinction;
and
WHEREAS, University of Pennsylvania wrestler C.J. Composto
placed seventh in the 141-pound division, earning the All-
American distinction; and
WHEREAS, Lehigh University wrestler Wyatt Henson of
Waynesburg placed eighth in the 141-pound division, earning the
All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, University of Michigan wrestler Lachlan McNeil of
Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School placed third in the
149-pound division, earning the All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, Virginia Tech University wrestler Collin Gaj of
Quakertown placed fifth in the 149-pound division, earning the
All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, University of Pennsylvania wrestler Cross Wasilewski
placed seventh in the 149-pound division, earning the All-
American distinction; and
WHEREAS, West Virginia University wrestler Ty Watters of
Imperial placed sixth in the 157-pound division, earning the
All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, Cornell University wrestler Meyer Shapiro of Wyoming
Seminary College Preparatory School placed eighth in the 157-
pound division, earning the All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, The inaugural NCAA Women's Wrestling Championship
was held in Coralville, Iowa, just over a year after women's
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wrestling was officially added as the 91st sport with a NCAA
championship; and
WHEREAS, The decision to officially sanction a championship
tournament has allowed institutions to expand participation and
opportunities for female student-athletes, increasing enrollment
and visibility of the sport, while also preparing these athletes
for the world stage as collegiate wrestling serves as a major
pipeline for the Olympics which features freestyle wrestling;
and
WHEREAS, The growth of women's wrestling has been largely led
by Division II and Division III conferences, which represent 95%
of programs nationwide; and
WHEREAS, The inaugural tournament featured 180 qualifiers, of
which 13 earned the All-American distinction who were either
native to Pennsylvania or wrestled for a program or university
based in Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Lehigh University wrestler Audrey Jimenez placed
first in the 110-pound division, earning the All-American
distinction; and
WHEREAS, University of Iowa wrestler Kennedy Blades of
Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School, and the 2024
Olympic silver medalist at 76 kilograms in the women's freestyle
wrestling division, placed first in the 160-pound division,
earning the All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, East Stroudsburg University wrestler Teegan Sibble
placed fifth in the 110-pound division, earning the All-American
distinction; and
WHEREAS, Lehigh University wrestler Abbi Cooper placed
seventh in the 117-pound division, earning the All-American
distinction; and
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WHEREAS, Eastern University wrestler Savannah Witt of
Kintnersville placed seventh in the 124-pound division, earning
the All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, Lehigh University wrestler Aubre Krazer of Easton
placed third in the 131-pound division, earning the All-American
distinction; and
WHEREAS, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown wrestler
Makayla Paclib placed eighth in the 131-pound division, earning
the All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, McKendree University wrestler Haylie Jaffe of
Kennett Square placed third in the 138-pound division, earning
the All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, University of Iowa wrestler Reese Larramendy of
Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School placed second in the
145-pound division, earning the All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, Eastern University wrestler Zoey Haines of
Gettysburg placed eighth in the 145-pound division, earning the
All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, East Stroudsburg University wrestler Tiffani
Baublitz of Warriors Mark placed second in the 160-pound
division, earning the All-American distinction; and
WHEREAS, Gannon University wrestler Bella Phillips placed
fifth in the 180-pound division, earning the All-American
distinction; and
WHEREAS, Lock Haven University wrestler Azariah Moore placed
sixth in the 180-pound division, earning the All-American
distinction; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate congratulate The Pennsylvania State
University wrestling team on its 14th NCAA Division I
Championship and congratulate both the residents of this
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Commonwealth and the student athletes of Pennsylvania
universities who competed and placed both during the NCAA
Division I Men's Wrestling Championship and the inaugural NCAA
Women's Wrestling Championship; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate congratulate Luke Lilledahl, Jax
Forrest, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Levi Haines and Josh Barr on their
national titles at the NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling
Championship and their individual awards; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate congratulate Audrey Jimenez and
Kennedy Blades on their national titles at the inaugural NCAA
Women's Wrestling Championship; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate congratulate the natives or
athletes of this Commonwealth who competed and placed during
both the men's and women's championship tournaments; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the Senate wish The Pennsylvania State
University wrestling team, all Pennsylvania native wrestlers and
all wrestlers of Pennsylvania universities continued success,
both athletically and academically in the future.
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