Mitchell Mesenbrink

Mitchell Mesenbrink
Personal information
Full nameMitchell Owen Mesenbrink
Born (2003-06-02) June 2, 2003 (age 23)
Hartland, Wisconsin, U.S.
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportWrestling
Weight class
74 kg (163 lb)
Events
Freestyle and Folkstyle
College teamPenn State Nittany Lions
California Baptist Lancers (formerly)
ClubNittany Lion Wrestling Club
Askren Wrestling Academy (formerly)
Coached byCael Sanderson
Ben Askren (formerly)
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing the  United States
US National Championships
Gold medal – first place2025 Las Vegas74 kg
World U23 Championships
Gold medal – first place2025 Novi Sad74 kg
Bronze medal – third place2024 Tirana74 kg
U20 World Championships
Gold medal – first place2023 Jordan74 kg
Silver medal – second place2022 Sofia70 kg
Junior Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place2025 Asunción74 kg
U20 Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Acapulco70 kg
Gold medal – first place2023 Santiago74 kg
Men's collegiate wrestling
Representing the Penn State Nittany Lions
NCAA Division I Championships
Gold medal – first place2026 Cleveland165 lb
Gold medal – first place2025 Philadelphia165 lb
Silver medal – second place2024 Kansas City165 lb
Big Ten Championships
Gold medal – first place2024 College Park165 lb
Gold medal – first place2025 Evanston165 lb
Gold medal – first place2026 State College165 lb

Mitchell Owen Mesenbrink (born June 2, 2003) is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 74 kilograms. In freestyle, he is a U.S. national champion, a bronze medalist at the U23 World Championships in 2024, and at the U20 World Championships, he claimed a gold medal in 2023 and a silver medal in 2022.

In folkstyle, he was a 2026 and 2025 NCAA Division I national champion for the Penn State Nittany Lions, as well as the 2024 runner-up. Mesenbrink won the 2026 Dan Hodge Trophy, awarded annually to the United States of America’s best college wrestler.

Career

Early life

Born in Hartland, Wisconsin, Mesenbrink started wrestling at a young age, following the footsteps of his father, John Mesenbrink, a former wrestler at Drake University. Mesenbrink attended Arrowhead High School, where he became a three-time Wisconsin Division I state champion and broke into the national high school rankings. Before his senior season, he committed to wrestle for California Baptist University.

In freestyle, Mesenbrink claimed a silver medal from the U20 World Championships and a gold medal from the U20 Pan American Championships and U20 US National Championships in 2022, at 70 kilograms.

California Baptist University

2022–2023

Mesenbrink started the season at 2–0; however, he then entered the transfer portal and moved back to Wisconsin, closing his freshman year. In April 2023, he committed to the Penn State.

Pennsylvania State University

2023–2024

Before the folkstyle season, Mesenbrink made the jump to 74 kilograms and repeated as U20 US national champion and U20 Pan American champion before competing at the U20 World Championships. He once again reached the finals of the tournament, this time becoming the U20 world champion at 74 kilograms.

Starting at 165 pounds, Mesenbrink claimed titles at the Journeymen Classic and Black Knight Invitational, and racked up an undefeated 12–0 dual-meet record during regular season. At the Big Ten Championships, Mesenbrink claimed his first title with a come-from-behind victory over two-time All-American Dean Hamiti. At the NCAA tournament, Mesenbrink defeated All-Americans Cam Amine and Michael Caliendo in rematches, to make the finals, where he fell to NCAA champion David Carr to take runner-up honors.

In April, Mesenbrink made his senior level debut at the US Olympic Team Trials, where after a win over U17 World champion Ladarion Lockett, he fell to seven-time Olympic and World champion Jordan Burroughs in the semifinals. He then came back for third-place with wins over US National champion Quincy Monday and Jarrett Jacques, making the US National team.

2024–2025

Before the season started, Mesenbrink competed at the U23 World Championships, claiming a bronze medal by defeating Asian medalist Magomedrasul Asluev from Bahrain.

Back to folkstyle, Mesenbrink was undefeated through 27 matches, reaching the national finals once again though this time claiming the 2025 NCAA title, as well as the Big Ten Conference title.

Fresh off an NCAA championship run, Mesenbrink became the US National champion in freestyle, notably defeating two-time NCAA champion David Carr in a rematch from their 2024 NCAA finale, as well as NCAA finalist Quincy Monday. A rematch against Carr in a best-of-three format took place at Final X, on June 14, in which he dropped two bouts in a row to claim runner-up honors.

Freestyle record

References

  1. ↑ "Mitchell Mesenbrink - Wrestling". Penn State Athletics. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  2. ↑ Collegian, Kaleb Boyer | The Daily (August 16, 2023). "Penn State wrestling Mitchell Mesenbrink wins U20 World Championship". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  3. ↑ Warner, Tristan (March 30, 2026). "Penn State's Mitchell Mesenbrink wins 2026 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy presented by ASICS Wrestling". WIN Magazine. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Wisconsin Wrestling Hall of Fame :: Mesenbrink, John". wiwrestlinghofhonorees.org. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  5. ↑ WR Individual State Champions. Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Wrestling Signs Two New Highly-Accomplished Recruits for 2022-23". CBU Athletics. March 29, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  7. ↑ Staff, Dave Radcliffe-Freeman (March 1, 2022). "Don't mess with Mesenbrink". Greater Milwaukee Today. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Mesenbrink Takes Silver at U20 Freestyle World Championships". CBU Athletics. March 29, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Mitchell Mesenbrink To Enter Transfer Portal". Heavyweight Nation. January 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  10. ↑ Kozak, Jon (April 21, 2023). "Mitchell Mesenbrink On Commiting To Penn State, Next Year's Lineup, & NIL". FloWrestling. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  11. ↑ Pickel, Greg (April 21, 2023). "Penn State wrestling makes another transfer portal splash". On3. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  12. ↑ Staff, Freeman (July 11, 2023). "Mesenbrink wins gold at Pan-Am wrestling championship". Greater Milwaukee Today. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  13. ↑ Lister, Joe (August 16, 2023). "Penn State Wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink Wins UWW U-20 Championship". Onward State. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Mitchell Mesenbrink named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare". www.themat.com. February 14, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Penn State Wins Big Ten Wrestling Title". Big Ten Conference. July 15, 2023. Archived from the original on March 12, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Iowa's Drake Ayala, ISU's David Carr, UNI's Parker Keckeisen advance to NCAA wrestling finals". www.thegazette.com. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Penn State wrestling vs. Jordan Burroughs: How Lions will meet in Olympic Trials finals". York Daily Record. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  18. ↑ McKeon, Mara (April 20, 2024). "Penn State Wrestling & NLWC Add Four To U.S. National Team In Session III Of U.S. Olympic Trials Wrestling". Onward State. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Nittany Lion Wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink Claims U23 World Bronze Medal". Penn State - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  20. ↑ Collegian, Evan Smith | The Daily (March 22, 2025). "Mitchell Mesenbrink wins 2025 165-pound National Championship". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  21. ↑ Smeltzer, Joe (April 27, 2025). "Penn State Wrestling: What Happened at The U.S. Open? | NSN". Nittany Sports Now. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  22. ↑ Smeltzer, Joe (May 17, 2025). "Penn State Wrestling: Mitchell Mesenbrink to Face Familiar Foe at Final X". Nittany Sports Now. Retrieved May 22, 2025.