Where are Penn State wrestlers in the pre-seeds for the 2026 Senior World Team Trials?

One current and one former Penn State wrestler are No. 1 seeds in their respective brackets for the 2026 Senior World Team Trials. Three others received pre-seeds, as well. The event, which starts Thursday morning and runs through Friday afternoon, will set the remaining matchups for Final X. The Senior Team USA will be determined at that event in June.

Zain Retherford is the No. 1 seed at 70 kilograms. A late entrant to the field, he is back in action for the first time since the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The winner of this Trials bracket will face former Nebraska wrestler Ridge Lovett at Final X.

Joe Sealey is the No. 1 seed at 74 kilograms. He rises to the top spot by virtue of two things. The first is Penn State All-Americans Mitchell Mesenbrink and PJ Duke not being in the field. The second is his win over two-seed David Carr, the reigning Team USA member in the weight class, in the third place match at April’s US Open. Sealey, a redshirt sophomore-to-be, is joined in the field by incoming Penn State freshman Jayden James. He drew the No. 9 seed. The winner will face former Nebraska James Green at Final X. It is currently unclear why Mesenbrink and Duke are electing not to compete for a World team spot.

Current Penn State redshirt sophomores to-be Connor Mirasola and Cole Mirasola drew seeds at 125 kilograms. The former is No. 12 and the latter No. 11. However, it’s unclear if Connor will actually compete at the event. We will not know until after Thursday morning’s weigh-ins. He would be wrestling up a weight class, as his usual one, 92 kilograms, already features Trent Hidlay taking on Michael Macchiavello for a Senior Team USA spot.

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See all pre-seeds here.

Two current Penn State wrestlers will find out their Final X foe following the Trials. That list is as follows:

57 kg – Luke Lilledahl, Penn State junior vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

61 kg – Marcus Blaze, Penn State sophomore vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

Additionally, three Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members already know who they will face in a best-of-three final at Final X next month for a spot on the Senior Team USA:

79 kg – Levi Haines (Bellefonte, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Chance Marsteller (Reading, Pa./New Jersey RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

86 kg – Zahid Valencia (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Kyle Dake (Port Matilda, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

97 kg – Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Stephen Buchanan (Coralville, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)