Sanderson opens up about NCAA
Penn State wrestling
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UNIVERSITY PARK -- It's just a little over three weeks away from Penn State wrestling's season-opening dual meet with Bloomsburg, and the situation with two-time national champion Levi Haines remains in question.
Haines graduated high school in 2022, and a federal judge granted a fifth year of eligibility this summer. That ruling was appealed a couple months later, and that court paused that order, meaning 2022 graduates are not eligible if they've already competed for four years.
PSU coach Cael Sanderson confirmed on Tuesday at wrestling's media day that Haines is on campus and in class, just in case he gets an opportunity to compete this season. He is also in training on the Penn State campus preparing for the Senior World Championships in Kazakhstan next week.
"It's not like he's out in the woods hunting. He wishes he was out in the woods hunting every day," Sanderson said with a grin. "He's preparing. He's training. He's ready to compete."
Sanderson is normally subdued when speaking with the media, but he let his feelings be known about the matter publicly on Tuesday. He said it would be nice if the NCAA could enforce rules.
"It's pretty wild right now. It's kind of embarrassing," Sanderson said. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that, but it's just like what are we doing here? What's the standard? What's allowed? What isn't allowed?"
Mesenbrink, the actor
Over the offseason and fresh off his second national title in as many years, Mitchell Mesenbrink got to play a role in an upcoming movie titled 'Gable.' The movie is about legendary Iowa wrestling coach and Olympic gold medalist Dan Gable, and his life in wrestling.
Mesenbrink plays the role of Ben Peterson, an Olympic teammate of Gable, who also won a gold medal.
Mesenbrink admitted there were a little bit of nerves while he was on set in Illinois from Aug. 24 to Sept. 20, but he sees a possibility of doing more acting in the future.
"I knew I'd be good," Mesenbrink said. "I'm good in front of the camera. It was just the fact that everything went silent. I want to do good in whatever I do, not good, but great."
Mesenbrink enjoyed the creative aspect of being in the movie. He had to portray a real-life character, but there were personal elements to the art.
"These people really lived and you want to match them, but there's also the idea of being an actor," Mesenbrink said.
British actor Finn Cole plays Gable, and the movie is directed by Jon Greenhalgh, who was also the director for Team Foxcatcher in 2016. The movie does not have a release date announced.
Ono going to folkstyle
Japanese world champion Masanosuke Ono announced his commitment to Penn State in March 2025. Since that time, he has had to learn folkstyle wrestling compared to the sport that is primarily competed in freestyle elsewhere around the world.
Ono won pretty much everything there was to capture in Japan, including a U20 and a senior world championship in the same year in 2024. He redshirted last season, and is now ready to compete, but Sanderson wouldn't say which weight class he would be in.
"The transition from folkstyle to freestyle isn't always an easy transition," Sanderson said. "It's even more difficult to go from a life of freestyle to folkstyle, but he's gotten really good. He's very disciplined and diligent in his training, in addition to just being a phenomenal wrestler.
All-Star match opponent?
The Lions' Shayne Van Ness confirmed that he will participate in the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 24. The event will once again be held in Rec Hall after it was held at Rutgers last season.
Does he know who his opponent is?
"I don't care," Van Ness said with a laugh.
Van Ness later said he believed he would be facing Virginia Tech's Caleb Henson.
Projected lineup
125: Luke Lilledahl
133 and 141: Marcus Blaze/Ono/Nate Desmond/Braeden Davis
149: Van Ness
157: Tyler Kasak/Joe Sealey
165: PJ Duke/Mesenbrink/Jayden James
174: Mesenbrink/James/Will Henckel/Asher Cunningham
184: Rocco Welsh/Cunningham
197: Josh Barr
285: Cole Mirasola/Connor Mirasola