Mitchell Mesenbrink (born 2003) is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 74 kilograms.[1] In freestyle, he claimed a gold medal at the U20 World Championships in 2023 and a silver medal in 2022.[2]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Mitchell Owen Mesenbrink | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2003 Hartland, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight class | 74 kg (163 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Freestyle and Folkstyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Penn State Nittany Lions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Nittany Lion Wrestling Club Askren Wrestling Academy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Cael Sanderson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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In folkstyle, he is an NCAA Division I National finalist and Big Ten Conference champion for the Penn State Nittany Lions.[3]
Career edit
Early life edit
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.[4] Mesenbrink attended Arrowhead High School, where he became a three-time WIAA state champion and broke into the national high school rankings.[5] Before his senior season, he committed to wrestle for California Baptist University.[6]
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.[7]
California Baptist University edit
2022–2023 edit
Mesenbrink started off the season at 2–0, however, he then decided to enter the transfer portal and moved back to Wisconsin, closing out his freshman year.[8] In April 2023, he committed to the Penn State Nittany Lions.[9]
Pennsylvania State University edit
2023–2024 edit
Before the folkstyle season started, Mesenbrink made the jump up to 74 kilograms and repeated as U20 US National champion and U20 Pan American Champion before competing at the U20 World Championships.[10] He once again reached the finals of the tournament, and this time became the U20 World champion at 74 kilograms.[11]
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.[12] At the Big Ten Championships, Mesenbrink claimed his first title with a come-from-behind victory over two-time All-American Dean Hamiti.[13] 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.[14]
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.[15] He then came back for third-place with wins over US National champion Quincy Monday and Jarrett Jacques, making the US National team.[16]
Freestyle record edit
References edit
- ^ "Mitchell Mesenbrink - Wrestling". Penn State Athletics. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ^ Collegian, Kaleb Boyer | The Daily (August 16, 2023). "Penn State wrestling Mitchell Mesenbrink wins U20 World Championship". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ^ Pickel, Greg (April 21, 2023). "Penn State wrestling makes another transfer portal splash". On3. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ^ "Wisconsin Wrestling Hall of Fame :: Mesenbrink, John". wiwrestlinghofhonorees.org. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ^ "Wrestling Signs Two New Highly-Accomplished Recruits for 2022-23". CBU Athletics. March 29, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ Staff, Dave Radcliffe-Freeman (March 1, 2022). "Don't mess with Mesenbrink". Greater Milwaukee Today. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ "Mesenbrink Takes Silver at U20 Freestyle World Championships". CBU Athletics. March 29, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ "Mitchell Mesenbrink To Enter Transfer Portal". Heavyweight Nation. January 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ Kozak, Jon (April 21, 2023). "Mitchell Mesenbrink On Commiting To Penn State, Next Year's Lineup, & NIL". FloWrestling. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ Staff, Freeman (July 11, 2023). "Mesenbrink wins gold at Pan-Am wrestling championship". Greater Milwaukee Today. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ Lister, Joe (August 16, 2023). "Penn State Wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink Wins UWW U-20 Championship". Onward State. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Penn State Wins Big Ten Wrestling Title". bigten.org. July 15, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ "Iowa's Drake Ayala, ISU's David Carr, UNI's Parker Keckeisen advance to NCAA wrestling finals". www.thegazette.com. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ "Penn State wrestling vs. Jordan Burroughs: How Lions will meet in Olympic Trials finals". York Daily Record. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ 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.