Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink recently won the Dan Hodge Trophy, solidifying his legacy in the wrestling world. He made his feelings known about winning the prestigious honor after years of missing out on the Outstanding Wrestler award during high school.
Mesenbrink was last seen on the mat at the 2026 NCAA Championships, where he won his second consecutive 165-pound national title. He locked horns with Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo in the final round, securing a 20-4 win. He played a significant role in helping Penn State win its fifth consecutive NCAA team title.
Days after this win, he won the 2026 Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top collegiate wrestler. This honor is awarded to the most dominant wrestler, and Mesenbrink won with 66 first-place votes. Weighing in on his win, the Penn State wrestler recalled not winning any OW awards during high school. However, comparing that experience with winning the Dan Hodge Trophy, he called it a ‘good trade.’
“This is a very surreal come-to-fruition moment. I’ve always had bonus (points), even throughout high school, but maybe I got overlooked because I never got OW awards. I went all throughout high school without getting one. I would rather have a Dan Hodge Trophy than the ‘Arrowhead Wrestling Invite OW,’ though, so at the end of the day, it was a good trade,” said Mitchell Mesenbrink.
Before winning the 2026 NCAA title, Mesenbrink won the 165-pound title at the 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships.
Mitchell Mesenbrink weighed in on winning the 2026 NCAA title
After besting Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo, Mitchell Mesenbrink addressed the media, where he laid bare his experience at the championships. Opening up about his entire season, he revealed his mindset and what is most significant for him.
“I feel like my whole season could be summed up into this quote, ‘sometimes it takes obtaining the goal to realize that the goal is not the thing to be obtained.’ And before I lose you, let me just try to explain that sometimes we think that becoming a national champion or Olympic champion, or whatever your goal is that you set out to be, is about making X amount of money or whatever. It’s never as fulfilling as you think it is. And it definitely can’t be the thing that you fill your soul and fill your cup with,” said Mitchell Mesenbrink.
He added:
“This past year, I had some of the toughest times that I’ve ever had in my young life. And you know, almost exactly what I was saying with that quote that no matter how many wins or things or amount of money or whatever infinite number of something that you can gain, that was not the point of all of it.”
Mitchell Mesenbrink wrapped up his 2025-26 season undefeated and is now a two-time NCAA champion and a two-time Big Ten champion.
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