Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink will not compete at the 2026 Wrestling US Open Championships, which is scheduled to take place from April 22 to 26 at the Expo at World Market Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. His plan to step back from the event, which is a critical qualifying event for the world championships has raised questions among the wrestling world.
Mesenbrink was last seen on the mat at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships, where he competed in the 165-pound event on March 21. He locked horns with Mike Caliendo in the final and defeated him by 20-4 via technical fall in 5:12, gracefully defending his title.
Following his dominant performance at the nationals, fans were eagerly waiting for another stunning performance at the US Open Wrestling Championships; however, he has not registered to compete at the event this year. The pre-seeds for the senior men’s freestyle and other divisions of the tournament were announced by USA Wrestling on April 21.
In addition to this, another update of Mesenbrink’s appearance at the World Team Trials has also been released. His appearance at the World Team Trials is also seeming doubtful, as he reportedly has camps lined up during the trials.
This event would be his only chance to make this year’s world team after his absence from the US Open. These updates about his appearance in the upcoming events have raised questions about him taking a break from freestyle wrestling this year.
An insider shared this update on Instagram, writing:
“Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink, this past years’ U23 World Champion and a two-time National Champion is not registered to compete in the US Open later this week. It also appears as if the Nittany Lion has camps lined up during the World Team Trials, which would be the only other opportunity for the World Champion to make this years’ World Team.
“Ultimately, it looks like one of wrestlings’ biggest names could be taking a break from the freestyle scene this year. Will be interesting to see if the star ends up wrestling at the World Team Trials.”
Following his 2026 NCAA win, Mesenbrink won the 2026 NCAA Championships Outstanding Wrestler title and the 2026 Dan Hodge Trophy.
Mitchell Mesenbrink Made his Feelings Known About Winning the 2026 Dan Hodge Trophy
After winning his second consecutive national title at the 2026 NCAA Championships, Mitchell Mesenbrink was honored with the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top collegiate wrestler. This award is given to the most dominant wrestler, and the Nittany Lion claimed the title after receiving 66 first-place votes.
Following this feat, he made his feelings known about the win, stating that he fell short of winning any OW awards during school and called the Dan Hodge award 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.”
Mitchell Mesenbrink also proved his dominance at the 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, winning the 165-pound title.
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