Penn State wrestler Cole Mirasola to compete for Team USA at the U23 Pan-American Championships

Penn State wrestler Cole Mirasola will compete for Team USA at the U23 Pan-American Championships next weekend in Lima, Peru. The Nittany Lion will wrestle in the 125-kilogram weight class. He earned the right to do so after winning U23 Nationals last weekend in Ohio.

“Reigning U20 World champion and Senior Pan American champion Justin Rademacher (92 kg) headlines a stacked men’s freestyle lineup that includes the likes of two-time U20 World medalist Bennett Berge (86 kg), 2025 U20 World bronze medalist Connor Mirasola (125 kg) and 2025 NCAA finalist Troy Spratley (55 kg),” USA Wrestling writes.

“2024 U23 World champion Sage Mortimer (50 kg) leads the women’s freestyle group. Past age-group World Team members Alexandra Szkotnicki (59 kg) and Claire DiCugno (62 kg), plus returning U23 Pan American bronze medalist Sydney Petzinger (53 kg), are top contenders.”

Mirasola will compete in the men’s freestyle division. Wrestling starts at 10 a.m. ET next Thursday. It concludes with medal matches at 5 p.m. ET the same day.

The Penn State wrestler is already a Pan-American Championships age-group gold medalist. He won the U20 tournament a year ago. Then, he finished third at U20 Worlds. However, unlike last year, it’s unclear if he will compete for Team USA at U23 Worlds. The spot is only his if current US Senior national team member Coby Merrill, an incoming freshman at Iowa State, declines the 125-kilogram U23 US team spot. His decision does not need to be made until the end of the month.

Regardless of how it shakes out, Mirasola did what he needed to at U23 Nationals to give himself a shot. He won the 125-kilogram bracket by overcoming an initial defeat in the best-of-three finals.

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“With two age-group World medalists dueling, Jimmy Mullen pinned Connor Mirasola 44 seconds into the round one contest,” USA Wrestling writes. “However, Mirasola bounced back with a 5-3 decision in round two. He pinned Mullen in the winner-take-all contest to win the championship.”

Mirasola is the next Penn State wrestler to be in action this offseason. After this, the next event featuring Nittany Lions is Final X. It sets the Team USA for this year’s Senior World Championships. Luke Lilledahl will battle Spencer Lee for the 57-kilogram spot. Marcus Blaze faces Jax Forrest at 61 kilograms. And Levi Haines takes on Chance Marsteller at 79 kilograms. Beyond that group, Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members Zain Retherford (70kg; vs. Ridge Lovett), Kyle Dake (86kg; vs. Zahid Valencia), and Kyle Snyder (97kg; vs. Stephen Buchanan) will be in action as well. Final X starts at 2 p.m. ET on June 19.