Penn State wrestling news: When can it break the nation's longest win streak?
This comes as coach Cael Sanderson's No. 1 Nittany Lions have been putting on a stunning show since November: They're producing another undefeated season (12-0 and counting) ... are outscoring opponents by an incredulous 493-37 margin ... and doing it with an entire starting lineup ranked in the nation's Top 10.
And yet this is season is just a part of their march toward crushing one of the longest-held college wrestling records.
The Nittany Lions have won 68 straight dual meets − including weekend dominations of Michigan and Maryland − and will be prohibitive favorites in their final three this season. They haven't lost a meet in five years, since before COVID.
They currently own the fifth-best winning streak in Division I and major college men's history. (Grand View, an NAIA school in Iowa, owns the top all-time college win streak at 117).
Winning-out this season would jump them to No. 2 in major college history, passing 69-win runs by Oklahoma State (1921 to 1932, 1996 to 1999) and Iowa (2007 to 2011).
History would then await at 76 consecutive victories. The Oklahoma State Cowboys accomplished the feat from 1937 to 1951, before college wrestling was divided into divisions.
Penn State could end this season with 71 straight dual meet victories.
So when could it tie the record of 76 and break it?
That's still to be determined.
For perspective, Penn State won its fifth dual meet of this season before the end of December, during the middle of the Journeyman Duals in Tennessee.
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A similar situation could arise next season, particularly if Sanderson and Penn State agree to attend the 16-team National Duals Invitational at Oklahoma State in November.
Beyond that?
It will be difficult to know exactly when or who the Lions could make history against for quite a while. Penn State does not usually release its finalized schedule until late September or early October, less than two months before the season begins.
(Records provided by Jason Bryant at Mat Talk Online, via the NCAA)
Penn State's 68 consecutive dual meet victories is sixth among all college divisions. The list is below:
117 − Grand View, NAIA (2013-22)
92 − SUNY Dehli, NJCAA (1979-83)
77 − St. Cloud State, Division II (2017-22)
76 − Oklahoma State, Division I and Major College (1937-51)
75 − Oklahoma City, Women's (2008-12)
68 − Penn State, Division I (2020-25)
Frank Bodani covers Penn State sports for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State wrestling schedule: When can it own the longest win streak?
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