Over the past half decade, Drexel University has seen many of its athletic programs on the rise. The men’s rowing team has claimed four straight Dad Vail Regatta titles, while the women’s lacrosse team punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament in four consecutive years.
After last season, Drexel’s wrestling team is making a push to be in the same conversation. The Dragons faced six top-25 opponents last season, and won back to back matchups against No. 25 CSU Bakersfield and No. 23 Cal Poly at the NWCA Mid-Major National Duals.
The Dragons posted a 6-1 record in conference and ended their regular season on an incredible hot streak, where they won seven and only lost two matches. The program also finished second overall in the 2025 EIWA Championships, their highest finish since joining the conference in 2013.
It was announced earlier this month that the wrestling team will host the four-time defending national championship Penn State at the Daskalaskis Athletic Center on December 5th. The Nittany Lions have been an unstoppable force in NCAA wrestling over the past 15 years, winning 12 of the 14 national championships of that span.
This will be the third time the two schools have faced off with the first coming in 2003, where Penn State was victorious 26-6, and the second last season, where the Dragons were dismantled 41-3. This year’s installment in the series will be the first held at the DAC, giving the surging Drexel program a stronger chance.
Penn State’s national dominance has been non-stop, as one group of world class wrestlers graduate, another group emerges. Junior Mitchell Mesenbrink (165 lbs) was named the top pound-for-pound wrestler in the country by Flo Sports entering this season. The star-studded squad from State College also includes sophomores Luke Lilledahl (125) and Josh Barr (197), junior Tyler Kasak (157) and seniors Shayne Van Ness (149), Levi Haines (174).
The Dragons will not be completely outmatched at the DAC, as they have their own trio of stars led by red-shirt sophomore Jasiah Queen. In Queen’s first full season, the New Jersey native went an impressive 21-5 and was named a U20 All-American at the 2025 US Open after finishing sixth of 119 participants at the 79kg weight class.
Aside from Queen, red-shirt senior Desmond Pleasant (125 lbs) who finished last season 16-7, and true senior Jordan Soriano (141 lbs) who went 19-7 are also returning to University City.
To outsiders, this year’s matchup at the DAC may seem like a battle of David versus Goliath, but Philadelphia wrestling fans know not to overlook the rising Dragons.