Levi Haines didn’t care; he simply needed a chance.
When coach Cael Sanderson and firm had been recruiting him to hitch the Penn State wrestling program, Sanderson couldn’t assure that Haines– an in-state man from Biglerville High School in Arendtsville– might get a full scholarship.
As Sanderson remembered last month, the edges “agreed on maybe half a scholarship at the time.”
Fast ahead to March of Haines’ senior season, and the 174-pounder is days away from placing a stamp on among the finest careers in Penn State historical past.
In an period of school sports activities the place an athlete spending precisely 4 college years on the similar college is about as widespread as a snowstorm in Florida, Haines has taken the “traditional” path and has earned a plethora of accolades.https://nittanysportsnow.com/2026/02/hes-everybodys-friend-cael-sanderson-hoping-to-keep-levi-haines-around-penn-state-wrestling-after-graduation/
He’s one in every of 4 Penn State wrestlers to win 4 Big Ten championships. Of these 4 (Ed Ruth, David Taylor and Haines’ former teammate, Aaron Brooks being the opposite three), Haines is the one one to take action in 4 consecutive years, wth Ruth and Taylor redshirting and Brooks needing 5 years to do it.
Haines has made it to the nationwide championship match twice in his three seasons —each at 157 —and received all of it in 2024.
Advancing two weight courses final season, he made it to the semifinals at 174 earlier than shedding to eventual nationwide champ Dean Hamiti of Oklahoma State, then bouncing again to take third and finish his third straight All-American marketing campaign.
Overall, Haines is 94-4, with three of the losses coming towards nationwide champions (Hamiti, Keegan O’Toole, Austin O’Connor).
Haines has additionally grow to be a drive on the freestyle circuit. Competing at 79 KG, Haines won a U23 World Championship in Serbia this previous October and took silver at Senior Worlds in Croatia the earlier month.
He didn’t have a lot time to relaxation.
“I was up always getting ready for another tournament,” Haines informed reporters at a pre-National Championships presser in Cleveland Wednesday– and thru that, I used to be capable of simply hold getting higher wrestling. Each match I handled as apply for my subsequent one, and I feel I made a number of huge features all through the summer season, and I acquired to see some cool locations, meet some cool individuals. So I feel I’ve been prepared for the reason that senior worlds, and simply getting higher via each little piece of knowledge collected via competing.”
So what retains Haines having fun with wrestling regardless of its many calls for?
“I just like throwing people down,” he stated.
Haines is the favourite to win all of it at 174, coming into the event with a 22-0 document and 77.27% bonus fee.
With Hamiti and O’Toole– final 12 months’s finalists– out of the image, Haines is assumed to be the highest canine at his weight class.
Haines nonetheless should care for enterprise to make it again to the nationwide championship match after a one-year hiatus, and if he does, he’ll have to consider a number of issues.
The most essential, in fact, is an entrance tune.
Fans at Rec Hall and the Bryce Jordan Center have found Haines’s love of nation music.
For his first two seasons, Haines entered his bouts to Hank Williams Jr’s “A Country Boy Can Survive.”
He switched to Toby Keith for his junior season however returned to Williams this 12 months, solely this time popping out to “Dinosaur.”
Haines stated he hasn’t determined which Hank Jr. tune he’ll use this weekend.
Whatever occurs in Cleveland, Haines will be the one one in every of Penn State’s 10 starters who doesn’t have the choice of returning to school wrestling subsequent season.
But Haines has no plans to depart Penn State, and appeared to verify that he’ll be staying on with the Nittany Lion Wrestling membership past commencement.
“Hopefully I can repay (Cael) a little bit, what he’s given to me, along with our other coaches,” he stated. “Just look forward to hopefully being able to give back to him in some way in the future. I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.”
