He didn't win an NCAA title as a freshman. But Penn State's Levi Haines has bright future

Levi Haines didn't look like a freshman for most of his first season of college wrestling.

And it took a 24-year-old sixth-year senior to prove the 18-year-old still has a few things to learn.

A Biglerville High School graduate and true freshman at Penn State, Haines finished second at 157 pounds at his first appearance at the NCAA Wrestling Championships this past weekend in Tulsa. Haines incredible postseason run ended with a 6-2 loss to North Carolina's Austin O'Connor in the title match Saturday night.

Mature beyond his years, the baby-faced and clean-cut Haines finally looked young against O'Connor — a former national champion who not only sported a full beard and flowing hair, but also had much more muscle on his 157-pound frame than Haines did. With the score tied 0-0 after the first period, O'Connor displayed his superior strength by riding out Haines for the entire second period.

Down 2-0 in the third period, Haines was forced to get aggressive and O'Connor countered his attacks for two takedowns of his own.

For just the second time this season and first time since a tournament in November, Haines walked off the mat in defeat.

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Still, Haines' debut season for the Nittany Lions was a stunning success. More importantly, it was likely a sign of bigger things to come.

In Cael Sanderson's first 13 seasons at Penn State wrestling coach, the Nittany Lions had 16 wrestlers earn All-American honors (top eight in the country) their freshman season — either true or redshirt. 13 of those wrestlers went on to win at least one national title. The list of Penn State wrestlers to lose in the NCAA title match their first season includes some of the greatest competitors in the sport's recent history: David Taylor (two-time champ and Olympic gold medalist), Jason Nolf (three-time champ) and Bo Nickal (three-time champ).

Can Haines join the ranks of those legends? It seems realistic that he could. He dominated older and more experienced wrestlers as soon as Penn State gave him a chance to start in late December. He performed so well in his first five dual meets that Sanderson essentially had no choice but to remove his redshirt and let him compete in the postseason as a true freshman.

He made his legendary head coach look smart by winning a Big Ten title and then living up to his newfound hype at the NCAA Championships. He trailed reigning All-American Bryce Andonian 6-0 in the NCAA quarterfinals but rebounded to pin the Virginia Tech senior in the third-period. Then he beat Nebraska All-American Peyton Robb, 5-3, in the semifinals — proving his Big Ten title overtime win over the Cornhusker was no fluke.

He finished his first season of college wrestling 27-2. Some of the best wrestlers in the world spent this past weekend raving about the freshman on social media. David Taylor, Haines' mentor and perhaps Penn State's all-time greatest wrestler, wrote that he had "tears in his eyes" watching his protege excel.

That doesn't mean future national titles will come easy. Haines wrestled at 106 pounds his freshman year of high school but has consistently bumped up since then. When Haines committed to Penn State, he told the York Daily Record it was possible he could end up at 174 or 184 pounds in college.

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Competing in heavier weight classes means facing different wrestlers who've potentially been competing at that size for longer. If Haines bumps up to 165 next season, he could run into two-time defending national champion Keegan O'Toole of Missouri.

But those are all hypotheticals. The facts are that Haines has found success at every weight he's competed at. He's rebounded from adversity before. After losing in the state title match his first two seasons in high school, he went undefeated and won that elusive state title as a junior.

He wasn't expected to start this season yet finished second in the country.

After watching Haines surprise people all winter, there's no reason to be surprised by anything the Adams County native does anymore.

Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on Twitter at @bad2theallibone. 

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: NCAA Wrestling: Penn State's Levi Haines takes second at 157 pounds