Penn State University wrestling standout and former Biglerville Canner Levi Haines has made the U.S. World Team for the first time in his impressive career. He will be competing with Team USA at 79kg (174 lbs) in the Senior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, from September 13 to 21.
Competing at Final X Wrestling 2025 in Newark, NJ, Haines swept his competition in a best-of-three series against former Wisconsin Badger Evan Wick. His first bout against Wick was quick and decisive; a 10-0 tech fall victory. The second match wasn’t much closer as Haines won by decision 6-1.
This won’t be Levi’s first time on the world stage, as he won gold for the US at the U23 Pan American Games in April in Querétaro, Mexico. That medal was also at 79kg, which is the weight class he moved up to this past season for the Nittany Lions, where he placed 3rd at the NCAA Championships. He also competed in Budapest, Hungary at the U17 Cadet World Championships in 2021, placing 7th at 71kg.
Some of Haines’ other accolades include NCAA Runner-Up as a freshman and NCAA Champion as a sophomore at 157lbs. He is a 3-time Big Ten champion (174, 157×2) as well as Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2023.
For Biglerville High School he posted an impressive 100-5 record while forgoing his senior year to compete in college open tournaments and was a two-time PIAA State runner-up. He finally got his deserved PIAA State Championship medal in 2021.
Levi Haines has been making the people of Biglerville and Gettysburg proud with all of his accomplishments and how he handles himself on and off the mat; I suspect it won’t be much different when he steps onto the mat come early fall in Croatia. The Senior World Championships will be available for streaming September 13 – 21 on flowrestling.org or you can follow their live updates via social media.
Featured image photo Via Sam Janicki @ https://www.sjanickiphoto.com/
