Penn State crowned four national champions and set an NCAA wrestling tournament points record in cruising to its fifth consecutive national title Saturday night inside Rocket Arena in Cleveland.

The Nittany Lions’ 181.5 points topped the previous mark of 177, which the program set last year. Penn State finished 50.5 points better than runner-up Oklahoma State, which had three champions. Nebraska, Iowa and Ohio State rounded out the top five.

Penn State coach Cael Sanderson claimed his 13th national championship in 17 years and is just two titles shy of tying Iowa legend Dan Gable for the most in history.

“This was an incredible year,” Sanderson told reporters afterward. “Obviously, our hearts and minds are with kids who didn’t reach their goals, and we’re here thinking about, ‘Hey, what can we do better? We’ve got to do this better.’ We’ve got a lot on our minds now.

“Happy for the team. Just really an incredible group of guys, outstanding year.”

Penn State’s champions included Luke Lilledahl (125 pounds), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174) and Josh Barr (197). All four finished the season unbeaten. Two other Nittany Lions fell in the finals to finish second: Shayne Van Ness (149) and Rocco Welsh (184).

The individual titles were especially meaningful for Mesenbrink and Haines, who began their careers as rivals and ended up as friends.

“I love the guy. It’s great to see him win,” Mesenbrink told reporters afterward. “It’s even cooler to see our faces up on the Penn State wall together and side by side for NCAA Championships.

“The year he won, I didn’t win. The year that I won, he didn’t win. … So, this year we win together, and we win as a team. And now we’ve got Rocco and Josh and all the other guys, and Luke, and all those guys that go out there.”

“It’s tough to speak to the brotherhood of Penn State because I would do anything for each and every one of those guys,” Haines said. “I’ve had some tough moments in my career at Penn State, but there’s always been somebody there to kind of pick me up along the way.”

Oklahoma State continues to surge as a program in David Taylor’s second season as coach. Taylor, who won two national titles and finished second twice as a wrestler for Penn State, guided the Cowboys to their best finish in 10 years. Their three national champions are the program’s most since 2005.

One of Taylor’s national champions was freshman Sergio Vega, who stopped Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez’s attempt at a third straight national title with a 4-1 win at 141 pounds.

“I’ve been watching (Taylor) since I was younger,” Vega said. “Being able to be in the same room as him, sometimes I catch myself being a little fanboy still. It’s just so awesome. I’m so grateful to be where I am.”

Championship results

Team scoring (top 10): 1. Penn State 181.5; 2. Oklahoma State 131; 3. Nebraska 100.5; 4. Iowa 92.5; 5. Ohio State 84.5; 6. Stanford 67.5; 7. Michigan 66; 8. Iowa State 52; 9. Minnesota 48.5; 10. NC State 44.5

Individual results

125: Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) dec. Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton), 2-1
133: Jax Forrest (Oklahoma State) dec. Ben Davino (Ohio State), 5-2
141: Sergio Vega (Oklahoma State) dec. Jesse Mendez (Ohio State), 4-1 (sudden victory)
149: Aden Valencia (Stanford) dec. Shayne Van Ness (Penn State), 8-5 (sudden victory)
157: Landon Robideau (Oklahoma State) dec. Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), 4-2
165: Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) tech. fall over Mikey Caliendo (Iowa), 20-4 (5:13)
174: Levi Haines (Penn State) dec. Christopher Minto (Nebraska), 2-1
184: Max McEnelly (Minnesota) dec. Rocco Welsh (Penn State), 4-3
197: Josh Barr (Penn State) dec. Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State), 6-3
285: Isaac Trumble (NC State) dec. Yonger Bastida (Iowa State), 5-0