Cole Mirasola has been a man of few words in his first season wrestling for Penn State.

Instead, the freshman heavyweight has let his moves do most of his talking.

Take a recent match in which Mirasola nailed seven first-period takedowns to tech Indiana’s Caleb Marzolino as an example. When Mirasola was asked afterward about his speed and quickness helping him successfully navigate a field full of bigger opponents, he made even quicker work of the question than he did his Indiana opponents minutes earlier.

“I feel like I keep getting better and I’m focusing on getting better each match,” Mirasola said quietly.

A humble approach. Fair enough.

The reality is, Mirasola is doing more with less in potentially the toughest lineup spot for a freshman to hold down. Considered a small heavyweight and clocking in regularly near 228 pounds, Mirasola hasn’t let much bigger men push him around in his second year at the weight.

After going 6-2 and winning the Southern Scuffle during his redshirt season last year, Mirasola is 12-3 so far as Penn State’s top heavyweight and leads the Nittany Lions with 26 first-period takedowns.

“He’s a goer and sometimes when you’re wrestling a guy that’s got 30 or 40 pounds on you, you have to wrestle a little differently,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said.

Choosing when and how to set up offense against those bigger, more experienced opponents has been part of the learning curve that has gotten steeper as the season’s worn on.

Five of Mirasola’s last 10 bouts have come against wrestlers currently ranked among the top 19 of FloWrestling’s heavyweight rankings. Mirasola lost the first two to Nathan Taylor and Christian Carroll of Lehigh and Wyoming, respectively, before ripping off a seven-match winning streak from Dec. 20 to Jan. 24.

In that stretch he beat Iowa’s Ben Kueter and Rutgers’ Hunter Catka, but dropped his most recent — and most anticipated match by Penn State fans — to Nebraska’s AJ Ferrari. That match looked very little like the rapid-fire, highlight reels Mirasola had put on tape to that point as the sixth-year veteran Ferrari was able to defend and ride for the win.

After neither wrestler could gain an advantage in the first, Ferrari chose down and quickly escaped to start the second. Mirasola couldn’t scramble or work out from under Ferrari until there were 12 seconds left, not enough time to attack and overcome the Husker’s riding-time advantage.

Sanderson isn’t worried about the 2-1 loss, especially considering Mirasola’s slate remains tough.

He’ll likely face fifth-ranked Taye Ghadiali when the Nittany Lions travel to Michigan for a dual on Friday night. Afterward, Ohio State’s third-ranked Nick Feldman awaits on Feb. 13.

“I think that’s just part of being in this conference,” Sanderson said. “It’s, I think, part of the reason why this conference does so well consistently at the national tournament is you’re wrestling really good guys consistently. Being a freshman, maybe it stands out more for him. He just knows he’s right there.”

No Ono — Yet 

Sanderson said Masanosuke Ono likely won’t compete this season for the Nittany Lions due to a previously reported medical issue.

Ono, the 2024 Senior World Champion at 61 kilograms announced last month that he was withdrawing from Japan’s Emperor’s Cup tournament after suffering kidney issues following a weight cut to 57 kilograms.

Although they prevented the Japanese freestyle superstar from wrestling back home, Ono has been all smiles around Penn State’s facility as he’s been cleared to train and workout with his new teammates.

He jogged, laced up and carried his phone and headgear, through a group of reporters as they asked Sanderson questions on Wednesday. The two briefly made eye contact and Ono raised his fist and gave a pump as he burst into the practice room.

“He’s very motivated, he really wants to kick butt in folkstyle,” Sanderson said. “The energy is just as good as it gets. Good attitude, good energy. It’s fun to watch him. He’s getting pretty dang good in folkstyle, he’s putting the time in and it’s showing. Before long, we’ll see him.”