He might be a true freshman but Luke Lilledahl has read his job description and knows his role on the top-ranked Penn State wrestling team.

Lilledahl kickstarted the Nittany Lions during their 30-8 victory over No. 2 Iowa when he won by technical fall over Iowa’s Joey Cruz. He broke open a 7-1 bout at 125 pounds with five takedowns in the third period en route to a 22-6 match stoppage in 6:43. He made each takedown look easier and put 15,998 onlookers into more of a frenzy with each one.

“Yeah, it’s kind of part of my job as a 25-pounder to get the team rolling,” Lilledahl said this week. “It’s not hard on this team, though, because everyone, pretty much, could do their own thing. But it’s definitely fun to do that as well and kind of get everyone off on a good start.”

Penn State coach Cael Sanderson has effusive praise for Lilledahl each week. “I mean, he’s a winner, that’s what he does,” he said. “It’s not something that anyone needs to talk about or think about. He’s not a guy that you get too concerned about; he’s going to keep getting better every week.”

A BOUNCE-BACK MATCH: Lilledahl gave up a late takedown against Rutgers’ Dean Peterson and suffered a 4-1 loss — his first of the season — on Jan. 24. That didn’t affect his confidence, Lilledahl said.

“It’s just getting back on the right track; my mentality is the next match,” he said. “So after Rutgers, it was just like, ‘well, what do I need to improve on’ and that kind of thing, to win the next one and ultimately win the nationals, which is my goal.”

NOT NECESSARILY USED TO LOSING: As a state champion in Missouri before attending Wyoming Seminary in northeastern Pennsylvania as well as a U-20 World champion and U-20 Pan Am champ, Lilledahl hasn’t lost much in his career.

“When I was younger, I still didn’t lose that much. It’s really just improving anytime I wrestle, not just with the losses, but also with the wins. The whole process has pretty much been the same throughout my career,” said Lilledahl, who added that his top riding skills have improved since he attended Penn State.

AND WHY DID HE COME TO PSU? Many schools pursued Lilledahl and he settled on State College because of the overall team culture, he said.

“Coaches and, really, teammates too, they preach just getting better and not really focusing on the wins and the losses as much and just kind of having fun and improving,” he explained. “That was a really big aspect of why I came here, and I think I made the right decision.