Penn State Hosts Wyoming on Sunday in the Bryce Jordan Center
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (2-0, 0-0 B1G) hosts Wyoming on Sunday, Dec. 15. Due to scheduling conflicts with the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament, this dual meet has been moved to the Bryce Jordan Center. The dual between the Lions and Cowboys, the first ever, maintains the original 1 p.m. start time. All rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI).
The Nittany Lions are coming off a resounding 36-3 win at No. 14 Lehigh on Sunday, Dec. 8. Penn State won nine of ten bouts including a pin, two technical falls and three majors. The win improved Penn State’s dual record to 2-0 on the year.
Penn State’s line-up features ten ranked wrestlers. Luke Lilledahl is ranked No. 12 at 125, Braeden Davis No. 11 at 133, Beau Bartlett No. 3 at 141, Shayne Van Ness No. 2 at 149, Tyler Kasak No. 4 at 157, Mitchell Mesenbrink No. 1 at 165, Levi Haines No. 2 at 174, Carter Starocci No. 1 at 184, Josh Barr No. 7 at 197 and Greg Kerkvliet No. 2 at 285.
Wyoming enters the dual with a 2-2 mark. The Cowboys last competed at Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas last Friday and Saturday. Wyoming owns dual meet wins over Campbell (28-12) and Western Wyoming (46-0) and has lost to Oklahoma State (32-6) and Oklahoma (27-6). Jore Volk is ranked No. 7 at 125, Cole Brooks is No. 28 at 141, Gabe Willochell is No. 22 at 149, Jared Hill is No. 19 at 157, and Joey Novak is No. 14 at 197. This will be the first dual meet ever between the two schools.
Penn State closes out the first semester portion of its schedule with a trip to Nashville, Tenn., for the 2024 Journeymen Collegiate Duals on Sunday, Dec. 22. The Nittany Lions will face Binghamton at 3 p.m., Little Rock at 5 p.m. and Missouri at 7 p.m.
The 2024-25 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via X at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
#1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (2-0, 0-0 B1G)
125 #12 Luke Lilledahl Fr. Weldon Spring, Mo./Wyoming Seminary 4-0
133 #11 Braeden Davis So. Belleville, Mich./Dundee 1-1
141 #3 Beau Bartlett Sr.+ Tempe, Ariz./Wyoming Seminary 5-0
149 #2 Shayne Van Ness So. Somerville, N.J./Blair Academy 5-0
157 #4 Tyler Kasak So. Doylestown, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic 4-0
Alex Facundo So. Essexville, Mich./Davison 5-0
165 #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink So. Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead 6-0
174 #2 Levi Haines Jr. Arendtsville, Pa./Biglerville 5-0
184 #1 Carter Starocci Gr. Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep 5-0
197 #7 Josh Barr R-Fr. Davison, Mich./Davison 4-0
Lucas Cochran Jr. Perry, Utah/Box Elder 4-0
285 #2 Greg Kerkvliet Sr.+ Inver Grove Heights, Min../Simley 5-0
WYOMING COWBOYS (2-2)
125 Jack Braman So. Lookout Mountain, Ga./The McCallie School 1-4
133 Stockton O’Brien Jr. Woodland, Utah/Wasatch 5-3
141 #28 Cole Brooks So. Owasso, Oklahoma/Collinsville 4-4
149 #22 Gabe Willochell Jr. Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe 4-4
157 #19 Jared Hill Jr. Broken Arrow, Oklahoma/Broken Arrow 6-2
165 Cooper Voorhees Sr. Rapid City, S.D./Stevens 3-4
174 OR Riley Davis Fr. Amarillo, Texas/Randall 0-2
184 OR Quayin Short Jr. Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley 0-1
197 OR Ethan Ducca Sr. Chardon, Ohio/Ashtabula St. John 0-0
285 Kevin Zimmer So. Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg 2-5
Individual rankings listed are InterMat as of 12-10-24 // Team ranking InterMat TPI
THIS WEEK
The Nittany Lions (2-0, 0-0 B1G) host Wyoming (2-2) on Sunday, Dec. 15, at 1 p.m. Because of scheduling conflicts with the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament, the dual meet has been moved to the Bryce Jordan Center with the 1 p.m. start time remaining the same.
UP NEXT
Penn State heads to Nashville, Tenn., for the 2024 Journeymen Collegiate Duals on Sunday, Dec. 22. The Nittany Lions battle Binghamton at 3 p.m., Little Rock at 5 p.m. and Missouri at 7 p.m.
ON THE AIR
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NOTES:
JOSH BARR MAJORS #6 BEARD TO LEAD PENN STATE
IN 36-3 WIN OVER LEHIGH IN ALLENTOWN’S PPL CENTER
Red shirt freshman Josh Barr tallied three takedowns (one in the second and two in a dominant third) to roll to an 11-3 major decision over #6 Michael Beard at 197, leading Penn State to a 36-3 win over the Mountain Hawks. The dual was wrestled in Allentown’s PPL Center in front of a sold out crowd of nearly 10,000 fans. Penn State won nine of ten bouts, also picking up a win from true freshman Luke Lilledahl over #15 Sheldon Seymour at 125.
KELLY WINS MAT-TOWN I TITLE, LEVINE RUNNER-UP
Jack Kelly went 3-0 with two pins (in 0:13 and 0:46 seconds) to win the 174 pound title at the Mat-Town Invitational on Dec. 1 in Lock Haven, Pa. Tim Levine went 1-1 plus a non-collegiate victory to earn a runner-up finish at 133 while Sam Beckett went 2-1 to place third at 174.
MITCHELL MESENBRINK EARNS B1G W.O.W. HONORS (11/27)
Sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink went 4-0 with four technical falls at the Black Knight Invitational on Sunday, Nov. 24, to earn the 165 pound title at West Point, N.Y., earning tournament Outstanding Wrestler honors. He was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the week ending Nov. 24, 2024, for his efforts.
NITTANY LIONS DOMINATE BLACK KNIGHT INVITATIONAL
The Penn State Nittany Lions dominated the 2024 Black Knight Invitational at Army West Point on Nov. 24. The Nittany Lions won nine of the 10 individual titles, 18 of their 22 competitors placed in the top six and every Penn Stater garnered at least one win. With results against teammates not counting as official NCAA bouts, three of Penn State’s titles included shared crowns with teammates not wrestling each other in the title bouts. Luke Lilledahl (125), Beau Bartlett (141), Shayne Van Ness (149), Tyler Kasak (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink 165), Levi Haines/Matt Lee (174), Carter Starocci/Zack Ryder (184), Lucas Cochran (197) and Greg Kerkvliet/Cole Mirasola (285) were champs. Alex Facundo (157) and Lucas Cochran (197) were runners-up. Kurt McHenry (125) and Connor Mirasola (197) placed third. Penn State rolled up a 55-9 overall record at the event, including seven majors, 24 tech falls and 15 pins (46 of its 55 wins were for bonus). Various matches that pitted Nittany Lions against each other are not included in those totals.
NITTANY LIONS ROLL OVER DREXEL 41-3 IN SEASON OPENER
The Penn State Nittany Lions opened up the regular season with a 41-3 victory over visiting Drexel on Sunday, Nov. 17, in Rec Hall. True freshman Luke Lilledahl received a forfeit win at 125 in his collegiate debut and Greg Kerkvliet closed out the dual with a pin at 285. In between, the Nittany Lions picked up three decisions and four straight tech falls in the second half to roll to the win. Levis Haines (174) and Carter Starocci (184) competed the night before in the NWCA All-Star Classic Exhibition and posted tech falls the next day in the win over the Dragons. Also grabbing victories were Braeden Davis (133), Connor Pierce (149), Alex Facundo (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) and Lucas Cochran (197).
PSU SHINES AT ALL-STAR CLASSIC EXHIBITION
While Penn State’s official season began on Sunday, Nov. 17, in Rec Hall when the Nittany Lions beat Drexel, five Nittany Lions took part in the NWCA All-Star Classic exhibition the night before. The exhibition, not an official NCAA event and does not count towards wins, losses or RPI, featured Beau Bartlett (141), Shayne Van Ness (149), Tyler Kasak (157), Levi Haines (174) and Carter Starocci (184). Bartlett dropped a hard-fought 4-1 decision to No. 2 Jesse Mendez of Ohio State, Van Ness rolled to a 16-4 major over No. 3 Ty Watters of West Virginia, Kasak posted a 4-2 win over No. 3 Peyten Keller of Ohio, Haines notched a 7-0 win over No. 3 Cade DeVos of South Dakota State and Starocci grabbed a hard-fought 4-1 (sv) win over No. 2 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa.
#FUNSTATS AFTER THE 2024 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
// Most Individual NCAA Titles Since 2011 — PENN STATE 38, Cornell 14, Oklahoma State 10, Ohio State 10, Iowa 7
// Penn State National Finalists Since 2011 — 56
// Penn State in NCAA Finals Since 2011 — 38-18 (Since 2011, winning percentage in NCAA finals is .679)
// Penn State in NCAA Semifinals Since 2011 — 56-8 (Since 2011, winning percentage in NCAA semis is .875)
// Penn State Team Championships Since 2011 — 11 (of 13, no NCAA tournament in 2020)
// Penn State Percentage of Team Titles Won Since 2011 – .846 (no NCAA tournament in 2020)
// Penn State has 12 NCAA Championships (11 under Sanderson), third most in NCAA history
// Penn State is the only team in the nation to win at least one individual title at EACH WEIGHT in the last decade
// Penn State is one of only two teams in NCAA history to have five individual champions in one year TWICE.
// Penn State’s Cael Sanderson has won 11 NCAA titles as a coach, second most in NCAA history (tied).
