Penn State Wrestling Takes Down American 50-3 in Season Dual Finale
UNIVERSITY PARK– The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (15-0, 8-0 B1G) dominated visiting American University (10-10) 50-3 in the dual meet season finale for the team. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad wrapped up another unbeaten season with the lopsided victory, picking up five pins and four tech falls in the win.
The Penn State Nittany Lions end the dual season with a 15-0 overall record and clinched the 2025 Big Ten Regular Season Championship last weekend at Illinois, wrapping up an 8-0 conference campaign. Penn State will now prepare for the 2025 Big Ten Championships in two weeks at Northwestern.
The dual began at 125. True freshman Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 9 at 125, opened up the dual meet with a convincing 20-3 tech fall over Coen Bainey at 5:11, giving Penn State an early 5-0 lead. With No. 7 Braeden Davis not competing, freshman Kyison Garcia took the mat at 133 and lost a hard-fought 9-7 decision to American’s Raymond Lopez, cutting the Lion lead to 5-3.
Senior+ Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 1 at 141, dominated Elijah White in his final appearance in Rec Hall. Bartlett tallied seven takedowns in a 21-5 tech fall at the 3:19 mark. Sophomore Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 2 at 149, picked up Penn State’s third tech fall of the half, rolling to a 16-1 tech over Gage Owen at the 5:51 mark. Sophomore Tyler Kasak, ranked No. 1 at 157, returned to action and closed out the half by pinning American’s Devon Capato in the first period, picking up the fall at 2:19. The Nittany Lions led 21-3 at halftime.
Sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, opened up the second half with yet another Nittany Lion tech fall. Mesenbrink rolled to a 19-2 tech at the 5:20 mark to give Penn State a 26-3 lead. Junior Levi Haines, ranked No. 2 at 174, grabbed Penn State’s second pin of the dual meet. Haines turned an early second period takedown into a fall over Breon Phifer at 3:41.
Graduate Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 184, capped off his nights in Rec Hall by pinning Lucas White at the 2:22 mark to put the Lions up 38-3. Redshirt freshman Josh Barr, ranked No. 2 at 197, made it three straight falls in the next bout. Barr picked up the fast fall over Liam Volk-Kloss at the 1:09 mark in the first period Senior+ Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 2 at 285, capped off the night with Penn State’s fifth fall. Kerkvliet pinned AU’s Emmanuel Ulrich in the first period, getting the call at 2:47.
Three all-time Penn State greats (Bartlett, Starocci, Kerkvliet) each competed in their final events in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions amassed a 33-2 edge in takedowns. Penn State, winning nine of ten bouts, garnered 23 bonus points off five pins (Kasak, Haines, Starocci, Barr, Kerkvliet) and four tech falls (Lilledahl, Bartlett, Van Ness, Mesenbrink).
Penn State closes out the 2024-25 dual slate with a 15-0 mark, 8-0 in Big Ten action (Regular Season Champions). American falls to 10-10 with the loss. The Nittany Lions will now head to Northwestern University for the 2025 Big Ten Championships. The two-day event serves as the NCAA qualifier for the Big Ten’s 14 wrestling teams. Action is set for Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9, in Evanston. Saturday’s sessions begin at 11 a.m. Eastern (10 a.m. local) and 6 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. local). Sunday’s sessions start at 1 p.m. Eastern (12 p.m. local) and 5:30 p.m. Eastern (4:30 p.m. local).
Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via X/twitter 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 50, American 3
February 21, 2025 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
125: #9 Luke Lilledahl PSU tech fall Coen Bainey, 20-3 (TF; 5:11) 5-0
133:Raymond Lopez AU dec. Kyison Garcia PSU, 9-7 5-3
141: #1 Beau Bartlett PSU tech fall Elijah White AU, 21-5 (TF; 3:19) 10-3
149: #2 Shayne Van Ness PSU tech fall Gage Owen AU, 16-1 (TF; 5:51) 15-3
157: #1 Tyler Kasak PSU pinned Devon Capato AU, WBF (2:19) 21-3
165: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink PSU tech fall Kaden Milheim AU, 19-2 (TF; 5:20) 26-3
174: #2 Levi Haines PSU pinned Breon Phifer AU, WBF (3:41) 32-3
184: #1 Carter Starocci PSU pinned Lucas White AU, WBF (2:22) 38-3
197: #2 Josh Barr PSU pinned Liam Volk-Klos AU, WBF (1:09) 44-3
285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet PSU pinned Emmanuel Ulrich AU, WBF (2:47) 50-3
Attendance: 6,311 (Penn State has wrestled in front of 86 sellouts in its last 91 home events, including 76-straight in Rec Hall and 10 of 15 in the BJC)
Records: Penn State (15-0, 8-0 B1G); American (10-10)
Up Next for Penn State: 2025 Big Ten Championships, Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9, Evanston, Ill.
DUAL MEET BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: True freshman Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 9 at 125, faced off against Coen Bainey. Lilledahl worked a low shot into a takedown at the 2:40 mark to open up a quick 3-0 lead. Lilledahl controlled action on top for :40 before cutting Bainey loose. He quickly took the eagle down a second time to lead 6-1 at 1:20 and worked his riding time up over 1:00. He forced Bainey into a stall warning and Bainey escaped to a 6-2 score. Lilledahl used a fast low double to pick up a third takedown late and led 9-2 after one. Lilledahl chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 10-2 lead. He scrambled his way to a fourth takedown at 1:40 to take a 13-2 lead and cut Bainey loose on a reset at 1:12. He picked up a stall point and then took Bainey down once more to lead 17-3 at :40. Lilledahl worked his time edge up near 3:00 with a rideout and carried that lead into the third period. Bainey chose neutral to start the third period and Lilledahl ended the match with another takedown to post the 20-3 tech fall at 5:11.
133: With No. 7 Braeden Davis not competing, freshman Kyison Garcia took on American’s Raymond Lopez at 133. The duo battled in the center of the mat for the first minute. Garcia nearly connected on a fast low shot, but Lopez was able to skip out of trouble and the match continued in neutral through 1:30. Garcia continued to fire off shots for the rest of the period, but Lopez was able to defend his way to a 0-0 tie after one. Lopez chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Garcia turned a low single into a scoring chance at the 1:20 mark and finished off the takedown to lead 3-1 at the 1:09 mark. Lopez escaped to a 3-2 score with :48 on the clock. Lopez forced a scramble at the :20 mark with a low shot and took a 5-3 lead with a late takedown. Trailing by two, Garcia chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 5-4 score. Garcia gave up a stall warning at 1:47. He snapped through a low single and finished off a takedown on the Lion logo to retake the lead, 7-6, after a quick Lopez escape. Lopez forced a scramble on the edge of the mat, but action moved out of bounds with :50 on the clock. Garcia took a low double, and Lopez countered the effort for a takedown with :10 to steal a 9-7 win.
141: Senior+ Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 1 at 141, met Elijah White. Bartlett scored quickly, taking White down in just seconds and then notching a second takedown before :20 had passed in the dual. Leading 6-1, Bartlett cut White loose to a 6-2 score and went back to work on his feet. Bartlett countered a slight White shot for a third takedown and a 9-2 lead as the clock hit 2:00. The Nittany Lion senior, wrestling in his final Rec Hall dual, picked up a fourth takedown at 1:38 and then fought off a White to force a stalemate at 1:10, leading 12-4. Bartlett muscled through a high double for a 15-4 lead and worked his riding time up over 1:00 before cutting the Eagle loose again. He finished off a furious first period with a sixth takedown to lead 18-5 with 1:29 after one. Bartlett chose neutral to start the second period and then ended the match with a final takedown, posting the 21-5 tech fall at the 3:19 mark.
149: Sophomore Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 2 at 149, took on Gage Owen. Van Ness fought off an early Owen shot, countered the action and moved in for his own takedown to open up a quick 3-0 lead. He then took a 6-1 lead after an Owen escape and built up over 1:30 in riding time before turning the Eagle for four back points as the period ended. Trailing 10-1, Owen chose top to start the second period. Van Ness forced Owen into a stall warning while working off the bottom and then rolled through for a reversal and a 12-1 lead with :45 left in the period. He picked up a stall point during the rideout and led 13-1 after two. Van Ness chose neutral to start the third period. Action moved to the mat and Van Ness ended the match with a takedown to post the 16-1 technical fall at 5:51.
157: Sophomore Tyler Kasak, ranked No. 1 at 157, faced Devon Capato. Kasak turned an early low shot into a takedown and a 3-0 lead just seconds into the bout. He worked to turn Capato to his back, but the Eagle was able to work action out of bounds with 1:41 on the clock. Kasak worked his riding time up to 1:31 before cutting Capato loose. He quickly took the Eagle down and then rolled him to his back for the pin at the 2:19 mark.
165: Sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. at 165, battled Kaden Milheim. Mesenbrink scored in the opening ten seconds to take a quick lead. He then turned the Eagle for two back points and led 5-1 after a Milheim escape. Mesenbrink took the Eagle down a second time to open up an 8-2 lead after a Milheim escape. Mesenbrink fought off an Eagle shot, reset on his feet and took an 11-2 lead with a third takedown in the final seconds of the period. Leading 11-2, Mesenbrink chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 12-2 lead. He used a low double for a fourth takedown and a 15-2 lead and then went to work on top. He picked up a stall point to lead 16-2, worked his riding time up over 3:00 and finished the period on top to carry that lead and clinched riding time into the third stanza. Milheim chose neutral to start the third period. Mesenbrink then ended the match with a final takedown, notching a 19-2 tech fall at 5:20.
174: Junior Levi Haines, ranked No. 2 at 174, battled Breon Phifer. Haines took Phifer down in the opening seconds and then went to work on top, building up over 1:00 in riding time while trying to garner back points. Haines cut Phifer loose at the :55 mark and went back to work on his feet. Phifer worked a low single into a scramble, but Phifer was able to force a stalemate at :29. Haines turned a high single into a late takedown and led 6-1 after one. Haines chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 7-1 lead. He picked up his third takedown seconds later and then turned Phifer to his back. Haines muscled the Eagle flat and picked up the pin at 3:41.
184: Graduate Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 184, met Lucas White. Starocci countered a White shot and took a 3-1 lead with a takedown. He quickly moved in for a second one and led 6-1 at 2:00. Starocci cut White loose to a 6-2 score and then a 9-2 lead with a third takedown. Starocci muscled White to his back and capped off his Rec Hall appearances with a fall at the 2:22 mark.
197: Redshirt freshman Josh Barr, ranked No. 2 at 197, took on Liam Volk-Klos. Barr scored quickly, taking Volk-Klos down for an early takedown and a 3-0 lead. Barr turned the Eagle for four back points and led 7-1 after an escape. Barr quickly moved in for another takedown and then turned Volk-Klos to his back for a fast fall, getting the first period pin at the 1:09 mark.
285: Senior+ Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 2 at 285, faced off against Emmanuel Ulrich. Kerkvliet took Ulrich down quickly to open up a 3-0 lead. He put together a strong ride, building up 2:00 in riding time while trying to turn the Eagle for back points. Kerkvliet cut Ulrich loose at :40 and went back ton work on his feet. He locked Ulrich up at the shoulders and finished off the first period in at the 2:47 mark.
