UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sophomore Levi Haines swung in and snatched the right leg of Peyton Robb before propelling the two-time All-American onto his shoulder and planting him down for a three-point takedown. The move sent a palpable wave of energy through the nearly 6,600 fans who exploded with excitement after Haines battled his way to a signature 10-3 win.
Haines extended his record to a perfect 14-0 following the win over the seventh ranked Robb as the rematch from the 2023 Big Ten Championships took center stage at Rec Hall. Haines displayed his ability to score valuable points at key points in the match with seven points in the final period from a pair of takedowns and an escape.
"I just kinda hit my groove and doing what I do," Haines said. "Just pulling that guy's head down and listening to coach, he told me just go out there, keep getting angles and when I do that, guys get tired so it allows you to kind of open them up."
Haines' ability to exploit those weaknesses in the waning moments of a match has created situations where he's capitalized when the opportunity presents itself. The Arendtsville, Pennsylvania, product has made a living off dominating the final period of action with 11 of his 22 takedowns on the season coming in the last two minutes of a bout.
This has allowed the sophomore to stay poised regardless of the situation or the opponent as Haines has faced eight ranked opponents and handled them all in a multitude of fashions. Facing Robb marked Haines' sixth ranked grappler in the last seven duals with the win over the talented Cornhusker providing Haines with his third top-10 win of the 2023-2024 campaign.
Elevating and matching his talents to the occasion has spoken to Haines' strategy on the mat which he proclaimed as "just staying true to my character." Haines has maintained his No. 1 ranking at 157 pounds while facing some of the best competition in the country which has impressed head coach Cael Sanderson for his ability to consistently look to improve.
"Levi is just a hard nosed kid," Sanderson said. "He's trying to get better every match, he's competing hard every match, his technique is getting better every match so he's just been Levi which is what we want and he's looking good. He's looking better every match so it's fun to see."
Haines provided Penn State with a lift before the break and was the catalyst for a second half comeback with his infusion of energy into the 71st consecutive sold out crowd. The Nittany Lions 10-6 deficit was quickly erased after winning five of the six matches with Haines as the ignitor for the run.
Senior Carter Starocci said he usually doesn't go into the locker room during the intermission period but felt compelled with his teammates there. A positive and consistent message from everyone rang off the walls as a poised mentality from the next cohort of grapplers continued what Haines started.
Haines' win over Robb set the tone for redshirt freshman Mitchell Mesenbrink who further provided a lift of energy for Starocci's tech fall win and the ball continued to roll after that. The chain of events sparked a 16-3 rally for Penn State who captured its 10th Big Ten Regular Season Championship under Sanderson.
"I just have faith in our guys that they're gonna go out there and do their thing," Starocci said. "I love wrestling after Mitchell [Mesenbrink], he gets me fired up and he's coming off the mat, I like his energy so it's always fun going after him."