THIS WEEK’S ACTION:
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; December 18, 2024 – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (3-0, 0-0 B1G) will head to Nashville, Tenn., for the Journeymen Collegiate Duals on Sunday, Dec. 22. Penn State will battle Binghamton (1-1) at 3 p.m., Little Rock (5-0) at 5 p.m. and Missouri (1-3) at 7 p.m. All rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI).
The Nittany Lions are coming off a resounding 54-0 shutout win over visiting Wyoming on Sunday, Dec., 15, in a dual moved to the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State had five pins, four techs and a major and posted its second most lopsided victory ever (55-0 vs. Buffalo in 2018).
Penn State’s line-up features ten ranked wrestlers. True freshman Luke Lilledahl is ranked No. 12 at 125, sophomore Braeden Davis is No. 10 at 133, senior+ Beau Bartlett is No. 3 at 141, sophomore Shayne Van Ness is No. 2 at 149, sophomore Tyler Kasak is No. 4 at 157, sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink is No. 1 at 165, junior Levi Haines is No. 2 at 174, graduate Carter Starocci is No. 1 at 184, redshirt freshman Josh Barr is No. 7 at 197 and senior+ Greg Kerkvliet is No. 2 at 285.
Binghamton enters the weekend 1-1, coming off a win over LIU this past Sunday. The Bearcats have four ranked wrestlers: Carson Wagner is No. 33 at 125, Brevin Cassella is No. 12 at 174, Will Ebert is No. 23 at 184 and Cory Day is No. 17 at 285. Penn State leads the all-time series with BU 3-0, including a 40-2 win at Binghamton on Nov. 17, 2017, in the last meeting.
Little Rock enters the weekend with a 5-0 overall record, coming off a Monday night win against Chattanooga. The Trojans have seven ranked wrestlers: Nasir Bailey is No. 5 at 133, Jordan Williams is No. 16 at 149, Matty Bianchi is No. 20 at 157, Joey Bianchi is No. 21 at 165, Tyler Brennan is No. 33 at 174, Brock DelSignore is No. 16 at 184 and Stephen Little is No. 5 at 197. This will be the first meeting ever between Penn State and Little Rock.
Missouri enters the weekend 1-3. The Tigers own a dual meet victory over Northern Colorado. Missouri has seven ranked wrestlers: Josh Edmond is No. 16 at 141, Logan Gioffre is No. 23 at 149, Cam Steed is No. 19 at 165, Keegan O’Toole is No. 1 at 174, Colton Hawks is No. 10 at 184, Rocky Elam is No. 4 at 197 and Seth Nitzel is No. 19 at 285. Penn State leads the all-tie series with Missouri 3-2-1, including a 20-19 win at the National Duals on Jan. 11, 2009, in the last meeting between the teams.
Penn State opens up Big Ten dual action in its next outing. The Nittany Lions host Michigan State on Friday, Jan. 10, at 8 p.m. in Rec Hall.
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.
THIS WEEK
The Nittany Lions (3-0, 0-0 B1G) head to Nashville, Tenn., for the 2024 Journeymen Collegiate Duals on Sunday, Dec. 22. The Nittany Lions battle Binghamton (1-1) at 3 p.m., No. 15 Little Rock (5-0) at 5 p.m. and No. 8 Missouri (1-3) at 7 p.m.
UP NEXT
Penn State opens up Big Ten action at home, hosting Michigan State in Rec Hall on Friday, Jan. 10, at 8 p.m.
ON THE AIR
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NOTES:
PENN STATE SHUTS OUT WYOMING 54-0 IN JORDAN CENTER
The Penn State Nittany Lions rolled to a 54-0 shut out win over visiting Wyoming on Sunday, Dec. 15. The dual, moved to the Bryce Jordan Center earlier in the week due to scheduling conflicts with the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament in Rec Hall, was wrestled in front of over 7,300 fans, turning a Rec Hall sellout into an even bigger crowd for the Cowboy dual. Penn State had five pins, four technical falls and a major in posting its second most lopsided win ever (55-0 over Buffalo on Feb. 18, 2018).
JOSH BARR MAJORS #6 BEARD TO LEAD PENN STATE
IN 36-3 WIN OVER LEHIGH IN ALLENTOWN’S PPL CENTER; named B1G freshman of the week
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. Barr was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week (12/12) for his efforts.
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).