UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (7-0, 1-0 B1G) opened up Big Ten dual meet action on Friday by shutting out Michigan State (2-2, 0-1 B1G) 55-0 in sold out Rec Hall. Penn State tallied six pins in the victory.
The shutout was the fourth of the year for Penn State and the 55-0 margin over victory tied the school record (55-0 over Buffalo on Feb. 18, 2018, in Rec Hall). Penn State held Michigan State to no takedowns in the dual meet as well.
The dual began at 285. Senior+ Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 2 at 285, opened up the dual meet by pinning Max Vanadia in less than a minute. Kerkvliet got the fall at 0:56 to give Penn State an early 6-0 lead. Penn State true freshman Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 12 at 125, then rolled to a 19-2 tech fall over Luke Corday. Sophomore Braeden Davis, ranked No. 5 at 133, picked up a second straight tech for Penn State, posting a 20-5 tech at the 5:25 mark.
Senior+ Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 3 at 141, used strong second and third periods to roll to a 12-3 major decision over Jaden Crumpler to give the Nittany Lions a 20-0 lead. Sophomore Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 2 at 149, closed out the first half with another first period fall. Van Ness pinned MSU’s Clayton Jones at the 2:25 mark and the Nittany Lions lead 26-0 at halftime.
Sophomore Tyler Kasak, ranked No. 3 at 157, opened up the second half with Penn State’s third fall of the dual. Kasak pinned Braden Stauffenberg at the 3:46 mark. Sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, put Penn State up 37-0 with a 20-5 technical fall at the 3:57 mark, notching Penn State’s third tech fall of the dual.
Junior Levi Haines, ranked No. 2 at 174, turned a big lead into Penn State’s fourth pin of the dual, getting the fall over Ceasar Garza at the 4:13 mark in the second period. Graduate Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 184, made it five falls, pinning MSU’s Ryan Boucher in the third period at 5:48. Redshirt freshman Josh Barr, ranked No. 4 at 197, wrapped up the dual meet with Penn State’s sixth pin, getting the fall over Cory Thomas at the 2:44 mark. Penn State rolled to the 55-0 shutout win, picking up bonus points in each bout.
The Nittany Lions posted a 36-0 takedown margin and tallied 25 bonus points off six pins (Kerkvliet, Van Ness, Kasak, Haines, Starocci, Barr), three tech falls (Lilledahl, Davis, Mesenbrink) and a major (Bartlett).
The Nittany Lions are now 7-0, 1-0 B1G. Michigan State falls to 2-2, 0-1 B1G. Penn State hits the road next weekend, visiting Nebraska on Friday, Jan. 17. The Nittany Lions and Cornhuskers will tangle at 9 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local) in a Big Ten Network national telecast from Lincoln, Neb.
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 55, Michigan State 0
January 10, 2025 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet PSU pinned Max Vanadia MSU, WBF (0:56) 6-0
125: #12 Luke Lilledahl PSU tech fall Luke Corday MSU, 19-2 (TF; 6:08) 11-0
133: #5 Braeden Davis PSU tech fall Andrew Hampton MSU, 20-5 (5:25) 16-0
141: #3 Beau Bartlett PSU maj. dec. Jaden Crumpler MSU, 12-3 20-0
149: #2 Shayne Van Ness PSU pinned Clayton Jones MSU, WBF (2:25) 26-0
157: #3 Tyler Kasak PSU pinned Braden Stauffenberg MSU, WBF (3:46) 32-0
165: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink PSU tech fall Jay Nivison MSU, 20-5 (TF; 3:57) 37-0
174: #2 Levi Haines PSU pinned Ceasar Garza MSU, WBF (4:13) 43-0
184: #1 Carter Starocci PSU pinned Ryan Boucher MSU, WBF (5:48) 49-0
197: #4 Josh Barr PSU pinned Cory Thomas MSU, WBF (2:44) 55-0
Attendance: 6,368 (Penn State has wrestled in front of 83 straight sellouts in its last 87 home events, including 74-straight in Rec Hall and 9 of 13 in the BJC).
Records: Penn State (7-0, 1-0 B1G); Michigan State (2-2, 0-1 B1G)
Up Next for Penn State: at Nebraska, Friday, Jan. 17, 9 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local)/B1G Network
DUAL MEET BOUT-BY-BOUT:
285: Senior+ Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 2 at 285, faced Max Vanadia. Kerkvliet came out fast, taking Vanadia down quickly and releasing him twice before locking up a cradle and finishing off the match with a fast fall. He got the pin at :56.
125: True freshman Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 12 at 125, met Nick Corday. Lilledahl worked the middle of the mat through the first minute-plus and took a 3-0 lead with a takedown at the midway point. He cut Corday loose and immediate picked up a second takedown. He finished the period on top and led 6-1 after one with 1:30 in riding time. Lilledahl chose down to start the second period. He picked up two points on three stalls, then escaped, and led 9-1 at the 1:08 mark. He notched a third takedown to open up a 12-1 lead with 1:05 left. Corday escaped to a 12-2 score and Lilledahl finished off the period with another takedown to lead 15-2 after two. Corday chose down to start the third period. Lilledahl pushed his riding time up to 2:00 while looking to turn the Spartan for back points. Lilledahl turned Corday at the 1:05 mark and ended the match with a four point turn to post the 19-2 tech fall at 6:08.
133: Sophomore Braeden Davis, ranked No. 5 at 133, took on Andrew Hampton. Davis took Hampton down quickly, opening up a 3-0 score in the opening seconds. He turned the Spartan for four quick back points and led 7-0 at the 2:25 mark. Hampton got on the board with an escape and Davis quickly took him down once more to open up a 10-2 lead after a quick MSU escape. Davis turned a scramble late in the period into another takedown to lead 13-2 at :35. Hampton notched a late escape and Davis led 13-3 after one. Hampton chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 13-4 score. Davis used a high single to take Hampton to the mat once more and lead 16-4 with 1:25 on the clock. Davis cut Hampton loose, took him down once more and led 19-5 with clinched riding time after two periods. Davis chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 20-5 score, icing the tech fall at the 5:25 mark.
141: Senior+ Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 3 at 141, faced off against Jaden Crumpler. Bartlett set a fast tempo to start the bout, but Crumpler’s defense kept Bartlett from scoring early. Bartlett forced a stall warning at 1:25 and Bartlett moved in on a quick high double on the reset. He forced a scramble on the Nittany Lion logo that ended in a stalemate with :40 on the clock. Bartlett was unable to break through Crumpler’s defense and the match moved to the second period tied 0-0. Bartlett chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. He picked up a second point on a stall to lead 2-0 and continued to press Crumpler backwards as the Spartan played defense through the 1:00 mark. Bartlett took a 5-0 lead with a quick low double late in the second period. Trailing 5-0, Crumpler chose down to start the third period. Bartlett tacked on two takedowns early in the third period and lead 12-3 at the :25 mark. He finished the bout in neutral and notched the 12-3 major decision.
149: Sophomore Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 2 at 149, met Clayton Jones. Van Ness took Jones down quickly, opening up an early 3-0 lead. Van Ness worked on top for a minute, looking to turn Jones for back points. Van Ness built up over 2:00 in riding time before cutting Jones loose to a 3-1 score. He quickly took Jones down seconds after that and led 6-1 at :45. He quickly turned Jones to his back and notched the first period fall, getting the pin at the 2:25 mark.
157: Sophomore Tyler Kasak, ranked No. 3 at 157, battled Braden Stauffenberg. Kasak scored early, opening up a 3-0 lead less than :20 into the bout. He cut Stauffenberg loose and quickly took him down again to lead 6-1 at 2:35. Kasak picked up a third takedown at the midway point of the first period and led 9-2. He worked his riding time up over 1:00 with a strong ride and cut Stauffenberg loose to a 9-3 score at :45. Kasak added a fourth takedown late in the period, finished on top, and led 12-3 with 1:54 in riding time after one. Kasak chose down to start the second period and quickly reversed the Spartan to lead 14-4 lead after a quick cut. Kasak took a 17-4 lead with a quick takedown and then wrenched the Spartan to his back for Penn State’s third pin, getting the call at 3:46.
165: Sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, faced off against Jay Nivison. Mesenbrink notched the bout’s first takedown at the 2:25 mark to lead 3-0. He worked his riding time up near 1:00, cut Nivison loose and then quickly took him down to lead 6-1. Mesenbrink cut Nivison loose again and picked up a point on stalling. He turned into a third takedown to lead 10-3 after cutting the Spartan loose one more time. Mesenbrink used a fast low shot for a fourth takedown and lead 13-3 with 1:38 in time after one. Mesenbrink picked up another stall point early in the second, took Nivison down again and cut him loose to a 17-5 score. The Nittany Lion sophomore finished off the 20-5 tech fall with a final takedown at the 3:57 mark.
174: Junior Levi Haines, ranked No. 2 at 174, met Ceasar Garza. Haines took a 3-0 lead with a takedown at the 2:02 mark. He then went to work on top, looking to turn Garza for back points. Haines forced a stall warning at 1:12 and then nearly picked up back points at :45, but Garza rolled through the move to escape. Haines quickly took Garza down a second time at :20 and finished the period on top to lead 6-1 after one. Haines chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 7-1 lead. Garza got in on a low shot, forcing a scramble with 1:45 on the clock. Haines countered a slight Garza shot at 1:25 and turned it into a takedown and a 10-1 lead with 1:10 in the period. He used a bow and arrow to turn the Spartan to his back and picked up the pin at the 4:13 mark.
184: Graduate Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 184, took on Ryan Boucher. Starocci fought off an early Boucher shot and then picked up the dual’s first takedown with 2:16 on the clock. He turned the Spartan for four back points on the edge of the mat to open up a 7-0 lead and then reset on top in the middle of the mat after action moved out of bounds. Starocci finished the period on top and led 7-0 after one. Starocci chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to an 8-0 lead. The Nittany Lion graduate student took Boucher down a third time to lead 11-1 after a quick cut and went back to work on his feet. He used a high double to open up a 14-1 lead but gave up a penalty point on an illegal hold to lead 14-2 after two periods. Boucher chose down to start the third period. Starocci quickly ran the Spartan to his back and picked up the fall at the 5:48 mark.
197: Redshirt freshman Josh Barr, ranked No. 4 at 197, battled Cory Thomas. Barr scored quickly, using a lightning quick shot in front of the scorers table to open up a 3-0 lead less than a minute into the bout. He built up over 1:00 in riding time, looking for a turn. Thomas was able to fight off his efforts and Barr cut him loose to a 3-1 score at :50, forcing a first stall in the process. Barr notched a second takedown at :35 to open up a 6-1 lead and then turned Thomas for the fall at the 2:44 mark.