Penn State wrestling was a perfect 10-0 during the second session of the NCAA Championships Thursday night in Kansas City, as eight Nittany Lions advanced to the quarterfinals and two stayed alive in the consolation bracket.
Braeden Davis, Beau Bartlett, Levi Haines, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Carter Starocci, Bernie Truax, Aaron Brooks and Greg Kerkvliet won their second round bouts to move on to the quarterfinals. Bartlett and Brooks recorded pins, while Haines earned a tech fall and Mesenbrink and Kerkvliet won by major decision.
After losing in the opening round earlier on Thursday, Aaron Nagao won by tech fall and Tyler Kasak won by major decision in the first consolation round.
Looking for a third consecutive national title, Penn State widened its lead in the team standings with 34.5 points. Iowa (24.5), Iowa State (24.5), Michigan (22) and NC State (22) rounded out the top five.
Overall on day one, Penn State was 18-2, with two pins, seven tech falls, three major decisions and six decisions.
Action will resume at noon EDT on Friday in the T-Mobile Center with quarterfinal matchups and wrestleback bouts airing on ESPNU. Session four will then get underway with semifinal bouts at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
125 Pounds
No. 1 seed Braeden Davis took a 1-0 lead into the final two minutes against No. 17 Brett Ungar of Cornell on the strength of a second period escape. Ungar chose the down position to start the third and the Davis stayed in control with a strong ride for most of the period. Ungar escaped with less than 10 seconds remaining, but the Penn State true freshman had the riding time point locked up and secured a 2-1 decision.
Davis will face No. 8 seed Richie Figueroa of Arizona State in the quarterfinals.
141 Pounds
No. 2 seed Beau Bartlett took a 1-0 lead on a second period escape against No. 15 Mitch Moore of Rutgers in their second round bout. Moore responded with an escape to open the third and tie it at 1-1. With 1:30 remaining, Bartlett got in on a single and locked up a cradle to take Moore to his back for a fast fall at the 5:49 mark.
Barlett takes on No. 26 Vance Vombaur of Minnesota in the quarterfinals.
157 Pounds
No. 1 seed Levi Haines opened the scoring against No. 16 Teague Travis of Oklahoma State with a takedown at the 1:47 mark of the first period and stayed in control to take a 3-0 lead into the second. Haines escaped to start the middle period and went on the offensive, scoring three takedown for a 13-2 lead heading into the third. Haines let Travis escape to start the final period, then finished the bout off with a pair of takedowns and his second tech fall of the day, a 19-4 margin at the 6:41 mark.
Haines takes on No. 8 Peyton Robb of Nebraska in the quarterfinals.
165 Pounds
No. 2 seed Mitchell Mesenbrink took down No. 15 Brevin Cassella of Binghamton twice in the first period to go ahead 6-1, then opened the second period with a reversal to increase the advantage to 8-1. Another takedown put the Nittany Lion redshirt freshman ahead 11-3 going into the third. Cassella chose top position to start the third and rode out the period, erasing Mesenbrink’s riding time but picking up no points. Mesenbrink won an 11-3 major decision.
Mesenbrink will face No. 10 Cameron Amine of Michigan in the quarterfinals.
174 Pounds
No. 9 seed Carter Starocci fell behind early against No. 8 Adam Kemp of Cal Poly as Kemp scored a takedown less than 10 seconds into the bout. Just as he did in his first round bout, though, Starocci responded quickly, escaping then driving through on a double at the edge of the mat for a takedown and a 4-3 lead. The three-time national champion escaped for the only point of the second period and a 5-3 lead. Kemp chose neutral to start the third and despite some strong shots could not break through Starocci’s defense. The Nittany Lion took a 5-3 decision to advance.
Starocci, who was the top-ranked 174-pounder before injury defaulting out of the Big Ten tournament, will take on No. 1 seed Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech, a 2019 national champion, in a marquee quarterfinal matchup. Starocci previously beat Lewis in tiebreakers in the 2022 national final, and twice in NWCA exhibition bouts.
184 Pounds
No. 6 seed Bernie Truax and No. 11 Colton Hawks of Missouri battled to a scoreless tie at the end of one. Hawks got on the board with an escape to start the second, but Truax scored the bout’s first takedown on a low shot. After a Hawks escape, Truax took a 3-2 lead into the third. Truax escaped to start the final period and kept Hawks at bay the rest of the way for a 4-2 decision.
Truax will meet No. 3 seed Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals.
197 Pounds
No. 1 seed Aaron Brooks continued his dominant season against No. 17 Joseph Novak of Wyoming. The three-time NCAA champion got the opening takedown than locked a cradle for two nearfall points and a 5-0 lead midway through the first. After a little work on top, Brooks put Novak to the mat for the pin at the 2:20 mark.
Brooks will face No. 8 seed Stephen Buchanan of Oklahoma in the quarterfinals.
285 Pounds
No. 1 seed Greg Kerkvliet got off to a fast start against No. 17 Grady Griess of Navy. Kerkvliet scored a quick opening takedown and picked up a stall point while building 2:42 in riding time and a 4-0 lead after one. The Nittany Lion senior escaped to start the second and soon moved in for another takedown, again controlling the action on top and finishing out the period with an 8-0 lead and four minutes of riding time. Griess escaped to start the third, but could do no more. Kerkvliet added the riding time point for a 9-1 major decision.
Kerkvliet meets No. 9 Nick Feldman of Ohio State seed in the quarterfinals.
CONSOLATION BRACKET
133 Pounds
No. 10 seed Aaron Nagao bounced back in a big way against No. 26 Kade Moore of Missouri in the first consolation round. The Nittany Lion sophomore used two takedowns and a two-point turn to open up an 8-1 lead after one. After escaping to start the second, Nagao countered a Moore shot for another takedown then worked him to his back for four nearfall points and a 16-1 tech fall at the 5:00 mark
Nagao will meet No. 24 Julian Chlebove of Arizona State in the second round of wrestlebacks.
149 Pounds
No. 7 seed Tyler Kasak rebounded from a first round loss with a strong showing in wrestlebacks against No. 23 Drew Roberts of Minnesota. The Nittany Lion true freshman scored a takedown late in the first period, then turned Roberts for three nearfall points and again for four more to take a 10-0 lead into the second. Roberts took the down position to start the middle period and Kasak built his riding time to 2:34 before allowing the escape. Choosing the down position to start the third, Kasak worked his way to a reversal and a 12-1 lead. Roberts escaped and notched his first takedown of the bout, but with riding time Kasak won a 14-5 major decision.
Kasak will battle No. 9 Ethan Fernandez of Cornell in the second consolation round.
