Penn State went 11-1 in the opening session and sent nine wrestlers to the semifinals of the Big Ten Championships on Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions led the team race with 81 points, followed by Ohio State with 69.5 and Nebraska with 59.5, with consolation first round action still underway on Saturday afternoon. Penn State was the only team to advance nine wrestlers into the semifinals.
No.1 seeds Luke Lilledahl (125), Marcus Blaze (133), Shayne Van Ness (149), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), Rocco Welsh (184) and Josh Barr (197), No. 2 seed PJ Duke (157) and No. 4 seed Cole Mirasola (285) each advanced to Saturday night’s semis and secured spots in the NCAA Championships. No. 6 seed Braden Davis (141) went 1-1 in the first session and will compete in the second round of wrestlebacks on Saturday night.
Penn State got bonus points with one pin, two tech falls and three major decisions in the first session.
Duke and Welsh both won marquee quarterfinal bouts, as Duke took a major decision over Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon and Welsh defeated Iowa’s Angelo Ferrari thanks to a slim riding time advantage in tiebreakers.
Van Ness, meanwhile, faced a close call against Iowa’s Ryder Block, who led in the third but got hit with four stall calls to give Van Ness a 5-4 decision.
Action resumes at 5 p.m. with consolation bouts streaming on Big Ten Plus. Semifinals start at 7 p.m. and will air on the Big Ten Network.
125 Pounds – Luke Lilledahl
No. 1 seed Luke Lilledahl came out on the right end of two challenges in his quarterfinal bout against No. 8 Dean Peterson of Iowa. The Nittany Lion was awarded a takedown in the second period after the no-call on the mat was challenged and had another upheld after an Iowa challenge in the third. With an escape and a riding time point, Lilledahl claimed an 8-3 decision to advance to the semifinals, where he will meet No. 4 seed Jacob Moran of Indiana.
133 Pounds – No. 1 Marcus Blaze
No. 1 seed Marcus Blaze scored a late first period takedown against No. 8 seed Dylan Shawver of Rutgers to take a 3-0 lead into the second. An escape, stall point and two more takedowns extended the Nittany Lion freshman’s lead to 11-1 heading into the final period. Shawver escaped to start the third, and Blaze was quickly back in for another takedown. Shawver escaped, and Blaze added another stall point and a riding time point for a 16-3 major decision.
Blaze will face No. 5 seed Drake Ayala of Iowa in the semifinals. Blaze previously beat Ayala with a 4-2 decision in a January dual meet.
141 Pounds – No. 6 Braeden Davis
One of two Nittany Lions not to get a first round bye, No. 6 Braeden Davis took care of business in the opening round against No. 11 seed Dario Lemus of Maryland. Davis used a high single for a takedown and a 3-0 lead after one. With Davis choosing the down position to start the second, Lemus turned him for four back points, but the Nittany Lion got a reversal to reclaim the lead 5-4. Lemus took bottom to start the third and Davis stayed in control with a rideout for a 6-4 decision.
Facing No. 3 seed Vance Vombaur of Minnesota in the quarterfinals, Davis fell behind early on a first period takedown. Trailing 3-1 to start the second, Davis escaped and scored a takedown of his own to move in front 5-3. It was all Vombaur from there, however, as the Gopher escaped, got a takedown and put Davis in a cradle for four back points and an 11-5 lead after two. Vombaur added an escape, a takedown and four more near fall points in the third, and with riding time won a 20-5 technical fall at 7:00.
Davis will meet No. 12 seed Danny Pucino of Illinois in the second round of wrestlebacks.
149 Pounds – No. 1 Shayne Van Ness
No. 1 seed Shayne Van Ness was in trouble late against No. 8 seed Ryder Block of Iowa. Block staked a 4-2 lead on the strength of the bout’s only takedown and an escape to start the third period. But the Hawkeye was hit with a second stall call that pulled Van Ness within one and another that gave the Nittany Lion two points and the lead with seconds remaining in the bout. Van Ness held on for the 5-4 decision to move on to the semifinals. He will face No. 4 seed Lachlan McNeil of Michigan on Saturday night.
157 Pounds – No. 2 PJ Duke
No. 2 seed PJ Duke got a tough draw for his quarterfinal bout, facing No. 7 seed Brandon Cannon of Ohio State, who has been ranked No. 1 in the nation but got the lower seed. After winning his opening round bout, Cannon got the first takedown, but Duke dominated from there.
The Nittany Lion got the next two takedowns in the first period and racked up 1:11 in riding time, taking a 7-4 lead into the second. Cannon escaped 30 seconds into the second, and Duke’s aggressive attack paid off late in the period with a takedown for a 10-5 lead. Duke put on a clinic in the third with three more takedowns and added a point with 2:55 in riding time for the 20-7 major decision.
Duke will take No. 3 seed Kannon Webster of Illinois in the semifinals.
165 Pounds – No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink
No. 1 seed Mitchell Mesenbrink scored two first-period takedowns against No. 8 seed Paddy Gallagher of Ohio State to open up a 6-1 lead in the quarterfinals and extended it to 7-1 with an escape in the second. Gallagher stayed away from Mesenbrink for most of the third, as the Nittany Lion added a stall point and a riding time point for a 9-1 major decision to maintain his 100% bonus rate on the season.
Mesenbrink will wrestle No. 5 seed Andrew Sparks of Minnesota in the semifinals.
174 Pounds – No. 1 Levi Haines
No. 1 seed Levi Haines dominated from the outset against No. 9 seed Colin Kelly of Illinois. Haines scored a takedown and stayed in control on top for the remaining 2:12 of the first period. An escape to start the second and a takedown at the edge extended the lead to 7-0 before Kelly escaped. But Haines was right back at it with a stall point and single leg for a another takedown for an 11-1 lead after two. Haines got another quick takedown in the third, cut Kelly loose and ended the bout with a final takedown for a 17-2 tech fall at 6:02.
Haines will take on No. 4 seed Carson Kharchla of Ohio State in the semifinals.
184 Pounds – No. 1 Rocco Welsh
No. 1 seed Rocco Welsh took on No. 8 seed Angelo Ferrari of Iowa in a marquee quarterfinal matchup, with Ferrari ranked No. 2 in the nation but getting the low seed after missing a month of action with an injury. It turned out to be a repeat of the pair’s dual meet thriller in January.
A Ferrari escape in the second period and a Welsh escape in the third sent the bout to sudden victory tied 1-1. Both wrestlers got in on deep shots that the other managed to fend off in the extra period and the bout went to tiebreakers. Welsh escaped in nine seconds in the first, then maintained control and built four seconds in riding time in the second before Ferrari escaped. Ferrari couldn’t connect on a late shot, and Welsh won a 3-2 decision on the riding time advantage.
Welsh will face No. 4 seed Brock Mantanona of Michigan in the semifinals.
197 Pounds – No. 1 Josh Barr
No. 1 seed Josh Barr went on the attack early in the quarterfinals against No. 8 seed Gabe Sollars of Indiana, scoring four takedowns in a catch-and-release first period for a 12-3 lead. Sollars escaped to start the second, and Barr went back to work, getting three more takedowns to end the bout with a 21-6 tech fall at 4:10. Like Mesenbrink, Barr kept up his 100% bonus rate on the season.
He will take on No. 5 seed Luke Geog of Ohio State in the semifinals. Barr previously defeated Geog by an 11-2 major decision in a February dual meet.
285 Pounds – No. 4 Cole Mirasola
No. 4 seed Cole Mirasola made quick work of No. 13 seed Gabe Christenson of Northwestern in the first round. Mirasola used a high double to put Christenson on his back for the fall at 0:26.
In the quarter finals, Mirasola got the opening takedown against No. 5 seed Braxton Amos of Wisconsin and after a second-period escape took a 4-1 lead into the final period. Amos quickly escaped to start the third but that would be it for the scoring and Mirasola claimed a 4-2 decision. He will meet No. 1 seed Taye Ghadialiin of Michigan in the semifinals.
