Penn State will have eight wrestlers competing for Big Ten titles on Sunday after going 8-1 in the semifinal round of the conference tournament on Saturday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions strengthened their lead in the team race with 146.5 points, trailed by Nebraska and Ohio State tied for second with 112 points each.
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) and No. 2 seed PJ Duke (157) will each wrestle for conference titles on Sunday.
No. 4 seed Cole Mirasola lost by a 5-2 decision in his heavyweight semifinal bout against No. 1 Taye Ghadiali of Michigan and moves to the consolation bracket, where he can finish as high as third. No. 6 seed Braeden Davis went 1-1 in the 141 pound consolation bracket and will wrestle for seventh on Sunday.
Penn State got bonus points with tech falls from Mesenbrink and Barr and a major decision from Lilledahl, as well as Davis’ pin in his first consolation bout.
Blaze and Welsh each won in sudden victory, while Van Ness staged a furious comeback to rally for a victory for the second straight bout.
Action resumes at noon on Sunday with consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches streaming on Big Ten Plus. The final session starts at 4:30 p.m. with the placing matches and championship finals airing on the Big Ten Network.
125 Pounds – No. 1 Luke Lilledahl
Top-seeded Luke Lilledahl used two takedowns and fended off a strong shot from No. 4 seed Jacob Moran of Indiana to take a 6-2 lead into the second period of their semifinal bout. Moran escaped to start the second, and late in the period Lilledahl battled hard at the edge of the mat to secure his third takedown and a 9-3 lead. Lilledahl escaped quickly to start the third, and though he couldn’t complete a late takedown attempt, the Nittany Lion added a riding time point for an 11-3 major decision.
Lilledahl will wrestle for the Big Ten title on Sunday against No. 6 Jore Volk of Minnesota, who upset No. 2 Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State in the other semifinal.
133 Pounds – No. 1 Marcus Blaze
No. 1 seed Marcus Blaze and No. 5 Drake Ayala of Iowa battled to a scoreless tie in the first period before the Hawkeye escape quickly to start the second for a 1-0 lead. Blaze escaped at the start of the third to tie the bout 1-1 and that’s where the score stood at the end of seven minutes. With just under a minute left in sudden victory, Blaze shot in low on Ayala’s left leg and got behind for the takedown to win a 3-1 decision.
The Nittany Lion true freshman will meet No. 3 seed Ben Davino of Ohio State in the championship final. Blaze previously defeated Davino 3-2 in tiebreakers during a dual meet in February.
141 Pounds – No. 6 Braeden Davis
After a loss to Minnesota’s Vance Vombaur in the quarterfinals, No. 6 seed Braeden Davis made easy work of No. 12 seed Danny Pucino of Illinois in the second round of the consolation bracket. Davis got a quick throw to put Pucino on his back then tightened up for the fall at 0:36.
In the consolation third round, No. 10 seed Joey Olivieri of Rutgers took down Davis in the first period for a 3-0 lead and escaped in the second to extend his advantage to 4-0. Davis escaped quickly in the third and added another point late but dropped a 4-2 decision.
Davis will wrestle No. 8 seed Billy DeKraker of Northwestern for seventh place on Sunday.
149 Pounds – No. 1 Shayne Van Ness
After a close call in the quarterfinals, No. 1 seed Shayne Van Ness fell behind early in the semifinal as No. 4 seed Lachlan McNeil of Michigan countered a shot for a takedown. Van Ness escaped, but McNeil scored another counter-takedown to take a 6-1 lead after one. The Nittany Lion junior escaped to start the second, and with a minute left in the period connected on a low double for a takedown. McNeil escaped and held off a constant attack from Van Ness to carry a 7-5 lead into the third.
Van Ness let McNeil escape to start the final period, then drove in on a double for a takedown to tie it 8-8. McNeil escaped, but Van Ness was relentless and took the lead with his third takedown. McNeil escaped with two seconds left, but Van Ness claimed the 11-10 decision to advance to the Big Ten finals for the first time.
Van Ness will meet No. 2 seed Ethan Stiles of Ohio State for the championship.
157 Pounds – No. 2 PJ Duke
No. 2 seed PJ Duke used a body lock to get control for a takedown of No. 3 Kannon Webster of Illinois midway through the first period of their semifinal bout. Webster escaped, and Duke took a 3-1 lead into the second. Duke escaped early in the middle period and led 4-1 going into the third. Webster escaped to start the final period but got nothing else as Duke won a 4-2 decision.
The Nittany Lion true freshman will wrestle No. 1 seed Antrell Taylor of Nebraska for the Big Ten title. Taylor won their last bout 2-1 in tiebreakers in a January dual meet.
165 Pounds – No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink
No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink took down No. 5 seed Andrew Sparks of Minnesota with 1:13 left in the first period of the 165 pound semifinals and stayed in control on top to take a 3-0 lead into the second. Mesenbrink escaped to start the second and midway through the period got his second takedown to move in front 7-0 heading into the third. Sparks escaped to start the final period, but Mesenbrink was right back in on a low double for a takedown and played catch-and-release from there. The Nittany Lion junior connected for three more takedowns to end the bout with a 19-4 tech fall at 6:28. Mesenbrink remained perfect on the season, with bonus points in all 21 of his victories.
Mesenbrink will meet a familiar foe for the title in No. 3 seed Michael Caliendo of Iowa. Mesenbrink has won all seven of their previous meetings.
174 Pounds – No. 1 Levi Haines.
Top-seeded Levi Haines nearly had a takedown at the end of the first period of his semifinal against No. 4 Carson Kharchla of Ohio State, but ran out of time and the bout remained scoreless after one. The Nittany Lion got on the board with an escape to start the second, then late in the period drove through for a takedown at the edge of the mat to lead 4-0 heading into the third. Kharchla chose the down position to start the third and Haines executed a powerful ride, staying in control until Kharchla escaped in the final second. With a riding time point added, Haines claimed a 5-1 decision to advance to the final.
Haines will be seeking his fourth conference title when he takes on No. 2 seed Christopher Minto of Nebraska. Haines won an 8-6 decision over Minto in a January dual meet.
184 Pounds – No. 1 Rocco Welsh
No. 1 Rocco Welsh fell behind early against No. 4 seed Brock Mantanona of Michigan, who took a 3-1 lead after an opening takedown and Welsh escape. Welsh had three strong shots but could not finish them off and trailed heading into the second. Welsh escaped to start the second then muscled his way to a takedown midway through the period to take the lead. Mantanona escaped, and Welsh led 5-4 heading into the third. Mantanona escaped to tie it early in the final period and the bout went to sudden victory tied 5-5. Twenty-four seconds into sudden victory, Welsh drove through on a double for a decisive takedown and an 8-5 decision to move on to the final.
Welsh will battle Max McEnelly of Minnesota in the title bout.
197 Pounds – No. 1 Josh Barr
No. 1 Josh Barr converted a double for a takedown late in the first period to open up a 3-0 lead in his semifinal against No. 5 seed Luke Geog of Ohio State. Barr escaped to start the second then scored his second takedown. After a Geog escape, Barr got another takedown late and rode out the period with an 11-1 lead. Geog escaped with just over a minute left, but Barr was quickly back in for another takedown. Following Geog escape, Barr got a final takedown and rode out the period. With a riding time point added, the Nittany Lion sophomore won an 18-3 tech fall to advance to the final. It was Barr’s second tech fall in as many bouts and maintained his 100% bonus rate on the season.
Barr will take on No. 2 seed Camden McDanel of Nebraska for the championship. Barr defeated McDanel by major decision in January.
285 Pounds – No. 4 Cole Mirasola
No. 4 seed Cole Mirasola met No. 1 seed Taye Ghadiali of Michigan in the heavyweight semifinals, and Ghadiali got on the board first with a takedown out of a scramble. Mirasola escaped and trailed 3-1 heading into the second. Ghadiali escaped early in the second and fought off a good Mirasola shot to maintain a 4-1 lead after two. Mirasola took nearly 90 seconds to escape in the third before he got off a great single leg shot as time wound down. Ghadiali was able to get out of it, though, and with riding time took a 5-2 decision.
Mirasola drops into the consolation bracket and will face No. 10 Ben Keuter of Iowa on Sunday. The winner will move to the third place bout, while the loser will wrestle for fifth.
