Top-ranked Penn State wrestling (3-0) continued to roll through the nonconference schedule with a 36-6 victory over Lehigh (3-4) Sunday afternoon in Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions won eight of 10 bouts on the day, highlighted by pin from Levi Haines and technical falls from Luke Lilledahl and Marcus Blaze.
Freshman PJ Duke won by injury default after leading 14-3 in the third period.
It marked Penn State’s 74th consecutive dual meet win, now two shy of Oklahoma State’s record 76 set between 1937 and 1951.
125 Pounds
No. 2 Luke Lilledahl came out aggressive and got an opening takedown 35 seconds into his bout with Lehigh’s Logan Wadle. Taking a 13-2 lead after one, Lilledahl finished it off with an escape and takedown in the second for a 17-2 tech fall at 3:21.
133 Pounds
Freshman Marcus Blaze, ranked No. 11, struck first against Lehigh’s Mason Ziegler, scoring a takedown a minute into the bout and using a low single for another late in the first period for a 6-1 lead. Blaze worked Ziegler for another takedown midway through the second, and got in on third out of a late scramble to take a 13-2 lead into the final period. The Nittany Lion cut Ziegler loose to start the third and moved in for the fourth takedown of the bout, then quickly put it away with one more for a 19-4 tech fall at 5:37.
141 Pounds
Filling in for Aaron Nagao, Cael Nasdeo took battled hard against Lehigh’s Carter Bailey. The Mountaineer, however, got the bout’s opening takedown and built up over a minute in riding time in the first. After a scoreless second, Bailey escaped to a 4-0 lead in the third. Nasdeo forced a stall warning for a point, but Bailey held on for a 5-1 decision.
149 Pounds
No. 1 Shayne Van Ness jumped out to a 6-2 first period lead as he went on the offensive early against Lehigh’s Owen Reinsel. A reversal extended the Nittany Lion’s lead in the second, but Reinsel tightened the deficit to 8-5 with a takedown out of a neutral start in the third. Van Ness exploded from there, quickly reversing the Mountaineer, picking up a stall point and turning him for four back points to close out a 19-6 major decision.
157 Pounds
After a scoreless first period, and an escape to start the second by Lehigh’s No. 10-ranked Logan Rozynski, No. 15-ranked freshman PJ Duke’s offensive attack paid off. He used a low shot for the bout’s first takedown then forced Rozynski to give up two stall points before another takedown late in the second for an 8-2 lead. Duke scored a third takedown out of a neutral start to begin the final period, cut Rozynski loose and moved in for another to take a 14-3 lead. Rozynski took an injury timeout and was unable to continue, giving Duke the victory by injury default at 5:41.
165 Pounds
No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink used a low single for a takedown one minute into his top-10 bout against Lehigh’s seventh-ranked Max Brignola. Another takedown late in the first and a Brignola escape gave Mesenbrink a 6-2 advantage heading into the middle period. Following a quick escape to start the second, Mesenbrink worked quickly for his third takedown of the day, and added another for a 13-3 lead heading into the final two minutes. Brignola escaped and after giving up a stall point moved in for his first takedown of the day to cut into Mesenbrink’s lead, but the two were even the rest of the way and Mesenbrink claimed a 15-7 major decision.
174 Pounds
No. 1 Levi Haines made fast work of Lehigh’s Bekhruz Sadriddinov. After taking a 6-1 lead on his second takedown of the first period, Haines worked Sadriddinov’s shoulders to the mat for a pin at 2:15.
184 Pounds
No. 4 Rocco Welsh got off to a slow start against Lehigh’s No. 23-ranked Rylan Rogers, and after the two wrestlers traded escapes, the bout was tied 1-1 late in the third. Welsh, though, used a high single for the bout’s first takedown with 30 seconds remaining. Rogers escaped, but the Nittany Lion sophomore claimed a 4-2 decision.
197 Pounds
Redshirt freshman Connor Mirasola and Lehigh’s Remy Brancato battled to a scoreless first period. Escaping to start the second, Mirasola turned a high single into his first takedown of at the 1:15 mark. Brancato escaped and Mirasola took a 4-1 lead into the the third. After building his riding time over a minute, Mirasola cut Brancato loose in the third then worked his way to another takedown late for an 8-3 decision.
285 Pounds
After a scoreless first, No. 10 Cole Mirasola escaped to the start the second period against Lehigh’s No. 7-ranked Nathan Taylor. Mirasola looked for a takedown on a low single, but Taylor countered out of a scramble to take a 3-1 lead heading into the final period. The Mountaineer escaped to start the third and again countered another Mirasola shot for a takedown. Mirasola escaped, but Taylor secured a 7-2 decision for Lehigh’s second win of the day to finish the meet.
