Penn State wrestling won all 10 of its bouts and earned bonus points in eight during the first round of the NCAA Championships on Thursday afternoon in Cleveland.
The Nittany Lions finished the opening session with 22.5 points to lead the team race as they seek their fifth consecutive national title. Iowa trailed in second with 15 points, followed by Ohio State and Oklahoma State each with 14.5 and Iowa State with 14 to round out the top five.
No. 1 seeds PJ Duke (157 pounds) and Levi Haines (174) had pins in their first bouts of the tournament, while No. 3 seed Marcus Blaze (133) and No. 1s Shayne Van Ness (149) Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Rocco Welsh (184) and Josh Barr (197) each won by technical fall. No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (125) added to the bonus party with a major decision, while Braeden Davis (141) and Cole Mirasola (285) both won by decision.
Action continues at 7 p.m. EDT in Rocket Arena with the second round airing on ESPN.
125 Pounds
No. 1 seed Luke Lilledahl battled No. 32 seed Mack Mauger to a scoreless first period before escaping to start the second and getting the bout’s first takedown for a 4-0 lead. Lilledahl added two takedowns and a riding time point in the third to claim an 11-2 major decision
Up next: Lilledahl will meet No. 17 seed Jett Strickenberger in the round of 16 on Thursday night.
133 Pounds
No. 3 seed Marcus Blaze took a 3-0 period first-period lead against No. 30 seed Gabe Whisenhunt, then poured it on in the second with two takedowns and four near fall points to open up a 14-1 advantage. After a Whisenhunt escape to start the final period, the Nittany Lion true freshman ended it with a takedown for a 17-2 technical fall at 5:31.
Up next: Blaze faces No.19 seed Gage Walker on Thursday night.
141 Pounds
No. 14 seed Braden Davis didn’t need much offense to advance against No. 19 seed Haiden Drury of Utah Valley. A second-period rideout to ultimately secure a riding time point and third-period escape gave the Nittany Lion junior a 2-0 decision.
Up next: Davis will take on No. 3 seed Brock Hardy of Nebraska in the second round. Hardy pinned Davis in their previous meeting in January.
149 Pounds
No. 1 seed Shayne Van Ness scored the opening takedown in the first period against No. 33 seed Austin McBurney of Brown, then blew it open in the second to take a 16-3 lead. A final takedown in the third gave Van Ness a 19-4 technical fall at 5:35.
Up next: Van Ness meets No. 16 seed Jacob Frost of Iowa State on Thursday night.
157 Pounds
No. 1 seed PJ Duke didn’t need long to win his first NCAA Tournament bout. The true freshman jumped out to a 9-2 lead against No. 33 seed Yannis Charles of Morgan State before putting Charles on his back for the pin a 1:56.
Up next: Duke takes on No. 17 seed Luke Mechler of Wisconsin in the second round.
165 Pounds
Defending national champion and top-seeded Mitchell Mesenbrink dominated No. 32 seed Cody Walsh of Drexel from the start with five first-period takedowns and 2:29 of riding time. Two more takedowns in the second sealed a 21-5 tech fall at 3:45, maintaining Mesenbrink’s 100% bonus rate on the season
Up next: Messenbrink will meet No. 16 seed Paddy Gallagher of Ohio State in the round of 16. Mesenbrink is 3-0 all-time against Gallagher, most recently winning a major decision in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Championships.
174 Pounds
No. 1 seed Levi Haines started his final NCAA tournament with a bang, taking down No. 33 seed Grant O’Dell of Bellarmine then turning him for the fall at 1:33.
Up next: Haines squares off against No. 16 seed Nick Fine of Columbia on Thursday night.
184 Pounds
No. 1 seed Rocco Welsh kept the bonus train rolling against No. 33 seed Caleb Uhlenhopp of Utah Valley. Welsh seized a 12-3 lead after two periods, then escaped and scored two more takedowns in the third for a 19-4 tech fall at 6:32.
Up next: Welsh gets No. 16 seed Rylan Rogers of Lehigh in the second round. Welsh won their only previous meeting by major decision in December.
197 Pounds
No. 1 seed Josh Barr continued his dominant season against No. 32 seed Blake Schaffer of Kent State. Barr scored three first-period takedowns and two near fall points to open up an 11-2 lead. Two more takedowns in the second and another early in the third wrapped up a 19-4 tech fall at 5:43 as Barr remained perfect on bonus points for the year.
Up next: Barr wrestles No. 17 seed Dillon Bechtold of Bucknell in round 2.
285 Pounds
No. 9 seed Cole Mirasola started out strong in his first NCAA tournament bout against No. 24 seed Connor Barket of Duke, getting three first-period takedowns for a 9-2 lead. With a 13-3 lead late in the the period, Mirasola gave up an escape and a takedown, missing out on the major decision but advancing with a 13-7 major decision.
Up next: Mirasola squares off against No. 8 seed Ben Kueter of Iowa on Thursday night. Mirasola won a 4-3 decision against Kueter in a January dual meet, but Kueter took a 2-0 decision in the Big Ten consolation semifinals.
