Penn State wrestling ran away with its fourth consecutive Big Ten team title and set a program record for individual champions in a year with seven on Sunday to wrap up the two-day conference tournament at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Luke LIlledahl (125), Shayne Van Ness (149), PJ Duke (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), Rocco Welsh (184) and Josh Barr (197) each won titles for the Nittany Lions, who also set a school record for points at the championships with 184. Ohio State finished second with 148.5, followed by Nebraska, Iowa and Michigan.
Marcus Blaze took second place as a true freshman after falling to Ohio State’s Ben Davino on riding time in tiebreakers of the 133 pound title bout. With Cole Mirasola taking fifth place at 285 and Braeden Davis seventh at 141, all 10 NIttany Lion starters earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
Haines became Penn State’s fourth four-time Big Ten champion (Ed Ruth, David Taylor and Aaron Brooks) and the 20th in Big Ten history with his 2-1 decision against Nebraska’s Christopher Minto.
Mesenbrink won his third straight conference title, while sophomore Lilledahl claimed his second in as many tries. True freshman Duke, junior Van Ness and sophomores Welsh and Barr each won their first Big Ten championships.
The Nittany Lions got bonus points in the finals with a pin by Van Ness, technical fall by Barr and major decisions by Duke and Mesenbrink. Mirasola also added bonus points with a win by medical forfeit in the fifth-place bout.
Penn State now will get ready for the NCAA Championships March 19-21 in Cleveland. The Nittany Lions will be seeking their fifth consecutive national title and 13th in 16 years.
125 Pounds – No. 1 Luke Lilledahl
Top-seeded Luke Lilledahl No. 6 seed Jore Volk of Minnesota battled to a scoreless first period in the 125 pound title bout before Volk escaped to a 1-0 lead 14 seconds into the second. Lilledahl responded with early in the third to tie the bout 1-1. A terrific scramble over the final 30 seconds resulted in no points and the match went to sudden victory. After narrowly missing a takedown at the edge of the mat, Lilledahl finish the job with a low double for the winning takedown 50 seconds into the extra period for a 4-1 decision.
With the victory, the Nittany Lion sophomore won his second Big Ten championship in as many years.
133 Pounds – No. 1 Marcus Blaze
No. 1 seed Marcus Blaze and No.3 seed Ben Davino of Ohio State were even through the first three minutes, and Davino broke the scoreless tie with an escape to start the second period. Blaze tied it up 1-1 with an escape early in the third. Davino got in deep on a late shot, but Blaze held him off and in a repeat of their February dual meet matchup, the pair went to sudden victory. After a scoreless extra period, the bout headed to tiebreakers. Blaze escaped to a 2-1 lead after 17 seconds in the first round, but Davino got out in just three seconds in the second to tie it. Davino spent the remaining seconds eluding Blaze’s shots, and claimed the title on a 3-2 decision thanks to riding time.
After suffering the first loss of his collegiate career, Blaze took second place as a true freshman.
141 Pounds – No. 6 Braeden Davis
No. 6 seed Braeden Davis scored a quick takedown in the seventh-place bout against No. 8 seed Billy DeKraker of Northwestern and took a 3-1 lead after the first period. DeKraker took the bottom position to start the second and Davis was strong on top, riding out the period and securing riding time. The Nittany Lion escaped and took down DeKraker again in the third, finishing the bout on top for an 8-1 decision.
With his seventh-place finish, Davis earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships.
149 Pounds – No. 1 Shayne Van Ness
Top-seeded Shayne Van Ness and No. 2 seed Ethan Stiles of Ohio State were scoreless through one period of their title bout and Stiles chose the down position to start the second. As the Buckeye attempted to roll out for an escape, Van Ness caught him and put him on his back for the pin at 3:28.
The Nittany Lion junior won his first Big Ten championship and will head to the NCAA tournament as the top seed at 149.
157 Pounds – No. 2 PJ Duke
No. 2 seed PJ Duke got behind No.1 seed Antrell Taylor of Nebraska for a takedown with a minute remaining in the the first period of the 157 pound title bout. Taylor escaped after 35 seconds and Duke kept up the pace but couldn’t connect again before period ended. Taylor escaped to start the second and cut the deficit to 3-2, but Duke kept up the pressure and go his second takedown with 30 seconds left in the period. Taylor escaped and Duke took a 6-3 lead into the third.
Duke escaped early in the final period then shot in on a single leg for another takedown. Cutting Duke loose for the escape, Duke went looking for bonus points and nearly had a takedown at the edge of the mat. He couldn’t finish, but Taylor, who was backing up for most of the bout, got hit with a second stall call to give Duke a point late. With a riding time point added, Duke avenged his only collegiate loss to date and defeated the defending national champion by an 12-4 major decision.
The Nittany Lion true freshman claimed the Big Ten title in his first try, and the victory clinched Penn State’s team championship.
165 Pounds – No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink
No, 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink got a takedown off the whistle to open up an early lead in the 165 pound title bout against No. 3 seed Mikey Caliendo of Iowa. Caliendo escaped, but with under a minute left in the first, Mesenbrink shot in on a single leg and flipped Caliendo over for a second takedown. Caliendo escaped and Mesenbrink took a 6-2 lead into the second. After a quick escape to start the middle period, Mesenbrink shot in fast on a single leg for his third takedown, riding out the period and picking up a stall point along the way to lead 11-2 heading into the final period. Caliendo escaped in the third, but that was all and Mesenbrink added a riding time point for a 12-3 major decision.
Mesenbrink won his third consecutive Big Ten title and improved to 22-0 on the season, with all 22 wins by bonus points.
174 Pounds – No. 1 Levi Haines
No. 1 Levi Haines and No. 2 seed Christopher Minto of Nebraska wrestled a scoreless first period of the 174 pound championship bout before Minto escaped for a 1-0 lead early in the second. Haines couldn’t drive through on a deep shot, but Minto got hit with a critical illegal hold penalty that was upheld on review to tie it 1-1 heading into the final period. Haines escaped to start the third and take a 2-1 lead. Both wrestlers got off good shots but neither could convert, and Haines took a 2-1 decision for his fourth Big Ten championship.
184 Pounds – No. 1 Rocco Welsh
After a scoreless first period, No. 1 Rocco Welsh got on the board with an escape in the second against No. 2 seed Max McEnelly of Minnesota in the 184 pound title bout. McEnelly defended a couple good shots from the Nittany Lion and Welsh took a 1-0 lead into the third. McEnelly escaped four seconds into the final period to tie it 1-1, and that’s where the score remained at the end of regulation.
Neither could find an opening in sudden victory and the bout went to tiebreakers. Welsh rolled out for an escape three seconds into the first round, and McEnelly narrowly missed scoring a last-second takedown after the no-call on the mat was upheld on review. McEnelly chose neutral for the second round but couldn’t get the decisive takedown and Welsh won a 2-1 decision.
The victory marked Welsh’s first Big Ten title and became the Nittany Lions’ sixth champion of the weekend, a program record.
197 Pounds – No. 1 Josh Barr
No. 1 Josh Barr worked his way to an opening takedown with 1:10 remaining in the first period of the 197 pound title bout against No. 2 seed Camden McDanel of Nebraska. McDanel escaped, but Barr shot back in quickly for a 6-1 lead heading into the second. McDanel escaped to start the second, but Barr threw him to the mat midway through the period for his third takedown and a 9-2 lead. Barr escaped early in the third and drove through on a double leg for his fourth takedown. McDanel escaped and Barr went right back for another takedown then cut the Husker loose to make it 16-4. With 14 seconds remaining, Barr got his sixth takedown for a 19-4 tech fall at 6:46.
In claiming his first Big Ten title and adding to the team record for champions, Barr won all three of his tournament bouts by tech fall and maintained he 100% bonus rate on the season.
285 Pounds – No. 4 Cole Mirasola
After dropping a hard-fought battle in the semifinals on Saturday night, No. 4 Cole Mirasola moved to the consolation semifinals on Sunday and took on No. 10 seed Ben Kueter of Iowa. After a scoreless first period, Kueter got an escape to start the second and rode Mirasola for the entire third period to win a 2-0 decision and send the Nittany Lion redshirt freshman to the fifth-place bout.
Mirasola won fifth place after No. 5 seed Braxton Amos of Wisconsin medically forfeited.
