Updated 11:47 p.m. March 20.
Penn State wrestling won six of its eight semifinal bouts and the Nittany Lions moved closer to their fifth consecutive team on Friday night at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland.
The six finalists tie the record held by Penn State and Iowa. Mitchell Mesenbrink (165 pounds) and Levi Haines (174) will both be seeking their second national titles on Saturday night, while Luke Lilledahl (125), Shayne Van Ness (149), Rocco Welsh (184) and Josh Barr (197) will aim for their first.
Van Ness, Mesenbrink and Haines recorded technical falls in the semifinals and Barr won by major decision to add bonus points for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State’s two true freshman semifinalists, Marcus Blaze (133) and PJ Duke (157), both dropped tough matches in tiebreakers and move to the consolation semifinals on Saturday morning. Blaze and Duke can finish as high as third or as low as sixth.
Braeden Davis (141) and Cole Mirasola (285) saw their tournaments come to an end after both went 1-1 in the consolation bracket during session three earlier in the day.
The Nittany Lions hold a comfortable lead in the team race with 153 points and are within reach of their own tournament record of 177 points set a year ago. Oklahoma State was in second with 111.5 points, followed by Nebraska with 90.5, Iowa with 81 and Ohio State with 77.5.
Action resumes with the medal rounds starting at 11 a.m. EDT in Rocket Arena and airing on ESPNU. The championship finals start at 6:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN.
125 Pounds
No. 1 Luke Lilledahl and No. 3 seed Troy Spratley of Oklahoma State met for a semifinal matchup between last year’s third- and second-place finishers. Lilledahl struck first, getting in on a single leg and tripping Spratley to the mat for the takedown. After a Spratley escape, Lilledahl was quickly back in on another single and fought through for another takedown and two near fall points. Spratley escaped and Lilledahl took an 8-2 lead into the second period. The Cowboy escaped for the only point of the second, and Lilledahl took neutral to start the third. Neither wrestler broke through in the final period, and the Penn State sophomore won an 8-3 decision to advance to the finals for the first time.
Up next: Lilledahl will face No. 10 seed Marc-Anthony McGowan of Princeton for the title. The pair met in the dual meet finale, when McGowan lost by disqualification after being called for stalling five times.
133 Pounds
No. 3 seed Marcus Blaze and No. 2 seed Ben Davino met in a rubber match after splitting 3-2 tiebreaker decisions — a dual meet win by Blaze and a Big Ten title bout victory by Davin. Once again, seven minutes wasn’t enough to settle it.
Davino got on the board first with an escape in the second period, and though Blaze came close to a takedown he couldn’t finish it off. The Nittany Lion freshman escaped at the start of the third to tie the bout 1-1, and that’s where it stood at the end of regulation. In sudden victory, Davino was very close to a takedown but nothing was called before they went off the edge and no takedown was awarded after Ohio State challenged for review. Neither wrestler could find an opening the rest of the way and for the third time this season they went to tiebreakers.
The Ohio State redshirt freshman chose down in the first period and Blaze held control for 21 seconds before giving up the escape. Davino, however, rode Blaze for 29 seconds in the second period to win 3-2 on riding time. Cael Sanderson threw the challenge brick, apparently for a second stall against Davino, but after a lengthy review the no call on the mat was upheld and Davino moved on to the final.
Up next: Blaze will take on No. 15 seed Tyler Knox of Stanford in the consolation semifinals on Saturday morning. A win there would put Blaze in the third-place bout and a loss would move him to the fifth-place bout.
149 Pounds
No. 1 seed Shayne Van Ness converted a single leg into a takedown against No. 20 Chance Lamer of Nebraska and rode out the remaining 2:14 of the first period. Van Ness escaped to start the third and drove through on a double for another takedown early in the second. After a Lamer escape, Van Ness scored another takedown and turned Lamer for four near fall points. Adding a stall point, the Nittany Lion junior took a 15-1 lead into the third. Out of a neutral start, Van Ness quickly executed another seven-point throw to win a 22-1 technical fall.
Up next: Van Ness takes aim at his first national title when he meets No. 10 seed Aden Valencia of Stanford on Saturday night. Van Ness defeated Valencia 10-4 at the Journeymen Duals in Decemeber in Nashville
157 Pounds
No. 1 seed PJ Duke and No. 5 seed Landon Robideau of Oklahoma State wrestled a scoreless first period and Robideau got on the board first with an escape in the second. Duke escaped to tie it 1-1 in third and neither gave up ground through the end of the period. In sudden victory, Duke had the winning takedown on a counter a minute in, but the score was waved off after a challenge review. Duke and Robideau had a thrilling scramble at the edge of the mat without scoring and the bout headed to tiebreakers. Robideau took the bottom position in the first and reversed Duke then maintained control for the remaining seconds. Down 3-1, Duke chose the neutral position in the second and couldn’t get the takedown. Robideau claimed the 3-1 upset to advance to the finals and send Duke to the consolation bracket.
Up next: Duke will wrestle No. 7 seed Kannon Webster of Illinois in the consolation semifinals. The Nittany Lion freshman can finish as high third or as low as sixth.
165 Pounds
No. 1 seed Mitchell Mesenbrink drove through on a double for a takedown in the first period against Cesar Alvan of Columbia then went to work on top. Alvan managed to fight off a pin for more than a minute, but Mesenbrink came away with four near fall points to take a 7-0 lead into the second. The Nittany Lion junior escaped to start the second period, got a quick takedown and turned Alvan again for four more near fall points and a 15-0 technical fall.
Up next: Mesenbrink heads to the championship final for the third straight year and will seek his second consecutive national title when he meets No. 3 seed Mikey Caliendo of Iowa on Saturday night. Mesenbrink is 8-0 all-time against Caliendo, including a 4-1 win in last year’s national championship bout and a 12-3 major decision in this year’s Big Ten final.
174 Pounds
No. 1 seed Levi Haines shot in on a single leg and powered through for a takedown with 27 seconds left in the first period to take a 3-0 lead against No.5 Patrick Kennedy of Iowa. Haines opened the second with an escape and quickly got his second takedown to move in front 7-1 after a Kennedy escape. The Hawkeye escaped to start the third, but Haines responded with another takedown. After another Kennedy escape, Haines got a final takedown, turned Kennedy for four near fall points, rode out the period and with a riding time point added, won an 18-3 technical fall.
Up next: Wrestling in his final NCAA tournament, the Nittany Lion senior will look for his second national title when he battles No. 3 seed Christopher Minto of Nebraska in the final. Haines and Minto wrestled two close matches this year, with Haines winning an 8-6 decision in January and 2-1 decision in the Big Ten title bout two weeks ago.
184 Pounds
No. 1 seed Rocco Welsh and No. 5 seed Brock Mantanona of Michigan were scoreless after one and Mantanona took the lead with an escape to start the second. Welsh shot and had Mantanona on one leg for an extended time but couldn’t finish the takedown as the Wolverine took a 1-0 lead into the third. Welsh escaped quickly in the third, then finished a shot for the bout’s first takedown. Mantanona escaped with 32 seconds remaining and Welsh gave up a stall point, but the Nittany Lion redshirt sophomore held on for a 4-3 decision.
Up next: Welsh will wrestle for his first national title in his second NCAA finals appearance when he meets No. 3 seed Max McEnelly of Minnesota on Saturday night. It will be a rematch of the Big Ten championship bout won 2-1 by Welsh in tiebreakers.
197 Pounds
No. 1 seed Josh Barr used a double leg for a first-period takedown against No. 5 seed Joey Novak of Wyoming, but Novak responded with a reversal. Barr, though, quickly escaped and scored another takedown for a 7-2 lead before the period ended. Novak escaped to start the second, but Barr got in for his third takedown and rode out the period with a 10-3 lead. Starting from neutral in the third, Barr kept up the offense with another double leg takedown to move ahead 13-3. With a riding time point, Barr won a 14-3 major decision to maintain his 100% bonus rate on the season and give the Nittany Lions a record-tying six NCAA finalists.
Up next: Barr makes his second consecutive finals appearance and looks for his first national title on Saturday night against No. 7 seed Cody Merrill of Oklahoma State.
