ALLENTOWN — It didn’t take long on Sunday, Dec. 8, for word of another breakout performance by a Penn State blue chip recruit to start circulating.
No less a wrestling authority than FloWrestling tweeted “#21 Josh Barr of Penn State is a PROBLEM at 197lbs (emoji) after majoring #6 Michael Beard of Lehigh 11-3 #ncaawrestling.”
In what was an otherwise drama free dual meet between two longtime rivals, Barr’s win sent shockwaves across the collegiate wrestling world pumping life into what had been a relatively quiet sellout crowd of 9,769 in the PPL Center.
Barr’s win was easily the highlight of No. 1 Penn State’s 36-3 domination of No. 14 Lehigh. The Nittany Lions won nine of 10 bouts, scoring bonus points in six bouts, including the final five and amassed a 21-1 edge in takedowns in their 58th consecutive dual meet win.
Barr compiled a 14-0 record at 184 pounds last season and looked dominant at times. So, the fact that Penn State coach Cael Sanderson didn’t seem surprised by Barr’s win over the former Nittany Lion was telling.
“He was very successful in high school and he’s got an incredible work ethic. He wants to be good. He wants to be successful. It’s not a huge surprise to see him doing well,” Sanderson said.
“I think he wrestled a good, hard, patient match. He’s just a goer. That combination of his intensity and just being patient paid off. Beard’s obviously very good. Hopefully, it was a good confidence boost for Josh. I think he believes already.”
Barr confirmed his coach’s thought.
“I was just telling Coach Casey (Cunningham), ‘I like doing it out here instead of against my teammates. It’s hard wrestling against my teammates,’” Barr said, listing Jake Varner, Sanderson and Aaron Brooks as training partners who are stronger and better than him.
“I just wanted to wear on him that first period. He’s a big strong guy, old guy. I feel like my gas tank’s one of my biggest attributes. Eventually, I knew he’d crack. That’s when I go get my stuff.”
The match was scoreless after a period, but Beard scored a reversal in the second to open a lead. Barr eventually escaped and converted on a single to lead 4-2. In the third, he escaped and converted two decisive takedowns, finishing the match with a dominant ride for a convincing 11-3 win.
“Honestly, I expect to tech or pin everyone I wrestle,” Barr said. “That’s kind of how my mind works and that’s how our coaches train us; just go score more points. I think when I’m scoring points, I can tech and major and pin all these guys. That’s my mindset. Nothing surprising.”
Penn State and Lehigh split the first two bouts with a pair of steady if unremarkable wins at 125 and 133.
Nittany Lion Luke Lilledahl and Sheldon Seymour battled to a 1-1 tie through the early stages of the third period at 125, having traded escapes. Seymour dropped in on a single, but Lilledahl stuffed it and countered, coming out the back and scooping both of Seymour’s legs for a takedown with 14 seconds left in the period for the winning takedown and the 4-1 win.
“I didn’t wrestle the best I could have. My performance wasn’t great, but I still got it done. That’s what’s important,” Lilledahl said.
“It was hard to get through his defense, and obviously he’s really good, too, so that’s always a challenge. It was definitely good to get out there and wrestle someone of that caliber and kind of get that under my belt.”
The Mountain Hawks’ top-ranked 133-pounder Ryan Crookham earned a 4-2 decision over Braeden Davis. Crookham converted a single with 27 seconds left in the first period and made that hold up for a 4-2 win. Davis earned an escape and a stall point in the third.
At 141, No. 3 Beau Bartlett secured a workmanlike 5-0 decision over Carter Bailey. Bartlett converted on a takedown after an extended scramble with 13 seconds left in the first period. He added a second-period escape and a point for 1:54 in riding time advantage.
Second-ranked Shayne Van Ness exploited a clear advantage on his feet in a 17-3 major decision over Matt Repos. Van Ness scored the initial takedown in the first for a 3-0 lead after one and added two takedowns in each of the next two periods and a riding time point for the win.
At 157, fourth-ranked Tyler Kasak scored the only takedown of the bout and added a stall point in the first and an escape in the third for a measured 5-2 win over Logan Rozynski.
As usual, top-ranked 165-pounder Mitchell Mesenbrink was on the attack within 10 seconds of the opening whistle, scoring a quick single-leg takedown. He would add another in the first, escape to start the second, convert on another takedown and then turn Thayne Lawrence twice for 4-point nearfalls to end the match early. The final count was 18-1 in 4:37.
Levi Haines made short work of Rylan Rogers at 174 pounds. After a first-period takedown, Haines escaped and converted a single in the second before turning Rogers and scoring the fall in 4:12 to give Penn State a 24-3 lead.
Top-ranked Carter Starocci dominated a scrappy Jack Wilt in a 15-1 major decision. Starocci used four takedowns, two escapes and a riding time point to engineer the win. Starocci, Sanderson confirmed, pushed Wilt’s head into the mat after the bout was over, costing Penn State a team point.
No. 1 285-pounder Greg Kerkvliet put a bow on the win with a quick, efficient 15-0 technical fall over Calvin Lachman. Kerkvliet scored the initial takedown and followed by turning the Mountain Hawk for three sets of four-point nearfalls to end the bout in 2:07.
Penn State leads the all-time series 75-34-3 after 112 meetings dating back to 1911. While this won’t rank with some of the more memorable duals in the series, Sanderson said there’s a reason for that.
“Lehigh does a really good job. You walk away from the match like, ‘man, we’ve got a lot to work on.’ That happens every year,” he said.
“You kind of just realize, ‘Okay, Lehigh is just doing a really good job. They’re hard to wrestle. They’re just very tactical and tough and they come ready to go.”
Penn State, now 2-0, steps back on the mat at 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15, against Wyoming in the Bryce Jordan Center. The match was moved from Rec Hall to accommodate the women’s volleyball team hosting an NCAA playoff regional. Penn State announced that despite the match being sold out for Rec Hall, there will be tickets available for the lower bowl of the BJC.
No. 1 Penn State 36
No. 22Lehigh 3
(Sunday, Dec. 8, at Allentown.)
125: No. 16 Luke Lilledahl, PSU, dec. No. 15 Sheldon Seymour, 4-1.
133: No. 1 Ryan Crookham, L, dec. No. 10 Braeden Davis, PSU, 4-2.
141: No. 3 Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Carter Bailey, 5-0.
149: No. 2 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, maj. Dec. Matt Repos, 17-3.
157: No. 4 Tyler Kasak, PSU, dec. Logan Rozynski, 5-2.
165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, won by tech. fall over Thayne Lawrence, 18-1 (4:37).
174: No. 2 Levi Haines, PSU, pinned Rylan Rogers, 4:12.
184: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU, maj. Dec. Jack Wilt, 15-1.*
197: No. 23 Josh Barr, PSU, maj. Dec. No. 6 Michael Beard, 11-3.
285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, won by tech. fall over Calvin Lachman, 15-0 (2:07).
* Penn State deducted a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct after the 184-pound bout.
Referee: Mark Cesari
Attendance: 9,769
Takedowns: Penn State 21; Lehigh 1
Records: Penn State 2-0; Lehigh 1-2
Next match: Wyoming at Penn State, 1 p.m. Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center
