LINCOLN, Nebr. — Until Friday, Jan. 17, the No. 1 Penn State wrestling team had been untested in cruising to seven wins, four by shutout.
A trip to Lincoln, Nebraska, to take on the No. 7 Cornhuskers, while it presented challenges for a handful of Nittany Lions, still produced another lopsided win.
Penn State (8-0, 2-0 B1G) remained undefeated and reeled off its 64th consecutive win by dispatching No. 7 Nebraska (6-2, 1-1 B1G) 31-7 in front of a Devaney Center record crowd of 6,661.
Give the Cornhuskers credit; They didn’t back down from the fight with the Nittany Lions. Heading into the dual, Penn State starters had only lost two matches and had only allowed four takedowns. Nebraska matched each of those totals. The Huskers handed a pair of Nittany Lions ranked in the Top 5 losses.
Penn State won eight of 10 bouts, three by technical fall, one by major decision and four by decision. The Nittany Lions piled up a 21-4 advantage in takedowns,
Josh Barr, Greg Kerkvliet and Mitchell Mesenbrink dominated in technical fall wins. Carter Starocci won by major decision. Levi Haines, Luke Lilledahl, Beau Bartlett and Tyler Kasak recorded decisions.
A random draw set the starting weight at 174 pounds and Penn State reeled off five straight wins to open a 20-0 lead at the intermission.
Second-ranked Haines looked right at home starting the match as he used takedowns in the first and third periods to help fuel a 9-2 decision over No. 15 Lenny Pinto.
Top-ranked Starocci followed with an 11-2 major decision over No. 17 Silas Redd at 184 pounds. The four-time NCAA champ scored a takedown in each period and added an escape and riding time point to extend the Nittany Lions’ lead to 7-0.
That lead swelled to 12-0 after No. 4 Barr’s technical fall at 197. Paired with No. 22 Camden Danel, Barr took a 7-0 lead into the third and then ratcheted up his offense, adding four takedowns to the two he had scored in the first and second to roll to a 19-4 win in 6:42.
Second-ranked Kerkvliet made four wins and two technical falls in a row at 285. Kerkvliet scored the initial takedown to lead 3-0 after the first period. He expanded the lead to 12-2 after two and then turned No. 24 Harley Andrews twice for a pair of four-point near falls to end the match in 6:11 with a 20-2 score.
That set up the first of a series of marquee bouts in the lighter weights. This one, at 125, paired No. 12 Lilledahl with sixth-ranked All-American Caleb Smith. The pair traded escapes before Lilledahl emerged from a scramble to spin behind Smith for a takedown late in the third period. Smith escaped but it was too little too late, and Lilledahl had his biggest win of his young career, 4-2.
Nebraska finally broke through at 133 and did it in a big way. No. 16 Jacob Van Dee caught No. 5 Braeden Davis on his back for a takedown and four near-fall points early in the first period to forge a 7-0 lead. Davis would escape and score a takedown of his own to close within 7-4 but a reversal by Van Dee and Davis escape set the score at 9-5 at the end of one.
Davis scored the only point of the second and trailed just 9-6 heading into the third. Van Dee escaped and took Davis down again, added a riding time point and earned a 14-7 win.
The Cornhuskers made a strong bid for two wins in a row at 141, but No. 3 Bartlett rallied late to pull out an 8-7 win over No. 6 Brock Hardy. Trailing 6-3 at the start of the third, Hardy escaped, scored a takedown and started an effective ride on Bartlett, building his riding time advantage over a minute. Bartlett, though, scored a reversal with 12 seconds to go and rode Hardy the rest of the way, erasing Hardy’s riding time advantage, and held on for the win.
What Nebraska couldn’t get done at 141, it did convincingly at 149. No. 4 Ridge Lovett handed No. 2 Shayne Van Ness his first loss of the season with a 10-2 major decision. Van Ness reversed Lovett in the second and led 2-1 heading into the third. Lovett, though, escaped, took down Van Ness and then turned him for four to open a 9-2 lead. A point for 1:39 in riding time advantage set the final.
Penn State closed the match with a pair of strong wins. At 157, Kasak took No. 5 Antrell Taylor down to his back to open a 7-0 lead midway through the first period. Kasak added an escape and riding time point to earn a 9-3 win.
Finally, at 165, Mesenbrink used four takedowns a pair of three-point turns, a penalty point and escape to fashion a 20-3 technical in 5:39 for the tech fall. Mesenbrink improved to 12-0 on the season with two forfeits and 10 technical falls.
Penn State hits the road again for its next dual, at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, against Rutgers.
No. 1 Penn State 31
No. 7 Nebraska 7
(Friday, Jan. 17, at Lincoln, Nebr.)
174: No. 2 Levi Haines, PSU, dec. No. 15 Lenny Pinto, 9-2.
184: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU, maj. Dec. No. 17 Silas Redd, 11-2.
197: No. 4 Josh Barr, PSU, won by tech. fall over No. 22 Camden McDanel, 19-4 (6:42).
285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, won by tech. fall over No. 24 Harley Andrews, 20-2 (6:11).
125: No. 12 Luke Lilledahl, PSU, dec. No. 6 Caleb Smith, 4-2.
133: No. 16 Jacob Van Dee, NEB, dec. No. 5 Braden Davis, 14-7.
141: No. 3 Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. No. 6 Brock Hardy, 8-7.
149: No. 4 Ridge Lovett, maj. Dec. No. 2 Shayne Van Ness, 10-2.
157: No. 3 Tyler Kasak, PSU, dec. No. 5 Antrell Taylor, 9-3.
165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, won by tech. fall over No. 7 Bubba Wilson, 20-3 (5:39).
Referee: Kirk Frost.
Attendance: 6,661.
Ernie Lucas Award winner: Luke Lilledahl.
Takedowns: Penn State 21; Nebraska 4.
Records: Nebraska 6-2, 1-1 B1G; Penn State 8-0, 2-0 B1G.
Next match: Penn State at Rutgers, 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24.
