UNIVERSITY PARK –– Even without two All-American key starters, the No. 1 Penn State wrestling team had no trouble dispatching a pair of Pennsylvania rivals over the weekend.
The Nittany Lions followed a 42-3 road win over Drexel on Friday, Dec. 5, in Philadelphia with a 30-point win over its longest rival, No. 14 Lehigh, 36-6 on Sunday, Dec. 7, at Rec Hall.
The scores tell a dominating story. Penn State won a combined 17 of 20 individual bouts and produced bonus points in 15 of them. The Nittany Lions accumulated 65 takedowns in the two duals while allowing only seven.
Lehigh entered Sunday’s match a banged-up bunch of Mountain Hawks, missing half of their starters. Among them was a trio of lightweights from 125 through 141 that each will easily be ranked among the Top 5 at their respective weights. And even though Lehigh is a deep, talented team, there’s arguably no team that can contend with Penn State at full strength, let alone with so many crucial starters sidelined.
Penn State won eight of 10 bouts, producing bonus points in six, and amassed a 26-5 edge in takedowns to improve to 3-0 on the season and extend its dual meet winning streak to 74.
Lehigh knew it would be an uphill struggle.
“We knew coming into the season we had three injuries. We knew the first semester we weren’t going to have some guys, but it’s next man up, right?” Lehigh Coach Pat Santoro said.
“It doesn’t matter who we send out there, we’ve got to compete. I thought we competed in most matches, but there were certain moments when we had a little lull. That’s the frustrating part. But it’s something we can learn from and get better from.”
Penn State knew that no matter the wrestler, Lehigh always presents a challenge.
“Lehigh does a really good job. We have a lot of love and respect for their program,” coach Cael Sanderson said. “They’re going to show you what you need to work on and we kind of count on that every year.”
With three frontline Mountain Hawk starters out of the front end of Lehigh’s lineup — Sheldon Seymour, Ryan Crookham and Luke Stanich — Penn State was able to win four of the first five bouts for a 20-3 lead at the intermission.
No. 2 Luke Lilledahl and No. 11 Marcus Blaze, at 125 and 133 respectively, each rolled up a technical fall. Lilledahl used four takedowns and a four-point turn to dispatch Logan Wadle 17-2 in 3:21. Blaze recorded two takedowns in each period to help engineer a 19-4 win over Mason Ziegler in 5:37.
Lehigh broke through for a win at 141 in a battle of backups. Carter Bailey made a first-period takedown hold up for a 4-1 win over Cael Nasdeo.
Penn State jumped back on the bonus point train at 149 as No. 1 Shayne Van Ness piled up 10 points in the third period and tacked on a riding time point for a 19-5 major decision over Owen Reinsel.
“I think after the first attack, I got into a little bit of a scramble and then just focused on hiding my ankles and finishing a little bit cleaner toward the end and getting pressure on that guy and moving forward,” Van Ness said.
Then, at 157, No. 15 P.J. Duke turned an anticipated matchup of ranked wrestlers against No. 10 Logan Rozynski into a lopsided win. The true freshman Duke led 14-3 when he tried to turn the Mountain Hawk, injuring his shoulder, and Rozynski was forced to injury default at the 5:46 mark.
Coming out of the break, three of the final five matchups were between ranked wrestlers, promising more competitive duals. A pair of top-ranked Nittany Lions, Mitchell Mesenbrink and Levi Haines, posted lopsided wins.
Mesenbrink exploited a clear advantage on his feet, picking up four takedowns on No. 7 Max Brignola in a 15-7 major decision. Then, at 174, Haines scored two quick takedowns before turning Bekhruz Sadriddnov with a bow and arrow and then going chest to chest for a pin in 2:15.
Haines said he’s worked hard on his top wrestling and the bow and arrow is something that he has developed a feel for.
“It’s more of a feel thing,” he said. “I worked on it a lot in the offseason. I’m getting more comfortable with it and just finding different ways to get there.”
Fourth-ranked Nittany Lion 184-pounder Rocco Welsh was paired with No. 23 Rylan Rogers and the match came down to the waning seconds of the third period. Welsh converted a takedown with fewer than 30 seconds remaining and hung on for a 4-2 decision.
Connor Mirasola once again got the call at 197 as Barr continues to rehab the rib injury he sustained in the U23 World Freestyle Championships. After a scoreless first, Mirasola was able to convert takedowns in the second and third periods in an 8-3 win over backup Remy Brancato.
Connor’s brother, 10th-ranked Cole, finished the dual with the challenge of taking on a much larger opponent, seventh-ranked Nathan Taylor. The Mountain Hawk senior was able to counter two Mirasola takedown attempts and turn them into takedowns of his own in a 7-2 win.
“Obviously, Taylor’s really good and he’s big,” Sanderson said. “They’re not going to be any bigger than him. He (Mirasola) was in deep a couple times. We’ve just got to figure out how to finish those shots,” Sanderson said. “That’s good preparation for Cole. I think it’s a good match and something he can definitely take a lot from.”
Against the Dragons on Friday night in the Daskalakis Athletic Center, Penn State cruised to a 42-3 win. The Nittany Lions won 9 of 10 bouts, earning bonus points in all nine and accumulating a 39-2 edge in takedowns.
Blaze and Duke, the freshman phenoms, produced pins. Van Ness, Mesenbrink and Connor Mirasola rolled up technical falls. Lilledahl, Haines and Cole Mirasola posted major decisions.
Penn State returns to the mat at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, with a showdown against the Wyoming Cowboys in Laramie, Wyoming.
No. 1 Penn State 36
No. 14 Lehigh 6
(Sunday, Dec. 7, at University Park)
125: No. 2 Luke Lilledahl, PSU, won by tech. fall over Logan Wadle, 17-2 (3:21).
133: No. 11 Marcus Blaze, PSU, won by tech. fall over Mason Ziegler, 19-4 (5:37).
141: Carter Bailey, L, dec. Cael Nasdeo, 4-1.
149: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, maj. dec. Owen Reinsel, 19-5.
157: No. 15 P.J. Duke, PSU, won by inj. Def. over No. 10 Logan Rozynski, 5:46.
165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, maj. dec. No. 7 Max Brignola, 15-7.
174: No. 1 Levi Haines, PSU, pinned Bekhruz Sadriddnov, 2:15,
184: No. 4 Rocco Welsh, PSU, dec. No. 23 Ryan Rogers, 4-2.
197: Connor Mirasola, PSU, dec. Remy Brancato, 8-3.
285: No. 7 Nathan Taylor, L, dec. No. 10 Cole Mirasola, 7-2.
Ridge Riley Award winner: Mitchell Mesenbrink
Attendance: 6,334.
Takedowns: Lehigh 5; Penn State 26.
Records: Lehigh 3-4; Penn State 3-0.
Next match: Penn State at Wyoming, 8 p.m. Saturday.
No. 1 Penn State 42
Drexel 3
(Friday, Dec. 5, at Philadelphia)
125: No. 2 Luke Lilledahl, PSU, maj. dec. Desmond Pleasant, 19-7.
133: No. 11 Marcus Blaze, PSU, pinned Kyle Waterman, 4:32.
141: Jordan Soriano, D, dec. Cael Nasdeo, 8-5.
149: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, won by tech. fall over Patrick Kelly, 20-4 (6:52).
157: No. 15 P.J. Duke, PSU, pinned Luke Nichter, 1:15.
165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, won by tech. fall over Cody Walsh, 19-4 (5:13).
174: No. 1 Levi Haines, PSU, maj. dec. Jasiah Queen, 12-1.
184: No. 4 Rocco Welsh, PSU, maj. dec. Ethan Wilson, 13-3.
197: Connor Mirasola, PSU, won by tech. fall over Jordan Griffith, 22-5 (5:28).
285: Cole Mirasola, PSU, maj. dec. Nate Schon, 10-2.
Referee: Mark Cesari.
Attendance: 2,217.
Takedowns: Penn State 39; Drexel 2.
Records: Penn State 2-0; Drexel 2-1.
