ANN ARBOR, Mich. — In football parlance, some might have looked at Penn State’s dual meet at Michigan on Friday night as a trap match.
With No. 2 Ohio State slated to visit at 7 p.m. Friday in the Bryce Jordan Center in what many are calling the dual meet of the season, the uninitiated might have thought the Nittany Lions could get caught looking ahead.
Not a chance.
Penn State (13-0, 7-0 B1G) won nine of 10 bouts, including one by a backup true freshman against a sixth-year senior All-American, to maul Michigan (8-4, 4-2) 38-3 at the Crisler Center.
The Nittany Lions accumulated five technical falls, by Luke Lilledahl (125), Marcus Blaze (133), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174) and Josh Barr (197). Shayne Van Ness (149) earned a major decision and Nate Desmond (141), P.J. Duke (157) and Rocco Welsh (184) won by decision.
Penn State piled up a 37-3 advantage in takedowns, preventing eight of 10 Wolverines from scoring even one. It was Penn State’s 15th consecutive win over Michigan.
The win extended the Nittany Lions’ NCAA-best dual meet winning streak to 84. It tied Oklahoma State and Iowa for the longest unbeaten streak (each team had at least one tie during their runs) in NCAA history.
With Braeden Davis sidelined with blisters on his hands as the result of a scooter fire, Desmond stepped in against veteran Dylan Ragusin.
“The funny thing is wrestling for Penn State, you never know what’s going to happen, but you always have to be ready to wrestle,” Desmond told the Penn State Sports Network.
“I feel like that’s something I do well, adapt to competition. Obviously, I have the best people in the world to prepare me. I’m so grateful to God and absolutely blessed to have the opportunity.”
After a scoreless first period, the two swapped points over the next two periods in a rollicking back-and-forth match. Regulation ended with the score tied at 5-5 after a late reversal by Duke and escape by Ragusin.
Just 20 seconds into the two-minute sudden victory period, Desmond shot in on Ragusin only to have the Wolverine counter and almost put him on his back at the edge of the mat. Desmond, though, rolled out of danger and shot on a single that he converted into a double for the match-winning takedown in an 8-5 win.
“It took a lot of just being tough and stuff I work on every day in the room. These guys prepare me for that, and it was awesome; I was excited,” Desmond said.
Penn State had charged out to a 10-0 lead with a pair of technical falls at 125 and 133.
Lilledahl, as usual, exploited his superiority on his feet against No. 23 Diego Sotelo. He scored three takedowns in each of the first two periods and added a third-period reversal to settle a 21-5 tech fall in 5:06.
Blaze, too, dominated Gauge Botero on his feet at 133. He scored pairs of takedowns in the first and second and added a four-point turn in the first for a 17-2 win in 4:40.
At 149, Van Ness controlled veteran North Carolina transfer Lachlan McNeil 9-1, scoring takedowns in the second and third periods.
That set up the most entertaining about of the night between Duke and Cameron Catrabone. The Wolverine freshman scored the initial takedown and led 4-1 after one. Duke rallied to take a 7-6 lead after two with two takedowns of his own. Duke chose neutral to start the third and Catrabone scored the next takedown to surge back in front. With a half minute left, Duke scored the winning takedown. Catrabone escaped but Duke added a riding time point for the 12-10 decision.
Leading 20-0 at intermission, Penn State shifted into overdrive with wins from 165 through 197 from four of its top-ranked wrestlers. Mesenbrink and Haines posted back-to-back tech falls to secure the win and expand the lead to 30-0.
Welsh’s 8-1 decision at 184 and Barr’s technical fall at 197 ran Penn State’s total to 38.
Michigan’s fifth-ranked 285-pounder Taye Ghadiali earned the Wolverines’ only win, a 5-1 decision over Cole Mirasola. Ghadiali used a second-period takedown, escape and riding time point to engineer the win.
All eyes in the wrestling world now turn to Friday night and the much-anticipated showdown between the No. 1 Nittany Lions and No. 2 Buckeyes. Ohio State pounded No. 5 Iowa 24-9 on Friday night to run its record to 17-0 for the first time in program history.
No. 1 Penn State 38
No. 10 Michigan 3
(Friday at Ann Arbor, Mich.)
125: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl, PSU, won by tech. fall over No. 23 Diego Sotelo, 21-5 (5:06).
133: No. 4 Marcus Blaze, PSU, won by tech. fall over Gauge Botero, 17-2 (4:40).
141: Nate Desmond, PSU, dec. No. 26 Dylan Ragusin, 8-5 SV.
149: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, maj. dec. No. 13 Lachlan McNeil, 9-1.
157: No. 4 P.J. Duke, PSU, dec. No 13 Cameron Catrobone, 12-10.
165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, won by tech. fall over Justin Gates, 20-5 (6:34).
174: No. 1 Levi Haines, PSU, won by tech. fall over No. 11 Beau Mantanona, 19-4 (6:57).
184: No. 1 Rocco Welsh, PSU, dec. No. 7 Brock Mantanona, 8-1.
197: No. 1 Josh Barr, PSU, won by tech. fall over No. 20 Hayden Walters, 19-4 (6:50).
285: No. 5 Taye Ghadiali, UM, dec. No. 12 Cole Mirasola, 5-1.
Ernie Lucas Award winner: Nate Desmond.
Referees: Jason Wedgbury, Matt Sorochinsky.
Attendance: 6,131.
Takedowns: Penn State 37; Michigan 3.
Records: Michigan 8-4, 4-2; Penn State 13-0, 7-0.
Next match: Ohio State at Penn State, 7 p.m. Friday at Bryce Jordan Center.
