EVANSTON, Ill. — This postseason promises to be one case of déjà vu after another for the Penn State wrestling team.
In 2011, the Nittany Lions won their first Big Ten title under coach Cael Sanderson at the old Welsh-Ryan Arena, nipping Iowa by a point.
On Sunday, March 9, Penn State won its third consecutive Big Ten tournament championship and ninth in program history at the new Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Penn State set a team record with 181.5 points, outdistancing second-place Nebraska and its 137. Five Nittany Lions were crowned champions — Luke Lilledahl (125), Tyler Kasak (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174) and Carter Starocci (184) — and Greg Kerkvliet (285) was a runner-up.
Beau Bartlett (141) and Shayne Van Ness (149) finished third. Braeden Davis (133) finished fourth and Josh Barr (197) had to settle for a sixth-place finish after he was injured and couldn’t continue in a consolation semifinal bout.
Penn State’s team total was fourth-highest in Big Ten tournament history. In addition, Cael Sanderson was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and Carter Starocci was named Wrestler of the Year.
Those 10 Nittany Lions have qualified for the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday, March 20, through Saturday, March 22, at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia where, in 2011, Sanderson’s team won the first championship in its dynastic run.
In spite of all of that success, Sanderson didn’t seem exactly overjoyed.
“I think the guys wrestled well. The guys finished strong today. We have, obviously, it’s always a process, always trying to get better. And we’ve got some things we can do between now and Philly,” he said.
Sanderson tied Michigan’s Cliff Keen with the most all-time Big Ten titles as a coach with nine. Iowa’s Dan Gable heads the list with 21. Penn State moved into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time team Big Ten titles won list with nine. Iowa (37), Illinois (17), Indiana (13), Michigan (12) and Minnesota (10) comprise the top five.
Penn State continued its run of finals success under Sanderson, winning five of six championship bouts.
Lilledahl started that run at 125. He snatched a low single and converted on Nebraska’s Caleb Smith with 39 seconds left in the first period of his finals match and rode him out. He tacked on a second-period escape. Smith could only muster an escape and two points on marginal stall calls to set the 4-3 final.
“I think obviously if you can score, score. So that opportunity just presented itself and I took it. There wasn’t really many opportunities after that and that’s kind of the way the match went,” the Nittany Lion freshman said.
Lilledahl performed better than he has all season in making the finals, posting three consecutive bonus point wins. He started with a fall in 4:09 and followed with 11-1 and 12-4 major decisions, the latter coming against No. 1 seed Matt Ramos in the semifinals.
“I think confidence in myself, and confidence in my training and my coaches,” Lilledahl said of how he unleashed his offense. “Just knowing that they’re the best coaches in the world. And you know, obviously they have a plan. So, if I follow that plan, it’s probably a pretty good plan.”
Kasak started slowly, with a 7-3 quarterfinal win before decking Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor in 1:18 in the semifinals. In the finals, he was engaged in a tight match with Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon. Leading 4-2 but having just been hit for stalling and ceding a point, Kasak countered a Cannon shot, pancaking the Buckeye to his back for a big seven-point move that removed any doubt in what would end a 12-2 major decision.
“This is something I love to do. I love wrestling. I love to compete. I love to win. I love to dominate. I love getting bonus points. And I love hyping up these guys right here. It’s so special,” Kasak said.
“Everything I’m doing right now is special and I’m part of history. There’s never going to be a team in any sport in the NCAA that is going to be as good as this team’s been.”
Mesenbrink wrestled only one bout to reach the finals. He received a one-second injury default win in the quarterfinals. Then, in the semifinals, Michigan’s Beau Mantanona took him down for the first time all season. Mesenbrink then unleashed an offensive barrage to overwhelm the Wolverine 25-8 in 6:29.
In the finals against Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo, someone he’d beaten four times, this was the closest finish of the series and the season. Mesenbrink converted a single-leg takedown with 11 seconds left in the first period and added an escape in what was a 4-1 decision and his second consecutive Big Ten title.
Mesenbrink compared wrestling an opponent multiple times to playing chess.
“I think there’s, there’s different ways to play chess. So, you brought up chess. There’s sometimes a lot of strategery, but then some other grand masters, they just go out and, like, I keep saying, bring it. They just let the board kind of be in jumbles and that’s gonna show who wins. I feel like that’s more representative of how we wrestle. It’s like, go out, let chaos ensue, and just go,” he said.
Haines was relatively untested in making the finals, scoring a fall in 5:58 in the quarterfinals and then a 10-3 win in the semifinals. That trend continued in the finals against Nebraska’s Lenny Pinto. Haines finished off a takedown with four seconds left in the first for a 3-0 lead. In the second, he escaped, scored another takedown and then turned Pinto for four back points to open an 11-1 lead. He rode Pinto the entire third period to amass 3:24 in riding time
Starocci was dominant in his march to the finals, posting an 18-1 technical fall and then a 12-2 major decision. He was pushed to the limit in the final against Minnesota redshirt freshman sensation Max McEnelly.
McEnelly struck first, converting a slick single leg in the first period, but Starocci eventually escaped. Starocci escaped and scored a takedown in the second to open a 5-3 lead. McEnelly, though, crucially escaped before the end of the period to close the gap to 5-4. The Gopher chose bottom and escaped to tie the match at 5-5 and neither wrestler could find an opening. The match went to sudden victory tied 5-5.
In overtime, McEnelly shot and Starocci countered for the winning takedown in an 8-5 decision and his third Big Ten title. Starocci seemed to indicate that he could see the outcome meant more to him than McEnelly.
“When it gets deep, you can look into your opponent’s eyes, and you can kind of feel them soften up a little bit. You’re just kind of seeing how far they’re willing to go,” he said.
“Some guys look at it as just a sport and I’m here to go to school, get a degree and things like that. But for me, it’s much more than that. It’s soul for soul out there. It’s my 24 hours vs. your 24 hours. It’s my coaching staff versus yours. It’s my training partner versus yours. It’s my dad versus your dad. That’s kind of how I look at.”
Kerkvliet cruised into the finals with a fall in 1:54 and then a 9-1 semifinal win. But against Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champion Gable Steveson of Minnesota, he couldn’t find any offense. Steveson scored a takedown in each period and added a point for 1:52 in riding time to earn a 10-3 win.
Bartlett earned his third-place finish with a 4-2 decision over Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez in what many thought would be a 1 vs. 2 finals matchup. Bartlett countered a Mendez takedown by stepping over, isolating the chin and grabbing the Buckeyes’ thigh to go around behind for the winning takedown with 39 seconds left in the match.
Bartlett notched a 13-3 major decision in the quarterfinals and was then upset 5-3 by Minnesota’s Vance Vombaur in the semifinals. He rebounded with a 4-2 consolation semifinal win.
Like Bartlett, Van Ness posted a quarterfinal major decision and was then upset in the semifinals, being taken down in the waning seconds and falling to Illinois’ Kannon Webster 4-2. He rebounded with a 12-1 consolation semifinal win. He thoroughly dominated Iowa’s Kyle Parco in the third-place bout, rolling to a 13-0 major decision.
After an 11-2 opening-round win, Davis dropped a last-minute 3-1 decision to drop into the consolation bracket. From there he peeled off a 17-2 technical fall and then 10-5 and 9-7 decisions to get into the third-place bout. Against Ohio State’s Nic Bouzakis, Davis grabbed an early lead but after a furious scramble, Bouzakis emerged on top with Davis on his back. The Buckeye got the fall in 2:23 and Davis had to settle for a fourth-place finish.
Barr, who qualified for the NCAA tournament after earning a trip to the semifinals, saw a disappointing end to his tournament. In a consolation semifinal bout with Minnesota’s Isaiah Salazar, Barr sustained what looked like a lower left leg injury and had to default. He medically forfeited his next match to finish sixth. He had rolled to a 17-2 technical fall in 4:05 and then was nipped in sudden victory, 4-1 by Michigan’s Jacob Cardenas in the semifinals.
Barr did not appear on the awards podium with the rest of the 197-pounders.
“We sent him out of here, but he walked out on his own,” Sanderson said of Barr. “He’s got to get healthy for the nationals, but we’re very optimistic.”
RESULTS FROM THE 2025 BIG TEN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS ON SUNDAY AT WELSH-RYAN ARENA IN EVANSTON, ILLINOIS:
KEY TO TEAMS: ILL – Illinois; IU – Indiana; I – Iowa; MD – Maryland; UM – Michigan; MSU – Michigan State; MIN – Minnesota; NEB – Nebraska; NU – Northwestern; OSU – Ohio State; PSU – Penn State; PU – Purdue; R – Rutgers; W – Wisconsin.
125 pounds
Championship: Luke Lilledahl, PSU, dec. Caleb Smith, NEB, 4-3.
Third place: Matt Ramos, PU, dec. Nicolar Rivera, W, 8-5.
Fifth place: Jacob Moran, IU, won by MFF over Dean Peterson, R.
Seventh place: Cooper Flynn, MIN, won by MFF over Caleb Weiand, MSU.
133 pounds
Championship: Lucas Byrd, ILL, pinned Drake Ayala, I, 3:16.
Third place: Nic Bouzakis, OSU, pinned Braeden Davis, PSU, 2:22.
Fifth place: Braxton Brown, MD, dec. Dylan Shawver, R, 9-6 SV.
Seventh place: Angelo Rini, IU, won by MFF over Jacob Van Dee, NEB.
141 pounds
Championship: Brock Hardy, NEB, pinned Vance Vombaur, MIN, 1:58.
Third place: Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Jesse Mendez, OSU, 4-2.
Fifth place: Sergio Lemley, UM, dec. Joseph Olivieri, R, 5-1.
Seventh place: Greyson Clark, PU, dec. Henry Porter, IU, 7-1.
149 pounds
Championship: Ridge Lovett, NEB, dec. Kannon Webster, ILL, 1-0.
Third place: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, maj. dec. Kyle Parco, I, 13-0.
Fifth place: Dylan D’Emilio, OSU, dec. Andrew Clark, R, 4-2.
Seventh place: Kal Miller, MD, dec. Dylan Gilcher, UM, 4-1.
157 pounds
Championship: Tyler Kasak, PSU, maj. dec. Brandon Cannon, OSU, 12-2.
Third place: Joey Blaze, PU, dec. Antrell Taylor, NEB, 3-2 TB.
Fifth place: Tommy Askey, MIN, dec. Ethen Miller, MD, 7-3.
Seventh place: Jacori Teemer, I, dec. Chase Saldate, UM, 8-3.
165 pounds
Championship: Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, dec. Mikey Caliendo, I, 4-1.
Third place: Beau Mantanona, UM, dec. Andrew Sparks, MIN, 2-1.
Fifth place: Braeden Scoles, ILL, won by MFF over Max Mayfield, NU.
Seventh place: Paddy Gallagher, OSU, won by MFF over Christopher Minto, NEB.
174 pounds
Championship: Levi Haines, PSU, maj. dec. Lenny Pinto, NEB, 12-1.
Third place: Dan Braunagel, ILL, dec. Carson Kharchla, OSU, 4-1.
Fifth place: Patrick Kennedy, I, pinned Branson John, MD, 1:59.
Seventh place: Clayton Whiting, MIN, pinned Brody Baumann, PU, 6:52.
184 pounds
Championship: Carter Starocci, PSU, dec. Max McEnelly, MIN, 8-5 SV.
Third place: Edmond Ruth, ILL, dec. Jaxon Smith, MD, 5-2.
Fifth place: Gabe Arnold, I, dec. Silas Allred, NEB, 4-3.
Seventh place: Donnell Washington, IU, won my MFF over Shane Cartagena-Walsh, R.
197 pounds
Championship: Jacob Cardenas, UM, dec. Stephen Buchanan, I, 4-2.
Third place: Zac Braunagel, ILL, dec. Isaiah Salazar, MIN, 4-1 SV.
Fifth place: Camden McDanel, NEB, won by MFF over Josh Barr, PSU.
Seventh place: Evan Bates, NU, won by MFF over Seth Shumate, OSU.
285 pounds
Championship: Gable Steveson, MIN, dec. Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, 10-3.
Third place: Ben Kueter, I, dec. Josh Heindselman, UM, 2-1.
Fifth place: Nick Feldman, OSU, dec. Luke Luffman, ILL, 7-2.
Seventh place: Seth Nevills, MD, dec. Max Vanadia, MSU, 4-0.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Penn State 181.5
2. Nebraska 137
3. Iowa 112
4. Minnesota 108.5
5. Illinois 105.5
6. Ohio State 95.5
7. Michigan 71
8. Maryland 54
9. Rutgers 46
10. Purdue 44.5
11. Indiana 33
12. Northwestern 21.5
13. Wisconsin 19
14. Michigan State 11.5
2025 INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS
Wrestler of the Year: Carter Starocci, Penn State
Freshman of the Year: Max McEnelly, Minnesota
Coach of the Year: Cael Sanderson, Penn State
Wrestler of the Championships: Gable Steveson, Minnesota
