Five members of Penn State wrestling took first place at the Black Knight Invitational in West Point, New York, on Sunday.

Overall, 17 wrestlers represented the Nittany Lions, recording a 47-20 record on the day. The most interesting events of the duel came in the 165-pound weight class after roster changes were made following the Olympic redshirt announcement for Alex Facundo, and Mitchell Mesenbrink worked his way up to first place.

Minnesota transfer Aaron Nagao also made his Nittany Lion debut and went 3-0 on his first day out.

How It Happened

Robbie Howard (125 pounds)

Robbie Howard started off his day 2-0, but his record changed when he lost by major decision 12-3 to No. 30 Ethan Berginc of Army and No. 31 Tristan Lujan of Michigan State due to a medical forfeit.

Braeden Davis (125 pounds)

In a surprising turn at 125 pounds, Braeden Davis took the title. He managed a technical fall, a major decision, and two decision wins over two ranked opponents to come out on top. He got revenge for Howard as he took down No. 30 Berginc and No. 31 Lujan en route to first place.

No. 3 Aaron Nagao (133 pounds)

In his Nittany Lion debut, Aaron Nagao had two technical falls against Gardner-Webb’s Takeo Davis 15-0 and Rutgers’ Devon Britton 17-2. He then moved on to win a major decision against Michigan State’s Andy Hampton 13-1 before pinning Army’s Braden Basile in the first period to win first place.

No. 2 Beau Bartlett (141 pounds)

Beau Bartlett kept his momentum going from the last tournament and secured the top spot with three falls and a decision win. In the first-place bout, he defeated teammate Tyler Kasak 4-1 to end the day victorious.

No. 17 Mitchell Mesenbrink (165 pounds)

Mitchell Mesenbrink also put on a dominant performance with two technical falls, a pin, and a decision win. Similarly to Bartlett, he defeated fellow Nittany Lion Terrell Barraclough 8-5 to earn first place.

Josh Barr (184 pounds)

Taking the final champion spot, Josh Barr finished his day 4-0.

Barr began with a technical fall win over Kyle Swartz of Army and then earned three straight decision victories to secure his Black Knight Invitational title.

Here’s how other Nittany Lions wrapped up the day:

• Gary Steen (125 pounds): 4-1
• Baylor Shunk (133 pounds): 2-2
• David Evans (141 pounds): 4-1
• Tyler Kasak (141 pounds) 3-1
• Connor Pierce (149 pounds) 1-2
• Imran Heard (149 pounds): 1-2
• Matt Lee (165 pounds): 3-2
• Terrell Barraclough (165 pounds): 3-1
• Brian Borden (174 pounds): 3-2
• Aurelius Dunbar (174 pounds) 1-2
• Jack Kelly (184 pounds): 0-2

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will open their regular season at Rec Hall against Lehigh at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 3. The duel will be streamed on the Big Ten Network.