No. 1 Penn State wrestling (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) started its three-match conference road trip Friday night when the team took on No. 11 Michigan (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) in Ann Arbor. The dual featured a full slate of ranked lineups stuffed with multiple All-Americans on both sides of the mat.

Highlighting the dual was an upset victory from true freshman Braeden Davis over No. 5-ranked Michael DeAugustino.

How It Happened

157 Pounds

Kicking off the night’s action was No. 1 Levi Haines taking on No. 9 Will Lewan. The entire first period ticked by filled with nothing but hand fighting between the two wrestlers leading to two stalling warnings, respectively.

Haines opened the scoring early into the second period with a one-point escape out of bottom position, taking the action back to the feet. Strong takedown defense from Lewan stopped a handful of weak takedown attempts from Haines, taking his 1-0 lead heading into the final two minutes.

Lewan took his turn escaping out of bottom position to start the final period, leveling the score at 1-1 with almost the entire period left to wrestle. Lewan was then hit by his second stalling warning of the match, granting Haines a single point that would prove to be enough to take the 2-1 decision victory.

165 Pounds

Next to the mat was No. 9 Mitchell Mesenbrink battling against No. 7 Cameron Amine. Similarly, the only point to come out of the first period was off an Amine stalling call, giving Mesenbrink a 1-0 lead. Amine’s escape out of bottom position was the only spark for the Michigan wrestler in the middle period as Mesenbrink earned a second point off another stalling call, followed by the first takedown of the night secured by the Nittany Lion wrestler.

Mesenbrink then quickly escaped from bottom to start third, extending his lead to 6-1 over Amine. A following two-point stalling call and a second takedown pushed Mesenbrink to a 12-1 major decision over a sluggish Amine.

173 Pounds

Filling in for Carter Starocci, Terrell Barraclough (6-1) took on No. 8 Shane Griffith. After no points were scored in the first period, Barraclough wrestled tough in top position for the majority of the second until a reversal from Griffith with under a minute left in the period gave him a 2-0 lead heading into the third period. After starting the final period in neutral position, Barraclough couldn’t secure the winning takedown, dropping a 2-0 decision.

Penn State still led the dual 7-3.

186 Pounds

In action next was No. 5 Bernie Truax staring down No. 15 Jaden Bullock. Despite the best efforts from both wrestlers, neither scored a point after the first three minutes of action. After an overturned takedown review, an escape from Truax to start the second was the only point of the period, taking a marginal lead into the final two minutes. An escape from Bullock to start the third period wasn’t enough as a Truax takedown attempt finally came to fruition, ending in a 4-1 decision victory.

197 Pounds

In the following bout, No. 1 Aaron Brooks squared off against No. 32 Bobby Striggow. A trio of takedowns from Brooks stretched out an early 9-3 lead after one period. Brooks kept the pressure on with another handful of takedowns in the second period, granting the wrestler a 20-5 tech fall at 4:16.

The Nittany Lions led 15-3 at the intermission.

Heavyweight

After the intermission, No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet took on No. 4 Lucas Davison. A powerful takedown from Kerkvliet opened up the scoring in the bout, taking a 3-1 lead into the second. After escaping from bottom position, Kerkvliet secured his second takedown of the match to extend his lead to 7-2 heading into the final two minutes. Kerkvliet then rode out the entire third period in top position to take the 8-3 decision victory.

125 Pounds

Next to the mat was No. 14 Davis facing off against No. 5 DeAugustino. Good defense from both wrestlers kept the score locked at 0-0 after one period. Davis started the second period in top position, where he remained for all but 15 seconds of the period when DeAugustino finally escaped. Davis made a successful escape of his own midway through the second period, just fast enough to keep hold of 60 seconds of riding time. A dagger takedown from Davis secured the 4-1 upset decision victory to remain undefeated in his freshman season.

Penn State led 21-3 after Davis’ dual.

133 Pounds

After the upset, No. 4 Aaron Nagao stared down No. 6 Dylan Ragusin. A scrappy exchange of takedowns between the two wrestlers kept the score locked at 4-4 heading into the middle period. After starting in top position, Ragusin stayed in control for almost the entire period until a locked-hands call against Ragusin granted Nagao a point. After Ragusin secured his riding time point, the match leveled at 5-5 heading into sudden victory. The sudden victory period was short-lived as Ragusin quickly secured the win by fall.

141 Pounds

Next up was No. 2 Beau Bartlett wrestling against No. 25 Sergio Lemley. Bartlett took an early takedown for the match’s first points, remaining in top control for the rest of the period. The Nittany Lion’s escape from bottom position extended his lead to 4-0 heading into the final period. Lemley quickly leveled the score at 4-4 with a takedown of his own, however, a reverse from Bartlett and a locked hands call against Lemley gave the wrestler a 7-5 decision victory.

149 Pounds

Finishing off the dual was David Evans taking on Fidel Mayora. After no points were scored in the first, Evans began the second in top position, where he would stay for the majority of the period before Mayora’s eventual escape. Evans secured the go-ahead takedown early in the third, giving him the decision victory 4-2.

Penn State won the dual 27-9.

What’s Next?

Penn State wrestling will continue its three-game road trip when it takes on Michigan State in East Lansing on Sunday, January 21. The dual will begin at 1 p.m. and will be available to stream on BTN+.