The NCAA Championships picked up where they left off on Friday night as top-ranked Penn State wrestling continued its dominant run in Session IV and clinched the team national title before wrapping up its second day of competition.

Six Nittany Lions will head to the championship finals on Saturday with another two wrestlers still alive in the consolation bracket.

Dynasty.@pennstateWREST is your 2024 National Champion pic.twitter.com/2H5Z3RASJ6

— Onward State (@OnwardState) March 23, 2024

How It Happened

Championship Bracket

141 Pounds

In the first championship bracket semifinal for the Nittany Lions, No. 2 Beau Bartlett faced No. 6 Lachlan McNeil of North Carolina. The two wrestlers didn’t score any points in the first period. McNeil chose bottom position as the second period began, and the Tar Heel escaped within a minute to take the lead 1-0. The third period began with Bartlett starting from bottom position. The Nittany Lion reversed McNeil to take the lead 2-1 with over a minute left in the period, and Bartlett earned two back points to extend his lead with 22 seconds left. Bartlett received an additional point for riding time and clinched a 5-1 decision. He’ll face No. 1 Jesse Mendez of Ohio State in the finals on Saturday.

157 Pounds

In the second championship bracket of the night for Penn State, No. 1 Levi Haines took on No. 12 Bryce Andonian of Virginia Tech. The two wrestlers didn’t score points in the first period as Andonian chose to start from bottom position for the second period. Andonian escaped quickly to take the lead 1-0, and the score remained the same as the third period began. Haines chose to start from bottom position and escaped within 15 seconds, though Andonian got in on a double-leg takedown to go up 4-1. Haines escaped quickly to cut the lead down to two and tacked on an additional single-leg takedown to go up 5-4. Andonian escaped almost immediately to tie the match at 5-5 and push the match into overtime. Haines hit a second takedown to win the match by fall to advance to the finals on Saturday night. He’ll face No. 2 Jacori Teemer of Arizona State.

165 Pounds

Next for the Nittany Lions, No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink wrestled No. 6 Mike Caliendo of Iowa. Caliendo struck first with a takedown to take a 3-0 lead, but Mesenbrink escaped quickly to get back to neutral position. Mesenbrink took the lead with a takedown of his own, though Caliendo escaped immediately to tie the match at 4-4 heading into the second period. Caliendo chose to start from bottom position and escaped within 10 seconds. Mesenbrink got his second takedown to take the lead back with a 7-5 advantage, but Caliendo escaped quickly again to cut the lead down to one. Mesenbrink registered another takedown to stretch his lead and allowed Caliendo to escape while maintaining a 10-7 lead. The Nittany Lion decided to start from bottom position for the third period and escaped within five seconds to extend his lead to four. Mesenbrink tallied another takedown to go up 14-7 with over a minute left. He allowed Caliendo to escape before taking the Hawkeye down once again, and Mesenbrink was triumphant in a 17-9 major decision to advance to Saturday night’s finals. He will face No. 4 David Carr of Iowa State.

174 Pounds

Next for Penn State, No. 9 Carter Starocci faced No. 4 Shane Griffith of Michigan. The two wrestlers remain tied at 0-0 after the first period. Griffith started from bottom position to start the second period, and Starocci held the Wolverine down for the entirety of the period before selecting the bottom position to start the third. Starocci escaped within 30 seconds to gain the lead at 1-0. Starocci won a 2-0 decision, returning to wrestle for his fourth national title where he will face No. 6 Rocco Welsh of Ohio State on Saturday night.

197 Pounds

Up next, No. 1 Aaron Brooks took on No. 12 Rocky Elam of Missouri. Brooks struck first with a takedown halfway through the first period. Brooks allowed Elam to escape, making the score 3-1. Brooks got in on another takedown to lead 6-1 going into the second. Elam started in bottom position for the second period, and Elam got to his feet after being docked for stalling making the score 7-2. Brooks connected with a third takedown to increase his lead. To start the third period, Brooks led 14-2 after collecting another takedown. Brooks tallied another three-point takedown to win by tech fall by a score of 17-2. He will face No. 2 Trent Hidlay of NC State in his quest for a fourth national title.

Heavyweight

The last championship bracket bout for the Nittany Lions was No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet challenging No. 4 Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State. Kerkvliet registered an early takedown to take a quick 3-0 lead, and the score remained the same for the first period. To start the second period, Kerkvliet escaped from bottom position instantly to stretch his lead to 4-0. Kerkvliet secured his second takedown to extend his lead to 7-0 with over three minutes of riding time. Schultz chose neutral position to start the third period, and Kerkvliet clinched the major decision victory by a score of 8-1. He will take on No. 10 Lucas Davison of Michigan in Saturday night’s finals.

Consolation Bracket

125 Pounds

In the first consolation bracket matchup of the night, No. 1 Braeden Davis took on No. 5 Jore Volk of Wyoming. The first period didn’t note any points for either wrestler and both tied at 0-0. To start the second period, Volk escaped from bottom position to go up 1-0, and the match remained in neutral position for the remainder of the second. Davis escaped from bottom position to tie the match at 1-1 with 1:30 left. Davis was quick with a shot but didn’t secure any points as the wrestlers returned to the center of the mat. The third period ended with the match tied at 1-1. Davis got in on a single-leg shot but didn’t record any points. The Nittany Lion was reversed and suffered a late takedown in overtime to lose 4-1. The freshman and Big Ten Champion will not place in the tournament.

133 Pounds

Next, No. 10 Aaron Nagao faced No. 3 Kai Orine of NC State. Nagao was taken down early in the first period to go down 3-0 early. Nagao escaped before the end of the first period to get on the scoreboard. The Nittany Lion chose bottom position to start the second period, and Nagao suffered four back points a minute into the second and trailed 7-1 after failing to escape. Orine began the third period in the bottom position and escaped after over a minute. Nagao hit a takedown and then was reversed quickly to lose an 11-4 decision to be eliminated from the tournament.

149 Pounds

Next, No. 7 Tyler Kasak wrestled No. 3 Jackson Arrington of NC State. Arrington struck first with a takedown to go up 3-0 early, and Kasak fought to escape to cut Arrington’s lead to 3-1. The score remained the same as Arrington assumed the bottom position to start the second period. Arrington escaped to extend his lead early in the period, but Kasak nailed a takedown to tie the match with less than 30 seconds left. Kasak chose to start from bottom and escaped to take his first lead in the match. The Nittany Lion freshman hung on to win a 5-4 decision and became Penn State’s seventh All-American this season. Kasak will move on to the consolation quarterfinals.

184 Pounds

In the last consolation match of the fourth round for Penn State, No. 6 Bernie Truax took on No. 10 Dylan Fishback of NC State. Neither wrestler scored points in the first period, and Fishback chose bottom position to start the second period. Truax held Fishback down for the entirety of the period with the score still locked at 0-0. To start the third period, Truax escaped from the bottom position to take the lead then quickly connected with a takedown to make it a 4-0 advantage. Truax racked up over five minutes of riding time to win 5-0 and advance to the consolation quarterfinals. Truax is the eighth Nittany Lion to earn an All-American distinction this season.

Consolation Bracket: Quarterfinals

149 Pounds

To start the consolation quarterfinals for the Nittany Lions, No. 7 Tyler Kasak faced No. 11 Quinn Kinner from Rider. Kasak struck first with a takedown and collected four back points to take a quick 7-0 lead. Kasak didn’t allow an escape before the end of the first period and started in bottom position for the second period in which he reversed Kinner to extend his lead. Kasak allowed Kinner to escape to make the score 9-1 with 30 seconds remaining in the period. Kinner selected bottom position to start the third period and escaped with less than a minute left. Kasak won by a major decision 10-2 and will advance to the consolation semifinals on Saturday morning where he will take on No. 1 Ridge Lovett of Nebraska.

184 Pounds

In the second and final consolation quarterfinal for the Nittany Lions, No. 6 Bernie Truax wrestled No. 7 Thomas Stewart Jr. of Virginia Tech. After the first period, no points were scored. Truax started the second period from the bottom position and escaped within 30 seconds, and the score didn’t change heading into the third period. Stewart escaped quickly to start the third period to tie the match 1-1. Truax made good on a takedown to take the lead 4-1, and the Nittany Lion held in the top position and secured a riding time point to win by decision. Truax will face No. 4 Trey Munoz of Oregon State in the consolation semifinals.

What’s Next?

The action will continue at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 23, for Session V with the culmination of the consolation bracket. The tournament will continue to be broadcast on ESPN.