On Sunday, No. 1 Penn State wrestling (6-0) traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, to take on Binghamton, No. 16 Arkansas Little-Rock, and No. 15 Missouri in the Journeymen Classic. The blue and white wrestling team combined for a 29-1 record in 30 bouts across the three duals, amassing a total score differential of 137-3, winning 52-0, 44-0, and 41-3 respectively.

Highlighting the duals were upset victories from Braeden Davis and Josh Barr and a team-wide bonus point victory efficiency in over 50% of all bouts, securing a total of seven tech falls, four major decisions, and 8 pins across all three duals.

How It Happened

Luke Lilledahl – 125 pounds

No. 12 Luke Lilledahl opened the afternoon’s action for the Nittany Lions when the true freshman took on No. 33 Carson Wagner of Binghamton. Lilledahl quickly amassed six takedowns and an escape to achieve a 19-4 tech fall at 5:37.

In the second dual, Lilledahl moved on to Jaden Carson of Arkansas Little Rock. Opposite of his previous match, Lilledahl found himself behind 3-1 after the first period of action. However, the 125-pound wrestlers found a reversal in the middle period to tie up the bout 3-3 after two. Continued offensive pressure in the final two minutes gave Lilledahl the 9-3 decision victory.

In his last bout, Lilledahl squared off against Gage Walker. The final bout proved to be the true freshman’s closest of the night, leading Walker 4-3 after the first period. The scoreboard was all tied up at 4-4 heading into the final two minutes of action, where an escape from Lilledahl sealed the Nittany Lions’ 5-4 decision victory.

Braeden Davis – 133 Pounds

To start his day, No. 10 Davis stepped to the mat with Micah Roes of Binghamton. In a slower but calculated performance, Davis opened up his trio of matchups with a 6-0 decision victory.

In the first of the days’ many upsets, No. 10 Davis took on No. 5 Nasir Bailey of Arkansas Little Rock. The first period never left the neutral position with no wrestlers scoring any points in the opening three minutes. Davis chose bottom and escaped to start the second, taking a narrow 1-0 lead into the final period. Bailey opted to start the final two minutes in neutral, however, he failed to score any points on Davis, allowing the Nittany Lion to hang on for the 1-0 decision victory.

In the final dual against Missouri, Davis faced off against Kade Moore. This time, Davis led the bout 7-0 after the first period, eventually extending his lead to 14-3 to take the major decision victory for his first bonus points of the night.

Beau Bartlett – 141 Pounds

No. 3 Beau Bartlett began his slew of bouts against Nate Lucier of Binghamton. A quick takedown from the senior gave Barlett a 3-1 lead after the opening period. Another flurry of offense in the middle period helped extend Bartlett’s lead to 10-2 heading into the final two minutes. A final takedown from Bartlett secured the 14-2 major victory.

In his second bout, Bartlett faced off against Cole Minnick of Arkansas Little Rock. After leading the bout 12-4 after the first two periods, Bartlett pressed Minnick’s shoulders to the mat to secure the pin at 5:23.

In Bartlett’s final bout of the day, he stared down No. 16 Josh Edmond of Missouri. This time, the scoring came much slower for Bartlett as the bout was pushed into sudden victory after a deadlock at 1-1. In the sudden victory period, Bartlett earned the bout’s first takedown to secure the 4-1 decision victory.

Shayne Van Ness – 149 Pounds

No. 2 Shayne Van Ness pinned all three of his opponents on Sunday in the order of Caleb Sweet of Binghamton at 2:49, No. 16 Jordan Williams of Arkansas Little Rock at 4:39, and Zeke Seltzer of Missouri at 1:57.

Tyler Kasak – 157 Pounds

No. 4 Tyler Kasak started his day with a matchup against Jordan Brown of Binghamton. After leading the bout 3-0 early in the second period, Kasak secured a pin of his own at 3:31.

In his second bout, Kasak took on No. 20 Matty Bianchi of Arkansas Little Rock. Again, Kasak took the early lead and held it for the remainder of the bout, up 3-2 after the conclusion of the second period. A considerable amount of blood time slowed the action, however, doing little to prevent Kasak from securing the 4-2 decision victory.

To end his night, Kasak faced off against James Conway. This time, Kasak exploded onto the scoreboard early and often, extending his 3-0 lead after the first period to an 11-3 major decision victory.

Mitchell Mesenbrink – 165 Pounds

No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink won his first bout against Binghamton via forfeit, seeing his first real action when he took on No. 21 Joey Bianchi of Arkansas Little Rock. Despite the late start on the day, Mesenbrink struck fast, quickly building a 6-1 lead after one. Mesenbirnk extended his lead to 14-1 after the second and secured the 17-1 tech fall at 5:27.

That bout was the only one for Mesenbrink on Sunday as he also took a forfeit victory against Missouri to wrap up his evening.

Levi Haines – 174 Pounds

No. 2 Levi Haines took on Roberto Padilla of Binghamton to begin his day. A quick 7-0 lead after the first period of action developed into an 18-0 tech fall at 5:00.

In Haines’ second bout, he took on Kodiak Cannedy of Arkansas Little Rock. Once again, Mesenbrink tore up the scoreboard with another 18-2 tech fall at 5:33.

In the most anticipated bout of the night, Haines squared off against No. 1 Keegan O’Toole of Missouri. The bout remained tied at 0-0 after the first period with both wrestlers achieving lone escapes in the remaining two periods to head into sudden victory tied 1-1. After a short time, O’Toole secured the bout’s first takedown, which was confirmed after a Penn State challenge, giving O’Toole the 4-1 victory over Haines.

The bout was the only loss from any Penn State wrestler on the day.

Carter Starocci – 184 Pounds

No. 1 Carter Starocci first took on No. 23 Will Ebert of Binghamton. After starting the bout with a 5-0 lead after the first two periods, Starocci finished the contest with a pin at 5:55.

Starocci’s second bout came against Triston Wills of Arkansas Little Rock. Continuing his offensive showcase, Starocci fought for the 17-1 tech fall victory at 5:37.

To finish the night, Starocci was challenged by No. 10 Colton Hawks of Missouri. In a much slower start than his first two matches, Starocci led 3-0 after the first two periods, sporting over 120 seconds of riding time as well. The action picked up in the third where Starocci finished the bout with a 10-0 major decision victory.

Josh Barr – 197 Pounds

No. 7 Barr matched up with Andrew Bailey to start his day, quickly securing a 19-4 tech fall all in the first period at 2:47.

In another highly anticipated bout, Barr took on No. 5 Stephen Little of Arkansas Little Rock. The first period once again remained in the neutral position with no points being scored by either wrestler. Little escaped to start the middle period, however, he was then briefly placed into concussion protocol to clear the possibility of any injury. Once action resumed, Barr escaped himself in the third period to tie up the bout before sudden victory. This time, Penn State came out on top as Barr secured the bout’s first takedown to win 4-1 over Little.

In his final bout of the night, Barr took on Jesse Cassatt of Missouri. This time, Barr acted quickly, securing the pin over Cassat at 1:45.

Greg Kerkvliet – Heavyweight

Kerkvleit was once again exceedingly dominant over all three of his opponents, recording a pin against Charlie Tibbitts of Binghamton at 1:33, a 15-0 tech fall over Keith Miley of Arkansas Little Rock at 1:40, and another 15-0 tech fall over Jarrett Stoner of Missouri at 5:57.

What’s Next?

Penn State wrestling will be in action next on Friday, January 10, when it takes on Michigan State at 8 p.m. at Rec Hall.