No. 1 Penn State wrestling (7-0, 1-0 Big Ten) took care of business Friday night, defeating Michigan State (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) 55-0 in Rec Hall. The dual marked the Nittany Lion’s first conference challenge as the team moved further into the daunting Big Ten schedule.

Highlighting the dual were bonus point victories in every bout, including pins from Greg Kerkvliet, Tyler Kasak, Carter Starocci, Shayne Van Ness, Levi Haines, and Josh Barr. The win represented the Nittany Lions’ 63rd straight dual win.

How It Happened

285 Pounds

Friday night’s action started at 285 pounds where No. 2 Kerkvliet took on Max Vanadia. In no time at all, Kerkvliet rolled Vanadia onto his shoulders for the fall at 0:56

Kerkvliet to start us off with the fall at 0:56!#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/ui8cX7JEZp

— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) January 11, 2025

125 Pounds

After the pin, No. 12 Luke Lilledahl walked to the mat to face off against Nick Corday. Lilledahl kept the Nittany Lion offense rolling with a pair of takedowns in the first period to take a 6-1 lead headed into the second. An additional pair of takedowns combined with escape and stalling points extended the true freshman’s lead to 15-2 after the middle period of action. Despite Lilledahl not being able to finish on a bow-and-arrow pin attempt, a four-second near fall gave the Nittany Lion the 19-2 tech fall at 6:08

133 Pounds

After a short break, No. 5 Braeden Davis battled against Andy Hampton. Davis fired an early shot to secure the bout’s opening takedown, followed nicely with a four-second near fall to take an immediate 7-0 lead. Two additional takedowns from Davis extended his lead to 13-3 after the first period. A final takedown from Davis paired with an early escape to start the third gave the Nittany Lion a 20-5 tech fall at 5:25

Penn State led the dual 16-0 after three bouts.

141 Pounds

Next to the mat was No. 1 Beau Bartlett taking on Jaden Crumpler. Despite some back-and-forth scrambling, neither wrestler scored any points in the first period. An escape from Bartlett to start the second opened up the scoring, quickly followed by an extra stalling point after little action from the Spartan. In the waning seconds of the middle period, Bartlett secured the bout’s first takedown to extend his lead to 5-0 after five minutes of action. After allowing an escape, Bartlett wrapped up two more takedowns and another stalling point to take the 12-3 major decision victory.

149 Pounds

After the commercial break, No. 2 Van Ness shared the mat with Clayton Jones. Two quick takedowns from Van Ness led to the dual’s second fall, this time at 2:25.

Penn State led the dual 26-0 at the intermission.

157 Pounds

To resume action after the intermission, No. 3 Kasak took on Braden Stauffenberg. Four takedowns from Kasak lit up the scoreboard early, the Nittany Lion taking a 12-3 lead heading into the middle period. Kasak finished off the bout in the second period with a fall at 3:46.

165 Pounds

Trying to keep the bonus points streak alive was No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink facing off against Jay Nivison. In a similar fashion to Kasak, Mesenbrink jumped to an early 13-3 lead on behalf of three takedowns and a four-second near fall in the first period. Mesenrbink finished off his opponent in the middle period with a 20-5 tech fall at 3:57

The Nittany Lions now led 37-0 with three bouts remaining.

174 Pounds

Walkling to the mat next were No. 2 Haines and Ceasar Garza. Two takedowns in the first period were quickly followed by a bow-and-arrow pin late into the second for the fall at 4:13.

184 Pounds

After the fall, No. 1 Starocci took on Ryan Boucher. A takedown and a four-second near fall from Starocci were the highlights of the first period, taking a 7-0 lead after one. Despite a tough battle from his back, Boucher fell victim to the fifth fall of the night, this time at the hands of Starocci at 5:48.

197 Pounds

In the final bout of the night, No. 4 Barr took on Cory Thomas. Barr stuck with the theme of the night, pinning Thomas at 2:44 for the dual’s sixth fall.

What’s Next?

Penn State will be in action next at 9 p.m. on Friday, January 17, when it takes on Nebraska on the road.