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No. 1 Penn State Wrestling Tops No. 13 Rutgers 35-3

No. 1 Penn State wrestling (9-0, 3-0 Big Ten) rolled over No. 13 Rutgers (10-4, 2-2 Big Ten) 35-3 at the end of a two-week away stint.

Highlighting the dual was Mitchell Mesenbrink and Carter Starocci continuing their season-long streak of finishing all of their respective bouts with bonus point victories after two more tech falls from each wrestler against the Scarlett Knights.

How It Happened

125 Pounds

No. 6 Luke Lilledahl and No. 19 Dean Peterson kicked off the dual action. Neither wrestler could figure out the other throughout the first period as the bout remained level at 0-0 entering the second. An escape from Peterson to start the second broke the stalemate, taking a narrow 1-0 lead headed into the final two minutes of action.

Lilledahl quickly escaped to start the third, leveling the score at 1-1 with over 90 seconds remaining in the bout. Peterson scrambled for the bout’s only takedown in the waning seconds of the final period, taking a 4-1 decision victory over Lilledahl, handing the freshman his first loss of the season.

133 Pounds

After the loss, No. 7 Braeden Davis battled against No. 9 Dylan Shawver. Similarly, both wrestlers spent the full first period on their feet, neither able to score any points. Despite getting hit with a stalling point, Davis rode out Shawver for the entirety of the second period, however, he was now down on the scoreboard 1-0. Davis then escaped to start the third, tying up the score at 1-1 with 100 seconds of riding time locked up. Even though Davis couldn’t finish on a late takedown attempt, the blue and white wrestler won via a 2-1 decision after riding time.

141 Pounds

Coming up after the commercial break, No. 3 Beau Bartlett took on No. 14 Joseph Olivieri. This time, Bartlett struck first in the first period with a takedown, jumping out to a 3-1 lead after the first three minutes of wrestling. Despite an escape from Olivieri to start the second, Bartlett countered with another takedown, extending his lead to 6-3 heading into the third. The Nittany Lion added an escape point to his total to take a 7-3 decision victory.

Penn State led the dual 6-3 after the first three bouts.

149 Pounds

Next to the mat was No. 4 Shayne Van Ness and Alex Nini. Van Ness snagged two takedowns in the first period to grab an early 6-1 lead heading into the middle period. An escape, takedown, and a four-second near fall for Van Ness extended his lead to 14-1 after two periods of action. A final takedown early into the third period gave Van Ness the 17-2 tech fall at 5:26.

157 Pounds

Following the tech fall, No. 3 Tyler Kasak shared the mat with No. 31 Connor Harer. Kasak opened up the scoring with a takedown, putting himself in front 3-0 after one. After starting in neutral, neither wrestler could add any points to the scoreboard in the second period. Kasak rode out Harer for the whole third period to take a 4-0 decision victory after riding time.

Penn State led the dual 14-3 at the intermission.

165 Pounds

After the intermission, No. 1 Mesenbrink took on No. 26 Anthony White. Two takedowns from Mesenbrink paired with a set of near-fall points gave the Nittany Lion a 9-1 lead after the first period. An escape and additional takedown from Mesenbrink extended his lead to 13-1 after two. More offense in the third period from the 165-pound wrestler secured the 19-3 tech fall at 6:30.

174 Pounds

Up next, we saw No. 2 Levi Haines battling against No. 22 Jackson Turley. A takedown from Haines in the first period opened up the scoring, taking a 3-1 lead into the middle period. An escape from Haines was the only point scored in the second, extending his lead to 4-1. An escape from Tulrey was not enough to surmount the deficit as Haines took a 5-2 decision victory after riding time.

184 Pounds

After a short break, No. 1 Starocci stared down No. 18 Shane Cartagena-Walsh. Starocci took a 3-0 lead into the second period after a bout-opening takedown in the first period. An escape and takedown from Starocci extended his lead to 7-0 after two. A slew of takedowns from Starocci in the third paired with a few stalling points gave him the 17-2 tech fall at 6:58.

Penn State led the dual 27-3 with two bouts remaining.

197 Pounds

Next to the mat were No. 4 Josh Barr and No. 16 Josh Poznanski. Neither wrestler could get any offense going in the first as the score remained 0-0. In the second period, Barr remained in top position for the full 120 seconds, however picking up a stalling warning along the way. Barr picked up the offense with three quick takedowns to start the third, jumping out to a 10-3 lead with just over 60 seconds remaining. Four more takedowns in the final minute of the third period granted Barr the 22-6 tech fall at 6:19.

285 Pounds

Wrapping up the dual were No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet and No. 7 Varaslau Slavikouski. Once again, neither wrestler could score any points until a reversal from Kerkvliet to kick off the second period, putting the Nittany Lion in front 1-0. No points were scored in the remainder of the second as the final period started in the neutral position. Slavikouski was then hit with a stalling point early in the third after fleeing the mat, extending Kerkvliet’s lead to 2-0. No more points were scored in the remainder of the bout, giving Kerkvliet the 2-0 decision victory, however ending his bonus points streak.

Penn State won the dual 35-3.

What’s Next?

Penn State wrestling will travel back to State College to take on No. 3 Iowa in the Bryce Jordan Center at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

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About the Author

Brendan Wagner

Brendan is a senior majoring in print and media journalism. Born in Pittsburgh, he now lives in Mooresville, North Carolina. As a die-hard Pittsburgh sports fan, you can find him on Twitter, @brchwags, often complaining about the Pittsburgh Steelers and maybe Justin Fields, we will see.

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