No. 1 Penn State wrestling (13-0, 7-0 Big Ten) defeated No. 8 Ohio State (13-3, 5-2 Big Ten) 27-13 in its closest dual of the season.

Highlighting the dual were tech falls from Mitchell Mesenbrink, Carter Starocci, and Josh Barr, as well as an outstanding performance by Beau Bartlett to defeat Jesse Mendez.

How It Happened

125 Pounds 

To kick off the dual meet No. 7 Luke Lilledahl took on No. 21 Brendan McCrone. Lilledahl struck first, earning a takedown in the first 60 seconds. Lilledahl continued to dominate the first period, getting a second takedown and only allowing McCrone two escapes. McCrone started in the top position going into the second, eventually catching Lilledahl in a cradle and getting him to his back to secure the pin and upset Lilledahl with a minute left in the second period.     

133 Pounds 

After the loss, No. 8 Braedan Davis took on No. 11 Nic Bouzakis. This was Davis’s first time back on the mat since Penn State’s dual against Rutgers in January. Neither wrestler couldn’t secure any points in the first period, however, the second period proved to be much more eventful.

Bouzakis was the first wrestler to put points on the board earning an escape. With 40 seconds left in the second, Davis earned a takedown which Bouzakis responded to with a reversal, resulting in a 3-3 score at the end of the second period. Davis came out strong in the third with an escape and a takedown to take the lead, but Bouzakis didn’t go down without a fight. Bouzakis was able to get a reversal keeping the score within two points, but in the end, he couldn’t hold Davis. Davis wins via an 8-6 decision.   

141 Pounds

Next was the much-anticipated match of the night between No. 3 Bartlett and No. 1 Jesse Mendez. It wasn’t until the end of the first period that any points were put on the board. Bartlett got the first takedown of the match to secure the 3-0 lead before heading into the second period.

Bartlett earned an escape at the beginning of the second period, but not much action followed. Bartlett entered the third period with a 4-0 lead. Mendez started the third with an escape and got a stall call against Bartlett, however, Bartlett came out on top with a 4-2 victory over Mendez. This was Mendez’s first loss since last February when he was also defeated by Bartlett in a dual meet.  

149 Pounds

Next on the mat was No. 2 Shayne Van Ness taking on No. 7 Dylan D’Emilio. It was a quiet first period with no points scored by either wrestler. The second period didn’t render much more action, ending with D’Emilio on top with a 1-0 lead after an early escape. Thirty seconds into the third, Van Ness earned himself an escape to even out the score 1-1. It wasn’t until six seconds left in the match that Van Ness was able to secure a takedown and take home a 4-1 win by decision.   

157 Pounds

Following the last-second win from Van Ness, true freshman Joe Sealey made his collegiate debut against redshirt freshman Brandon Cannon. Cannon came out blazing with an early takedown to put him ahead 3-1 at the end of the first period. Cannon continued to put the pressure on Sealey, earning a point on a stall call as well as accumulating two minutes of riding time. Cannon entered the third up 4-1 and was relentless earning yet another takedown and stall call as well as an escape. Cannon defeated Sealey in a 9-1 major decision giving Ohio State a 10-9 lead at the break.  

164 Pounds

After the break, No. 1 Mesenbrink took the mat against Brock Herman. Mesenbrink dominated the first period with a total of five takedowns to put him ahead 15-4. Mesenbrink got a reversal early in the second period and gained two more points on a stall call and a stall warning to achieve his 14th tech fall this season. Mesenbrink won 19-4.     

174 Pounds

Following the tech fall, No. 2 Levi Haines went head-to-head against No. 5 Carson Kharchla. Kharchla earned the first points of the match with a takedown to put himself on top at the end of the first period with a 3-1 lead over Haines.

Haines got an escape early, but the second period remained scoreless after that with Kharchla still ahead 3-2. After an escape from Kharchla, Haines came through with a takedown to make it 5-4 and get his first lead of the match. In the third period, Haines collected a minute of riding time to defeat Kharchla by a 6-4 decision.   

184 Pounds

Next on the mat was No. 1 Starocci facing off against No. 18 Ryder Rogotzke. Starocci claimed two takedowns in the first period to take a 6-2 lead going into the second. Starocci picked up steam in the second period with three more takedowns to advance his lead to 15-6 over Rogotzke. In the third period, Starocci asserted his dominance with two more takedowns and ended the match by securing riding time to tech fall Rogotzke 22-7.   

197 Pounds 

After another tech fall by Penn State, No. 3 Barr stepped up to take on No. 23 Seth Shumate. No points were scored until the second period where Barr managed to get an early escape. Barr gained some momentum getting a takedown to make it 4-0 going into the third period. Barr really got the ball moving in the third period coming up with numerous takedowns and securing riding time to get Penn State its third tech fall of the night in a 19-5 victory.  

285 Pounds

Toward the end of the dual, true freshman Cole Mirasola took on No. 9 Nick Feldman. Feldman had an early shot resulting in a takedown in the first period. Mirasola ended the period with an escape to get himself on the board and ended the first period 3-1. Feldman earned a quick escape in the second and proceeded to get another takedown to further his lead 7-2 over Mirasola. Feldman ended the match with a takedown in the last 10 seconds to take the match in a 10-3 decision.   

Penn State won the match 27-13 

What’s Next?  

Penn State has a quick turnaround as it heads to Champaign, Illinois, to take on No. 13 Illinois in another dual at 2 p.m. on Sunday.