No. 1 Penn State wrestling had a strong performance on Saturday in the first session of the 2025 Big Ten Championships in Evanston, Illinois. The first session consisted of first-round matches, quarterfinal matches, and the first round of the consolation bracket.   

Penn State had five wrestlers seeded No. 1 for the tournament, and all other wrestlers were placed in the top four seeds of their respective weight classes. Eight wrestlers had first-round byes because of their seedings.  

Nine Nittany Lions are expected to compete in the semifinals Saturday night. Additionally, one Penn Stater is still in contention for a spot to compete at the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships.   

First-Round Matches 

At 125 pounds, No. 4 Luke Lilledahl took on No. 13 Caelen Riley of Illinois. Lilledahl got out to a quick start in the first period, accumulating a minute and a half of riding time along with two takedowns. Lilledahl kept up his pace, catching Riley halfway through the second period for a pin to earn Penn State its first fall of the tournament.    

Next up for Penn State was No. 4 Braedan Davis facing No. 13 Andrew Hampton of Michigan State at 133 pounds. Davis had a strong first period with a takedown and an escape to put himself on top 4-1. The second period was quiet, with only one takedown from Davis to advance to a 7-1 lead. Davis took the top position to begin the third period, allowing Hampton an escape, but held him to no points the rest of the period. Davis eventually earned himself another takedown and an escape to win by an 11-2 major decision.  

No. 1 seeds Beau Bartlett (141), Shayne Van Ness (149), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), Carter Starocci (184), and No. 2 seeds Tyler Kasak (157), Josh Barr (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) all received first-round byes.  

Quarterfinal Matches

To start the quarterfinal matches for the Nittany Lions, No. 4 Luke Lilledahl returned to the mat to take on No. 5 Joey Cruz of Iowa at 125 pounds. Lilledahl was first to put points on the board with a takedown late in the first period. Lilledahl maintained his lead throughout the second period with an escape and another takedown for a 7-0 lead. Lilledahl secured a third take time along with over a minute of riding time to end the match with an 11-1 major decision win.    

Next to the mat was No. 4 Braeden Davis going against No. 5 Dylan Shawver of Rutgers. It was an uneventful first and second period with no score from either wrestler. Davis chose the bottom position to start the third period, leading to an early escape to put Davis up 1-0. Davis and Shawver got into a close scramble late in the third period, which resulted in a takedown for Shawver to defeat Davis 3-1 by decision.    

After a tough loss, No. 1 Beau Bartlett stepped up to the mat next to face No. 9 Greyson Clark of Purdue. Bartlett was first to strike with a takedown to earn a 3-0 lead in the first period. Bartlett was quick to strike again with another takedown to give himself a 6-1 lead over Clark going into the second period. Bartlett advanced his lead to 9-2 with another takedown, which he maintained going into the third period. Bartlett finished off the match with another takedown in the third period for a 13-3 victory over Clark.      

In the 149-pound class, No. 1 Shayne Van Ness took on No. 8 Kal Miller of Maryland. Van Ness earned himself a 3-0 lead with a takedown two minutes into the first period. In the second period, Van Ness extended his lead to 7-0 with an escape and another takedown. Van Ness kept up his dominant performance in the third period with a third takedown. Van Ness takes the 12-2 victory over Miller.

 At 157 pounds, No. 2 Tyler Kasak faced off against No. 7 Trevor Chumbley of Northwestern. Kasak earned two takedowns to lead 6-1 at the end of the first period. The second period was quiet for both wrestlers, with only one point scored from an escape by Kasak. Kasak maintained his lead in the third period for a 7-3 decision victory over Chumbley. 

At 165 pounds, No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink won by medical forfeit against No. 9 Paddy Gallagher of Ohio State.  

Next to the mat at 174 pounds was No. 1 Levi Haines taking on No. 8 Brody Baumann of Purdue. Haines struck first with a takedown for a 3-0 lead over Baumann. In the second period, Haines accumulated close to four minutes of riding time, along with a reversal for a 5-0 lead. After earning two more takedowns in the third period, Haines didn’t relent, eventually pinning Baumann and earning himself a spot in the semifinals. 

After the fall by Haines, No. 1 Carter Starocci took on No. 9 Donnell Washington of Indiana. Only a minute into the first period, Starocci earned a stall call and a takedown for a 4-0 lead over Washington. Starocci ended the first period with a 9-0 lead after picking up a near fall. Starocci continued to dominate on the mat with a reversal halfway through the second period. After another takedown and a near fall, Starocci defeated Washington by an 18-1 technical fall at 4:25.  

At the 197-pound weight class, No. 2 Josh Barr took on No. 7 Camden McDanel of Nebraska. With two takedowns and a near fall, Barr ended the second period on top with a 10-1 lead. Barr continued to control the match, getting two more takedowns to defeat McDanel by a 17-2 technical fall.    

In the last quarterfinal match, No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet wrestled No. 7 Ben Kueter of Iowa. Kerkvliet struck quickly, earning a takedown only twenty seconds into the first period. After earning a second takedown, Kerkvliet caught Kueter to win by fall in the first period, earning the Nittany Lions their second pin in the quarterfinals.  

What’s Next?  

Penn State is set to take the mat again on Saturday at 6 p.m. for the consolation round in session II. Consolation matches can be streamed on BTN+. All semifinal matches will be streamed on the Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. after the consolation matches.