After an astounding first session where Penn State wrestling had a team total of 10 bonus point victories in 12 matches, six Penn State semifinalists reached the Big Ten Championships finals in the tournament’s second session Saturday night.

How It Happened

Consolation Bracket: Round Two

133 Pounds

Braeden Davis, the lone Penn Stater in the consolation bracket, took on Dustin Norris of Purdue. The Nittany Lion came out hot with an early takedown and near fall points in the first 15 seconds. After an escape by Norris, Davis secured another takedown to stretch his lead to 10-1. Norris escaped again only to be taken down for a third time and forced to his back by the Nittany Lion. After four more near fall points, Davis picked up a first-period technical fall. The dominant win puts Davis into the NCAA Championships, joining his nine other teammates.

Consolation Bracket: Quarterfinals

133 Pounds

In his last match of the session, Davis took on Angelo Rini of Indiana. The Nittany Lion got on the scoreboard first with a takedown. After an escape by Rini, Davis took the Hoosier down again to stretch his lead to 6-1 before the end of the first period. Rini escaped to start the second period and eventually connected with a late takedown to cut the Nittany Lion’s lead down to one point. To start the third period, Davis escaped quickly to grow his lead to 7-5. Davis secured another takedown to secure a 10-5 victory and advance to the consolation semifinals tomorrow afternoon.

Championship Bracket: Semifinals

125 Pounds

First up was true freshman Luke Lilledahl when he took on top-seeded Matt Ramos of Purdue. Lilledahl started hot with an early takedown and four near fall points. Ramos escaped to get on the scoreboard before the end of the period. The Boilermaker got a reversal after a minute of riding time to start the second period. Lilledahl quickly escapes to make the score 8-3 heading to the third. After choosing neutral position, Lilledahl took Ramos down again to stretch his lead. Ramos escaped the hold to make it 11-4 with a minute left in the third. Lightning Luke won with a 12-4 major decision to advance to tomorrow’s final.

141 Pounds

In the next semifinal, Beau Bartlett faced Vance Vombaur of Minnesota. The Golden Gopher struck first with a low shot to take a 3-0 lead. Bartlett escaped after almost a minute of riding time, going into the second period down 3-1. Vombaur escaped quickly to start the second, extending his lead. The Nittany Lion eventually escaped to start the third period. Vombaur got docked for stalling but managed to hold off the Nittany Lion to win 5-3. Bartlett will compete in the consolation semifinals tomorrow afternoon.

149 Pounds

Next, Shayne Van Ness took on Kannon Webster of Illinois. After the first period, neither wrestler could get on the scoreboard. Van Ness escaped quickly to start the second period but failed to score a takedown after a few close attempts. To start the third period, Webster escaped to tie the match 1-1. After a flurry of offensive attempts, Webster connected on a single-leg takedown to beat Van Ness 4-2. The Nittany Lion will compete in the consolation semifinal tomorrow afternoon.

157 Pounds

In the following semifinal, Tyler Kasak faced Antrell Taylor of Nebraska. Kasak started hot with an early takedown to take the lead. Taylor escaped but was once again taken down by the Nittany Lion. Kasak took the opportunity and put the Cornhusker on his back for the first period fall.

165 Pounds

In his first real match of the tournament, Mitchell Mesenbrink wrestled Beau Mantanona of Michigan. Mantanona struck first with a takedown to take the lead. Mesenbrink escaped quickly to get on the scoreboard. Mesenbrink scored a takedown of his own to take the lead with 40 seconds left in the first period. The Nittany Lion escaped to start the second before taking down the Wolverine for the second time. Mesenbrink allowed Mantanona to escape and took him down again for the third time. The Nittany Lion connected again to score his fourth takedown of the match to extend his lead to 14-5 heading into the third period. After an escape, Mantanona got docked for stalling. Mesenbrink connected twice more to extend the lead to 22-8. The Nittany Lion scored one final takedown to tech fall the Wolverine 25-8.

174 Pounds

Next, Levi Haines took on Patrick Kennedy of Iowa. Haines got the scoring started with a takedown. Kennedy quickly escaped to cut the lead to 3-1 with a minute left in the first period. To start the second period, Haines escaped to extend the lead. The Nittany Lion scored his second takedown midway through the period. Kennedy escaped before the end of the period to head into the third period down 7-2. The Hawkeye escaped 20 seconds into the third. Haines scored a third takedown at the final whistle to beat Kennedy 10-3.

184 Pounds

In the next semifinal, Carter Starocci faced Jaxon Smith of Maryland. Starocci and Smith did not find the scoreboard in the first period. To start the second, Starocci escaped instantly to break the tie. The Nittany Lion scored his first takedown to extend his lead to 4-0 as the second period ended. Smith escaped to earn a point within the first 20 seconds. Starocci connected on a second takedown to go up 8-1. To finish the match, Starocci scored another takedown to earn a 12-2 major decision victory.

197 Pounds

In the next semifinal, Josh Barr wrestled Jacob Cardenas of Michigan. The two wrestlers failed to get anything going in the first period. Barr escaped to break the 0-0 tie in just 11 seconds, however, no other points were scored as the Nittany Lion led 1-0 heading into the third. Cardenas eventually escaped to tie the match at 1-1. Barr and Cardenas could not break the tie before the end of the third period, forcing sudden victory. Cardenas scored a single-leg takedown to get the winning takedown, beating the Nittany Lion 4-1. Barr will compete in the consolation semifinals tomorrow afternoon.

Heavyweight

In the last match of the night, Greg Kerkvliet took on Joshua Heindselman of Michigan. Kerkvliet scored a quick takedown to start the match. The Wolverine escaped to cut the lead to two before the second period. Kerklvliet escaped and took down Heindselman to extend his lead to 7-1. Kerkvliet picks up a stalling and riding time point to win 9-1.

What’s Next?

Penn State wrestling will be back in action in the consolation semifinals tomorrow in session III at 1 p.m. The wrestlers in the finals will compete in session IV at 5:30 p.m. Session III will be streamed exclusively on BTN+ while session four will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.