No. 1 Penn State wrestling (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) secured its second dual win of the season with a 43-3 demolition over the Drexel Dragons (2-1, 1-0 EIWA) in the Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia.

The Nittany Lions won all but one match with highlight performances from Marcus Blaze and PJ Duke, who picked up pins. Shayne Van Ness, Mitchell Mesenbrink, and Connor Mirasola picked up technical falls in the one-sided affair.

How It Happened

125 Pounds

Up first, No. 2 Luke Lilledahl took on Desmond Pleasant. Lilledahl struck first with a takedown in the first 20 seconds of the match. After a reset, Pleasant reversed the Nittany Lion, cutting into Lilledahl’s lead. Lilledahl would get a reversal of his own before going out of bonds once again. The Nittany Lion would secure a single-leg takedown to take an 8-3 lead heading into the second period.

Lilledahl would start on top, giving up an escape within 25 seconds. Lilledahl would get to a reshot and get his third takedown of the match. Pleasant escaped after 15 seconds; however, the Nittany Lion would roll into the third period with a commanding 11-5 lead.

The Nittany Lion escaped quickly and worked his way to his fourth takedown. After escaping, Pleasant would get taken down once again. Pleasant again escaped, but with the riding time point, Lilledahl would take the match 19-7, good enough for a major decision.

133 Pounds

Next, No. 11 Marcus Blaze faced Kyle Waterman. Blaze would secure an early takedown, then cut Waterman loose after 45 seconds. Blaze secured two more takedowns to extend his lead, accumulating close to two minutes of riding time and a 9-2 lead after the first period.

In the second, Blaze would start in the bottom position, escaping instantly and getting to his fourth takedown of the match. The Nittany Lion cut Waterman loose before taking the Dragon down and getting to a cradle pinning combination, securing the pin and six team points.

141 Pounds

Due to his injury from the Black Knight Invitational, No. 8 Aaron Nagao would miss action, paving the way for Cael Nasdeo to take on Jordan Soriano. Nasdeo would strike first with a single-leg takedown and 30 seconds of riding time in the first minute. Soriano would escape after 1:14 of riding time by Nasdeo. To finish the period, Soriano defended a deep takedown attempt. The Dragon would go into the second period down 3-1.

Nasdeo started in the bottom position, where he escaped after just under a minute. Soriano would tie the match with a takedown along the edge of the mat with less than a minute remaining in the second period. Nasdeo was not able to escape before the end of the period, leaving the match tied 4-4.

Starting the period on top, Nasdeo would surrender an escape after 20 seconds, giving Soriano the lead. Cael Sanderson would challenge a Nasdeo takedown; however, no points were awarded. Soriano would get the match-sealing takedown soon after the match resumed. Nasdeo would escape, but it would not be enough to sway Soriano’s lead. The Dragon would collect the 8-5 lead and get his team on the board.

149 Pounds

In the next weight, No. 1 Shayne Van Ness faced Patrick Kelly. Van Ness would score quickly, racking up a single-leg takedown after 30 seconds. Kelly would force Van Ness into an uncomfortable position, scoring a reversal before going out of bounds. Van Ness would get a reversal of his own after well over a minute of riding time from the Dragon. The Nittany Lion would go into the second period up 5-2, narrowly missing out on near-fall points.

Van Ness would cut Kelly loose to start the period. Quickly, Van Ness would get his second takedown and seamlessly get into a cradle pinning combination to receive four near-fall points and gain over a minute of riding time after the second period. The Nittany Lion would go into the third up 12-3.

In the third period, Van Ness would get another takedown and two more near-fall points. Van Ness cut Kelly loose one more time before getting another takedown, securing a 20-4 technical fall.

157 Pounds

In his dual match debut, No. 15 PJ Duke took on Luke Nichter. Duke would get to three takedowns within the first minute of the first period. After his fourth takedown, Duke would get to his pinning combination and win by fall at the 1:15-minute mark. The Nittany Lions would head into the break up 21-3.

165 Pounds

No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink faced Cody Walsh in the opening match of the second half. In classic Mesenbrink fashion, the Nittany Lion would pick up a takedown seconds into the match. Mesenbrink cuts Walsh loose after a restart before scoring his second takedown in the first minute of the opening period. After another escape, Walsh got taken down a third time to take a commanding 9-2 lead with a minute remaining in the first. Mesenbrink would get his fourth takedown to go up 12-3 after the first period.

Mesenbrink reversed from bottom position to get back into control to start the period. The Nittany Lion picked up his fifth takedown and rode out the rest of the second period. Mesenbrink would hit a beautiful reversal to secure the 20-4 technical fall.

174 Pounds

In the only ranked matchup of the night, No. 1 Levi Haines faced No. 17 Jasiah Queen. The first period started with mostly hand fighting and multiple shot attempts by each wrestler. Haines would work his way to a go-behind takedown with less than a minute to go in the period.

To start the second, Haines started in the bottom position, escaping after just a few seconds. Haines narrowly escaped Queen’s shot attempt before the two went out of bounds. Queen was docked for stalling, allowing Haines to go up 5-0 midway through the second period. Haines would get his second takedown and ride out the remaining seconds of the period.

In the third, Haines would concede the escape. The Nittany Lion secured his third takedown of the match before riding out the remaining seconds. Haines picked up a 12-1 major decision, adding to Penn State’s lead.

184 Pounds

No. 4 Rocco Welsh took on Ethan Wilson in the 184-pound class. Welsh came out aggressively, pushing Wilson near the edge of the circle for the first minute of the match. Welsh would get the opening takedown at the two-minute mark, before Wilson escaped after 26 seconds of riding time. The Nittany Lion would finish the period up 3-1.

The second period started with Welsh escaping from bottom position in seconds. Wilson was docked a point for stalling, adding a point to Welsh’s lead. The Nittany Lion would connect on his second takedown with minimal time left in the period.

Wilson escaped to start the third but was taken down once again with 90 seconds remaining. The Dragon escaped again before the two spilled out of bounds. Another stalling point given to Welsh made it 13-3 with a minute remaining in the period. Welsh would finish with a 13-3 major decision over Wilson.

197 Pounds

With No. 1 Josh Barr still out with an injury suffered in freestyle action, Connor Mirasola competed against Justin Griffith. The Nittany Lion was quick with his first takedown before the match was stopped for blood. Griffith escaped quickly after the reset but was taken down once again, this time with a sleek ankle pick. The Dragon escaped but was docked for stalling. Mirasola capitalized with his third first-period takedown of the match.

In the second period, Griffith escaped from bottom position, but Mirasola was there for his fourth takedown. Again, Mirasola struck with another takedown after cutting the Dragon loose. The Nittany Lion scored his sixth takedown, going up 19-5 at the end of the second.

The third period was quick with Mirasola as he hit a seventh takedown to win by 22-5 technical fall.

Heavyweight

With the final matchup of the night, No. 10 Cole Mirasola faced Nate Schon at heavyweight. Mirasola got in on a takedown, followed by a Schon escape. The Nittany Lion would go into the second period up 4-1 following a penalty point.

Mirasola escaped quickly off the whistle to extend his lead to four, but was unable to secure more points in the second.

In the third period, Schon escaped and safely avoided a Mirasola attack. The two wrestlers made their way to the edge of the mat before Schon went down with an injury. As the match resumed, Mirasola escaped from bottom position and took the Dragon down with minimal time left to secure the 10-2 major decision.

What’s Next?

Penn State will be back in action on Sunday, December 7, when the Nittany Lions host Lehigh in Rec Hall at 1 p.m. The match will be available for streaming on B1G+.