The Nittany Lions have done it again, folks.

Top-ranked Penn State wrestling (14-0, 8-0 Big Ten) defeated the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes (17-1, 6-1 Big Ten) 36-5 on Friday night in a sold-out Bryce Jordan Center to claim its sixth straight Big Ten regular-season championship.

Ohio State was without three starters in the dual, limiting the possibility of an upset as the Nittany Lions cruised to their 85th consecutive dual win.

(After 9). PSU: 24 OSU: 5

Penn State secured 25 takedowns while sacrificing five takedowns. Ranked upset victories from Marcus Blaze and Cole Mirasola highlighted the win for Penn State.

How It Happened

125 Pounds

Up first, No. 1 Luke Lilledahl faced off against No. 2 Nic Bouzakis at 125 pounds. The Nittany Lion was caught in a precarious position at first, but found a way to defend the Buckeye from scoring any points in the exchange.

In the second period, Bouzakis escaped early to take a 1-0 lead.

Lilledahl escaped within just a few seconds to tie the matchup at the beginning of the third period. The Nittany Lion was a half second too late to score a winning takedown in regulation; however, “Lightning” Luke struck in sudden victory to take the 4-1 decision victory.

133 Pounds

In the second matchup of the night, No. 4 Marcus Blaze took on an old foe in No. 2 Ben Davino. No points were scored in the first as the two wrestlers mostly hand-fought in the center circle.

Davino escaped easily to start the second, taking the 1-0 lead; however, no other points were scored.

Blaze escaped after 20 seconds in the third period to tie the match.

As the two wrestlers entered sudden victory, it was Davino as the main aggressor to start. After no points were scored, the two went to the overtime periods. Davino escaped in the first, with Blaze having nine seconds of riding time. In the second, Blaze reversed the Buckeye to put the Nittany Lion in front for the 3-2 decision victory.

141 Pounds

Up next, No. 12 Braeden Davis took on No. 1 and two-time defending national champion Jesse Mendez. The Buckeye struck first with a takedown coming in the last 20 seconds of the first period.

Mendez escaped to start the second period, adding to his lead. The Buckeye countered Davis’ takedown attempt, planting the Nittany Lion for a six-point swing. Davis escaped but was taken down a third time to make it 15-1 heading into the third period.

In the third period, Davis escaped but was taken down a fourth time to seal the 18-2 technical fall for Mendez.

149 Pounds

At 149 pounds, No. 1 Shayne Van Ness faced off against Brogan Fielding. The Nittany Lion was first on the scoreboard with a takedown in the final minute of the opening period.

In the second, Fielding escaped but was taken down a second and third time to stretch Van Ness’ lead to seven. The Nittany Lion was given a penalty point for his opponent’s stalling and then took the Buckeye down for the fourth time.

Van Ness escaped to start the third period, took down Fielding for a fifth and sixth time to complete the 20-5 technical fall.

157 Pounds

In the final match of the half, No. 4 PJ Duke wrestled Daxton Chase. The Nittany Lion was quick to his offense, tallying four takedowns in the first two minutes of the opening frame. Duke tacked on his fifth of the night before the end of the first period to make it a 15-4 difference.

Duke elected to keep the match in neutral position to start the second period, took the Buckeye down for the sixth time, and then pinned Chase to put Penn State up 17-5 at the half.

165 Pounds

In the first match after the break, No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink took on No. 16 Paddy Gallagher at 165 pounds. Mesenbrink was on the board first with a takedown immediately off the opening whistle. The Nittany Lion forced a stall point out of his opponent before the end of the first and compiled 2:47 seconds of riding time after the first period.

In the second, Mesenbrink escaped immediately to stretch his lead to five. The Nittany Lion secured his second takedown just before the buzzer sounded in the second.

The Buckeye escaped midway through the period, but was taken down one more time before the end of the match to secure another bonus-point victory for Mesenbrink, this time a 12-2 major decision.

174 Pounds

Next up, No. 1 Levi Haines faced off against TJ Schierl at 174 pounds. The Nittany Lion had two takedowns in the first period before putting the Buckeye to his back and getting two near-fall points.

In the second, Schierl escaped but was taken down a third time and flipped to his back for near-fall points. The Nittany walked away with a 16-1 technical fall.

184 Pounds

At 184 pounds, No. 1 Rocco Welsh wrestled No. 8 Dylan Fishback. The Buckeye was first to score with a takedown coming near the midway point of the opening frame. Fishback was able to keep the Nittany Lion down for over 1:30 before the second period.

Fishback escaped early to stretch his lead in the second period.

The Nittany Lion was able to escape and get a takedown; however, after Fishback’s escape, Welsh got a clutch second takedown to take the lead and win in a 7-6 decision.

197 Pounds

Up next, No. 1 Josh Barr faced off against No. 10 Luke Geog. The Nittany Lion scored first with a takedown in the first period.

Barr escaped to start the second and secured his second takedown with less than 30 seconds remaining.

Geog escaped to start the third period, cutting the deficit to six. Barr got to his third takedown to push the score into bonus-point territory, where he won with an 11-2 major decision.

Heavyweight

In the final match of the night, No. 12 Cole Mirasola wrestled against No. 3 Nick Feldman. Mirasola was close to finishing a shot, but was stiffed by the Buckeye.

Feldman escaped after less than seven seconds to start the second period. Mirasola was close to another takedown, but the two went out of bounds. The Nittany Lion was close for a third time, but after review, no takedown was awarded.

In the third period, Mirasola escaped easily to tie the match at 1-1. The two wrestlers failed to score, sending the match to sudden victory. Mirasola got the clutch takedown to secure the 4-1 decision and the highest-ranked win of his career.

What’s Next?

Penn State will be back in action on Friday, February 20, when the Nittany Lions host Princeton at Rec Hall in the final dual of the regular season. The dual will be streamed on Big Ten Plus at 7 p.m.