The top-ranked Penn State wrestling team followed up an assertive first session with an even stronger second. They sent a program record eight wrestlers to the finals after winning all but one semifinal matchup to cap off the first day of the 2026 Big Ten Championship.

Consolation Bracket: Round Two

141 Pounds

The lone Nittany Lion in the consolation bracket, No. 6 Braedan Davis, took on No. 12 Danny Pucino of Illinois. Davis struck early, getting a takedown in the opening moments as he worked his way to a pin to end the bout in just 36 seconds.

Consolation Bracket: Quarterfinals

141 Pounds

In his final match of the session, Davis matched up against No. 10 Joey Olivieri of Rutgers. After some early hand fighting, Davis got hold of Olivieri’s leg, but the Scarlet Knight was able to spin out of it and secure a takedown. The Nittany Lion started on top to begin the second period, and allowed an escape by Olivieri to go down 4-0 going into the final period.

Davis scored an escape to begin the third. He was also awarded a point for stalling to cut the deficit to two, but couldn’t mount a comeback, as Olivieri took the bout 4-2.

Championship Bracket: Semifinals

125 Pounds

First up was top-ranked Luke Lilledahl, who went up against Indiana’s No. 4-ranked Jacob Moran. Lilledahl struck first with an early takedown, before Moran managed to escape. The Nittany Lion would tally another takedown and release to go into the second period up 6-2.

After starting on top, Lilledahl managed to get his riding time up over a minute before Moran escaped. Lilledahl got in on the leg of Moran for his third takedown of the bout just before the end of the middle period.

An escape by Lilledahl kicked off the third to make it 10-2. Moran would escape, but couldn’t manage to score any takedowns as he fell to Lilledahl 11-3.

133 Pounds

A dominant major decision propelled No. 1 Marcus Blaze into the quarterfinals, where he hit the mat against Iowa’s No. 5-ranked Drake Ayala. A slow start to the match followed, with no points in the first period.

The Hawkeye started on bottom to begin the second, and Ayala worked the escape for the bout’s first point, before more hand fighting for the rest of the second period. Blaze tied it with an escape of his own to start the third, before more good defensive play sent the match into overtime. Blaze finally got around Ayala to secure a takedown and take the match 4-1.

149 Pounds

The next semifinal featured No. 1 Shayne Van Ness facing No. 4 Lachlan McNeil of Michigan. Van Ness surrendered a takedown early before getting on the board with an escape after a reset. A similar play gave the Wolverine a second takedown and a 6-1 lead after one.

Van Ness started the second much better, getting an escape and a quick takedown to cut the lead to one. A McNeil escape doubled the Nittany Lions’ deficit going into the third period. An escape by McNeil and a takedown by Van Ness tied the match at eight, before Van Ness let McNeil loose and scored a final takedown to win the match 11-10 and send the top-ranked Nittany Lion to the finals.

157 Pounds

No. 2 PJ Duke wrestled Illinois’ No. 3-ranked Kannon Webster in the next bout. A takedown by Duke and an escape by Webster were the only scoring in the first. Duke started the middle period with an escape to extend his lead to three. The score would stay that way until the third. Despite managing an escape at the start of the period, Webster would run out of time and fall to Duke in a 4-2 decision.

165 Pounds

Next up was No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, who took on No. 5 Andrew Sparks. Mesenbrink began the match with a takedown and amassed over a minute of riding time before the end of the opening period. Mesenbrink expanded on his lead with an escape at the start of the second before scoring his second and third takedowns. Sparks finally got himself on the board with an escape before succumbing to another Mesenbrink takedown to fall behind 13-3. Two more takedowns by Mesenbrink secured the 19-4 tech fall at 6:28.

174 Pounds

At 174 pounds, No. 1 Levi Haines went against No. 4 Carson Kharchla of Ohio State. Three stalemates and zero points occurred in the first period. A more active second followed with Haines being awarded an escape and a takedown to go into the third up 4-0. Haines had a dominant final period on top, not allowing Kharchla to escape until the final moments, securing the 5-1 win.

184 Pounds

No. 1 Rocco Welsh took on Michigan’s No. 4-ranked Brock Mantanona next. Mantananona came out hot, scoring a takedown in the first minute. Welsh escaped quickly and got hold of the Wolverine’s leg, but couldn’t score before the first period expired. A second escape and takedown by Welsh made it 5-3. Two escapes by Mantanona tied the bout early in the third. 5-5 remained the score going into overtime, where Welsh got a takedown early to get the 8-5 win in sudden victory.

197 Pounds

Another Penn State-Ohio State matchup was next, as No. 1 Josh Barr faced No. 5 Luke Geog. A lone takedown late by Barr was the only scoring in the opening period. Barr extended his lead after an escape while starting in the bottom position in the second. Shortly after, he made it 7-0 with his second takedown. A stall call and escape by Geog made the score 8-1, before another takedown by Barr gave him a 10-point lead after two. Barr rattled off two more takedowns in the third while amassing over two minutes of riding time to get the 18-3 tech fall.

Heavyweight

In the final semifinal, No. 4 Cole Mirasola wrestled against top-seeded Taye Ghadiali from Michigan. An early takedown by Ghadiali made it 3-1 after a quick escape by Mirasola. Ghadiali got an escape of his own to start the second period to make the match 4-1 going into the third. While starting on bottom, Mirasola worked hard for an escape but was unable to secure the takedown as he fell 5-2.

What’s Next?

Penn State wrestling will hit the mat again for the consolation semifinals during session III tomorrow, starting at noon. Session IV will see all the wrestlers in the finals starting at 4:30 p.m. Session III will be streamed exclusively on Big Ten Plus, while Session IV will also be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.