Postseason wrestling is so back, folks.

The top-ranked Nittany Lions flexed in the first session of the Big Ten Championships, putting nine wrestlers in the conference semifinals on Saturday night. The Nittany Lions scored 31 takedowns while surrendering five on their way to five bonus point victories, including a pin, two technical falls, and two major decisions.

The first session consisted of the first and quarterfinal rounds of the championship bracket, as well as the first round of the consolation bracket. Eight Penn State wrestlers received first-round byes, with seven of them taking the No. 1 seed in their respective weight classes.

First-Round Matches

141 Pounds

Up first, No. 6 Braeden Davis faced off against No. 11 Dario Lemus of Maryland. The two wrestlers went back and forth, trading offensive attacks; however, it was Davis who finally struck with a takedown to open up the scoring.

In the second period, Davis was put to his back from bottom position for four near-fall points; however, the Nittany Lion reversed the Terrapin to retake the lead 5-4. Davis was impressive on top, keeping Lemus down for the entirety of the third period to hang on for the 6-4 victory.

Heavyweight

In the only other first-round matchup, No. 4 Cole Mirasola took on No. 13 Gabe Christenson of Northwestern. The Nittany Lion was a man on a mission, beating his opponent by pin after back-to-back takedowns, all within the first 30 seconds.

Quarterfinals

125 Pounds

No. 1-ranked “Lightning” Luke Lilledahl kicked off his tournament with a tough test against No. 8 Dean Peterson of Iowa. Neither wrestler scored points in the first; however, after the Hawkeye escaped to start the second, Lilledahl retaliated with a takedown attempt that gave him the lead 3-1 with over 1:30 left in the second. Peterson escaped to cut the deficit to one before the end of the period.

Lilledahl escaped quickly to start the third and was able to finish off his second shot along the edge of the mat to extend his lead to 7-2 with under a minute remaining. Peterson escaped but was unable to mount a comeback against the Nittany Lion.

133 Pounds

Next, No. 1 Marcus Blaze took on No. 9 Dylan Shawver of Rutgers at 133 pounds. Blaze was able to strike first with a takedown to take the lead 3-0 before the end of the first. Blaze escaped to start the second before taking the Scarlet Knight down for the second time. The Nittany Lion was given a stall point before landing his third takedown of the match.

In the third period, Shawver escaped but was taken down for a fourth to make it 13-2. Shawver escaped but was hit with yet another stalling to give Blaze the 16-3 major decision.

141 Pounds

No. 6 Braeden Davis faced off against No. 3 Vance Vombaur of Minnesota. The Nittany Lion surrendered a takedown midway through the first, starting the match in a 3-0 hole. Davis escaped before the end of the period to cut the deficit.

In the second, Davis escaped from bottom position and hit a takedown of his own to take a 5-3 lead with less than 1:30 left in the second. Vombaur rattled off eight straight points to close the period, coming by way of a takedown and four near-fall points.

The Nittany Lion surrendered another nine points in the third to lose by a 20-5 technical fall. Davis will need to win four straight to achieve third place.

149 Pounds

No. 1 Shayne Van Ness wrestled No. 8 Ryder Block of Iowa at 149 pounds. The Hawkeye was first to score with a takedown late in the first period to take a 3-0 advantage after the first. Van Ness escaped and was given a stall point, cutting the lead to one after the second period. In the third, Block escaped but was hit with stalling, making it a 4-3 match with under 40 seconds remaining. Another stall call in the last 10 seconds gave Van Ness two points to take the match in a 5-4 decision.

157 Pounds

In a highly anticipated quarterfinal, No. 2 PJ Duke went up against No. 7 Brandon Cannon of Ohio State. The Nittany Lion surrendered a takedown early in the bout but was able to escape after 23 seconds to get on the board. Duke was able to secure two takedowns of his own to end the period up 7-4 with over a minute of riding time.

In the second, Cannon escaped to cut the deficit to two. After a couple of solid shot attempts that ended in stalemates, Duke tallied his third takedown to take a 10-5 lead heading into the third. After starting in neutral, the Nittany Lion scored three more takedowns to destroy what many considered the No. 1 157-pounder in the country by a score of 20-7.

165 Pounds

At 165 pounds, No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink faced off against No. 8 Paddy Gallagher of Ohio State. As usual, the Nittany Lion was quick to his offense, scoring a takedown within the first minute of the bout. Gallagher escaped after being warned for stalling, but Mesenbrink took the Buckeye down for the second time before the end of the period.

Mesenbrink escaped to start the second and was given a point for stalling. The Nittany Lion was given a point for stalling in the third before Gallagher escaped, leading to a 9-2 victory for Mesenbrink.

174 Pounds

Next, No. 1 Levi Haines wrestled No. 9 Colin Kelly of Illinois. Haines was first to score, getting a takedown in the first minute of the bout. In the second period, Haines escaped from bottom and was given a point for stalling before getting his second takedown. The Buckeye escaped but was taken down for a third time before the end of the second. In the third, Kelly was taken down twice more to cap off a 17-2 technical fall for the senior Nittany Lion.

184 Pounds

In another highly anticipated quarterfinal, No. 1 Rocco Welsh took on No. 8 Angelo Ferrari of Iowa. As expected, there was very little offense in the first period, leading to a 0-0 stalemate after one.

Ferrari escaped to start the second and was able to gather a single leg of Welsh, but the Nittany Lion was able to defend and circle back to the center unscathed. Welsh escaped 15 seconds into the third to tie the match at 1-1.

In the sudden victory period, Welsh was able to defend a deep single-leg takedown attempt. In a shot of his own, the Nittany Lion was close to finishing for a win, but the Hawkeye was able to escape his advances. In the first rideout period, Welsh escaped after nine seconds to take the lead 2-1. Ferrari was able to escape in the second rideout, but it took 15 seconds, keeping Welsh in the lead and therefore gve the Nittany Lion the 3-2 decision victory.

197 Pounds

At 197 pounds, No. 1 Josh Barr faced off against No. 8 Gabe Sollars of Indiana. The Nittany Lion was able to score early and often, tallying four takedowns in the first period. Barr scored three more takedowns to complete the 21-6 technical fall.

Heavyweight

In the final match for the Nittany Lion of the session, No. 4 Cole Mirasola took on No. 5 Braxton Amos of Wisconsin. The Nittany Lion scored quickly with a takedown in the first 30 seconds. Amos was able to escape after just six seconds to cut the deficit to two. In the second, Mirasola escaped from bottom to go up 4-1. Amos escaped to make it a two-point difference, but the Badger was unable to make a comeback.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lion will be back in action on Saturday night for the second session, starting at 5 p.m. Braeden Davis will compete in the consolation bracket; however, the rest of the Nittany Lions will wrestle closer to 7 p.m. in the championship bracket semifinals.