No. 1 Penn State wrestling (1-0) beat Bloomsburg (2-2) 42-3 at Rec Hall on Thursday night to kick off the Nittany Lions’ 2026-27 season.

The program’s 87th consecutive dual victory was highlighted by a pin by Shayne Van Ness and bonus-point victories by seven Nittany Lion wrestlers.

How It Happened

125 Pounds

Up first, No. 1-ranked and defending NCAA National Champion Luke Lilledahl took on Justin Jones. The Nittany Lion came out fast and scored a takedown in the opening seconds. After Jones escaped, Lilledahl quickly scored a second takedown, then a third after another escape to make it 9-2 through one period.

After starting in the bottom position, Lilledahl escaped to begin the second period. Three more Lilledahl takedowns soon followed, ending the match with a 21-4 tech fall at 4:09.

133 Pounds

Next was the highly-anticipated collegiate debut of Masanosuke Ono, who faced Austin Pollard. Ono came out strong, tallying three takedowns in the opening 30 seconds. Ono kept up the pace, adding three more takedowns to go into the second up 18-5.

A much slower second period followed, with Ono starting on the bottom and working for an escape before good defense by Pollard kept it locked at 19-4 going into the third.

Pollard started the final period with a quick escape, then his first takedown of the bout. A late escape by Ono sealed the deal, with the Nittany Lion securing a 20-9 major decision victory in his first match in blue and white.

141 Pounds

At 141 pounds was Hayden Cunningham, who took the mat against Scotty Johnson. A slow first period followed, with neither wrestler attempting any strikes.

Cunningham opened up scoring with an escape to begin the middle period. Johnson was awarded the bout’s first takedown to make it 3-1. The Husky amassed nearly a full minute of riding time before the end of the second.

In the third, Johnson extended his lead with an early escape before scoring another takedown. Johnson stayed in control through the final whistle to win 8-1.

149 Pounds

No. 4 Shayne Van Ness was next up, as he wrestled Jay Chase. Van Ness kicked off his fifth-year campaign with a bang, securing an early takedown and working for the pin in just 86 seconds.

157 Pounds

In the final match of the half, No. 2 Tyler Kasak made his return for the Nittany Lions as he faced Michael Turi. After a quick takedown by Kasak and escape by Turi, there wasn’t much action in the first, with Turi getting a stall warning late.

In the second, Kasak started on top and stayed there the entire period, totaling nearly three full minutes of riding time by the end.

Kasak began the third with an escape before much hand fighting. The Nittany Lion tacked on a takedown as the clock expired to make it an 8-1 victory. The Nittany Lions took an 18-3 lead into the intermission.

165 Pounds

First up out of the break was No. 1 PJ Duke, who made his debut at 165 pounds against Morgan Schwarz. Duke started the match with three takedowns in the first to go up 9-2.

Duke chose neutral to begin the second; he continued to hunt takedowns, adding two more while getting his riding time up to nearly three minutes going into the third.

An escape by Schwarz made it 15-5 early in the third. Duke then rattled off two more takedowns to end the match with a 21-6 tech fall at 5:50.

174 Pounds

No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink also made his debut at a new weight. He wrestled against Mohamed Abdelhady. Mesenbrink took a commanding lead with three first-period takedowns to make it 9-2 after one.

The Nittany Lion kept it up in the second, adding three more takedowns and getting awarded a late point after Abdelhady was called for stalling.

Mesenbrink ended the match soon after the third period began, scoring a takedown to make it a 22-4 tech fall at 5:06.

184 Pounds

Next up was No. 2 Rocco Welsh, who faced Gavin Hannah. The first-period takedown domination continued for Penn State wrestlers, with Welsh scoring three takedowns to take a 9-2 lead into the second.

After starting in the bottom position, Welsh extended his lead to eight with an escape before scoring a takedown and adding three near-fall points. After Hannah escaped, Welsh ended the bout at 4:29 with a final takedown to make it a 19-3 tech fall.

197 Pounds

Defending NCAA National Champion and No. 1-ranked Josh Barr hit the mat against Wyatt Bush. Barr scored an early takedown and nearly worked a pin, but had to settle for four near-fall points. Barr stayed on top for the remainder of the first while up 7-0, racking up over two minutes of riding time.

Barr scored an escape to start the middle period before securing another takedown and getting four more near-fall points. A stall call on Bush ended the match with Barr getting the 15-0 tech fall at 4:23.

Heavyweight

Last was Connor Mirasola, who wrestled No. 28 Mason Rebuck. Just six seconds into the match, Mirasola scored his first takedown. He scored his second soon after, cutting Rebuck loose to make it 6-1. Another Mirasola takedown and Rebuck escape ended the first period with the score at 9-3.

Mirasola made his lead seven with an escape to begin the second. Strong defense by Rebuck followed for the rest of the period to keep it at 10-3.

After selecting the bottom position, Rebuck cut into the deficit with an escape. A late Mirasola takedown made it 13-4 and secured a major decision in the final bout of the evening. Penn State won its season opener 42-3.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will continue a busy weekend and head on the road, where they’ll face No. 13 Oklahoma on Sunday, November 15. The dual is set to start at 8 p.m. at McCasland Field House in Norman, Oklahoma. Folks can follow along on ESPN+.

About the Author