No. 1 Penn State wrestling (2-0) won nine of 10 bouts to defeat No. 21 Lehigh (1-2) 36-3 on Sunday afternoon at a sold-out PPL Center in Allentown.
True freshman No. 16 Luke Lilledahl and redshirt freshman Josh Barr pulled off upset wins against No. 15 Sheldon Seymour and former Nittany Lion No. 6 Michael Beard, respectively. Levi Haines got the meet’s only pin, while Mitchell Mesenbrink and Greg Kerkvliet both recorded technical falls.
How It Happened
125 pounds
No. 16 Luke Lilledahl started the dual off against No. 15 Sheldon Seymour.
The bout was knotted 0-0 after one period, but Lilledahl took the lead 1-0 after two periods with an escape. A takedown for Lilledahl upped the score with just 15 seconds left in the bout, and he came away with the upset win 4-1.
133 pounds
In a tough bout, No. 10 Braeden Davis wrestled No. 1 Ryan Crookham in the Nittany Lion sophomore bout’s first big test at 133 after winning the Big Ten title at 125 as a freshman.
Davis suffered a takedown in the first and was down 3-0. Crookham then got an escape in the second to go up 4-0. Davis scored two points to close the gap 4-2 with an escape and a stalling point, but it was not enough for a comeback, and Crookham took a 4-2 decision.
141 pounds
No. 3 Beau Bartlett was next to the mat to face the Mountain Hawks’ Carter Bailey.
Bartlett registered a takedown in the first for a quick 3-0 lead. He added an escape in the second to go up 4-0 before claiming the 5-0 win with 1:54 of riding time.
With that win, Penn State led with the team score 6-3.
149 pounds
Next up, No. 2 Shayne Van Ness wrestled Lehigh’s Matt Repos.
The bout started off slow for Van Ness with one takedown to lead 3-0, but he turned it up to increase his lead to 10-1 after two periods. Van Ness ended the bout with Penn State’s first major decision win a 17-3 margin with 1:57 of riding time.
157 pounds
After the win from Van Ness, No. 4 Tyler Kasak faced Logan Rozynski.
Kasak was first on the board with a 1-0 lead after a stalling call against Rozynski. He upped his lead to 4-1 after the two periods. Kasak put another point on the board with an escape and finished the bout with a 5-2 win.
Penn State held a 13-3 win going into halftime.
165 pounds
No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink was up next against Lehigh’s Thayne Lawrence.
Mesenbrink dominated from the start, holding a 6-1 lead and 2:33 of riding time after the first period. He kept up the intensity and finished off Lawrence with an 18-1 technical fall in the second period.
174 pounds
In another commanding bout for Penn State, No. 2 Levi Haines pinned Rylan Rogers.
Haines earned a takedown early to jump ahead 3-0 and fought to get a 7-0 lead in the second period. He continued to battle hard and won by fall at the 4:12 mark.
The pin put Penn State up 24-3.
184 pounds
Following the pin, No. 1 Carter Starocci faced the Mountain Hawks’ Jack Wilt.
Starocci started strong with a 7-0 lead in the first period. The Nittany Lion kept pushing and upped his score 11-0 before finishing off Wilt 15-1 with a major decision win.
197 pounds
In the biggest upset of the day, Penn State’s Josh Barr took on No. 6 Michael Beard.
The duo started the bout 0-0 after one. Beard was first on the board with a reversal, but Barr escaped to make the score 2-1. Barr scored a takedown and continued to roll from there for a final score of 11-3 and a major decision win against the former Nittany Lion wrestler.
285 pounds
For the dual’s final bout, No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet wrestled Lehigh’s Calvin Lachman.
Kerkvliet made quick work of Lachman, taking an 11-0 lead a minute into the bout. He continued to dominate and registered the technical fall 15-0 at the 2:07 mark to end the dual.
Penn State finished up the dual with a 36-3 win.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions will be back at home against Wyoming at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15, in the Bryce Jordan Center. The meet was moved from Rec Hall because the Penn State women’s volleyball team will be hosting the NCAA Regional Final the same day.
