Top-ranked Penn State wrestling (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) took down No. 3 Nebraska (11-2, 6-2 ) 22-13 on Sunday afternoon in front of a sold-out Rec Hall crowd. With the victory, Penn State claimed the regular season Big Ten title for the fourth consecutive year.
Highlighting the dual for the Nittany Lions were two top-10 victories by No. 1 Beau Bartlett and No. 1 Levi Haines. Bartlett defeated No. 6 Brock Hardy while Haines defeated No. 8 Peyton Robb.
How It Happened
125 Pounds
Up first, No. 6 Braeden Davis of Penn State took on No. 10-ranked Caleb Smith of Nebraska. The two wrestlers stuck to their feet for the entirety of the first period with plenty of shots taken. The Cornhusker started from the bottom position to start the second and eventually escaped after Davis racked up over a minute in riding time to take a 1-0 lead into the third. Davis escaped to start the final period, tying the match at 1-1. Smith, however, scored a takedown and four near fall points to take an 8-1 advantage. Davis escaped and picked up a penalty point, but Smith secured another late takedown to ice the match and an 11-3 major decision.
Nebraska led Penn State 4-0.
133 Pounds
Penns Valley native Baylor Shunk, filling in for Aaron Nagao, faced Nebraska’s No. 15 Jacob Van Dee in the meet’s second bout. The Cornhusker was first on the board with a takedown, letting Shunk escape quickly after. Van Dee secured his second takedown and led the match 6-2 after after one period. Van Dee took the bottom position to start the second, and Shunk went to work on a full-period rideout, building up 1:13 in riding time. Shunk took the bottom position to start the third period, and this time it was Van Dee who stayed in control, riding out the period for to secure the 6-2 decision.
Nebraska extended its lead to 7-0.
141 Pounds
The meet’s second top-10 matchup featured No. 1 Beau Bartlett taking on No. 6 Brock Hardy. Bartlett struck instantly, hitting a single-leg shot and dropping Hardy for three points. Hardy escaped after 20 seconds of riding time and the first period ended with Bartlett on top 3-1. The Nittany Lion took the bottom position to start the second and instantly escaped to add to his lead. Bartlett then countered a Hardy shot and worked his way to a takedown of his own. Hardy escaped before the end of the second period, cutting the lead down to 7-2 heading into the third. Hardy escaped from the bottom position to start the final period. The Husker then drove through on a double-leg for a takedown, from which Bartlett escaped to an 8-6 lead. After a potentially dangerous stoppage as Bartlett fought off a Hardy shot, Bartlett maintained the lead with less than 30 seconds remaining. The Nittany Lion fended off another Hardy shot and with a riding time point notched a 9-6 decision.
Nebraska led Penn State 7-3.
149 pound
No. 7 Tyler Kasak battled hard against top-ranked and undefeated Ridge Lovett of Nebraska. Kasak struck first with a high-double for takedown that was quickly reversed by Lovett for two points of his own. The Nittany Lion led 3-2 heading into the second period. A Lovett escape was the only point of the middle period, tying the bout at 3-3. Kasak chose neutral to start the third, and the two wrestlers remained on their feet for the majority of the third period with Kasak being the main aggressor. With time winding down, Lovett connected on a low double for a decisive takedown with less than three seconds remaining. Nittany Lion head coach Cael Sanderson threw the challenge brick, but the call was upheld. Lovett remained undefeated with a 6-3 decision.
Nebraska led 10-3 after four bouts.
157 Pounds
Top-ranked Levi Haines met No. 8 Peyton Robb in a Big Ten final rematch. After a scoreless first, Robb quickly escaped from the bottom position to take a 1-0 lead in the second. The wrestlers maintained neutral position for much of the period until Haines worked Robb for a three-point takedown just before the clock ran out. A Nebraska challenge was unsuccessful, and Haines held a 3-1 lead. Haines escaped easily to start the third period to extend his lead to 4-1. The Nittany Lion hits his second takedown of the match out of a scramble before letting the Cornhusker up for a 7-2 lead. Haines then hit on a high double and lifted Robb off the mat for a takedown. Robb escaped to cut the lead down to seven, but Haines emerged victorious 10-3.
Nebraska led 10-6 heading into the intermission.
165 Pounds
No. 6 Mitchell Mesenbrink opened up the second-half action against Nebraska’s No. 11 Antrell Taylor. The Husker countered a shot for a takedown and Mesenbrink escaped to give Taylor a 3-1 lead at the end of one. Mesenbrink escaped from the bottom position to start the second, then used a high single for a thunderous takedown, taking the lead 5-3. Taylor escaped to make it 5-4 before the end of the second. Taylor chose the bottom position to start the third and escaped, tying the match 5-5. Mesenbrink answered right back with a low single for his second takedown of the bout and finished the period on top. With a riding time point, Mesenbrink won 9-5, securing the third decision victory for the Nittany Lions.
Nebraska hung on to a 10-9 advantage.
174 Pounds
No. 1 Carter Starocci got on the board midway through the first period with a high single for a takedown of Nebraska’s No. 30 Bubba Wilson. Following a Wilson escape, Starocci hit his second takedown and finished the period in control with a 6-1 lead. Wilson took the bottom position to start the second and escaped quickly. Starocci forced Wilson to the ground where he hit his third takedown, let him up, and used another high single for a fourth takedown. Wilson got hit with stalling to add a point making Starocci’s lead 13-3 heading into the third. Starocci escaped quickly and continued to attack, hitting his fifth takedown before letting Wilson up again. The Nittany Lion finished it off with a final takedown for a 204 tech fall victory at 5:58.
Penn State overtook Nebraska and led 14-10.
184 Pounds
No. 10 Bernie Truax took on No. 3 Lenny Pinto of Nebraska in yet another top-10 matchup. Pinto got on the board first with an early takedown and Truax escaped. The Husker countered a Truax shot and worked for his second takedown followed by another escape. Pinto led 6-2 heading into the second period. Truax escaped from the bottom position early in the period, but Pinto’s strong defense kept his lead a 6-3 after two. Truax allowed a Pinto escape to start the third and turned up the pressure, scoring a massive takedown to narrow the score to 7-6. Truax let his Davis up once more to make the score 8-6 and the Cornhusker narrowly escaped a takedown attempt to win 8-6.
Penn State led 14-13 with two bouts remaining.
197 Pounds
No. 1 Aaron Brooks scored quickly in the 197-pound bout, taking down Nebraska’s No. 13 Silas Allred and cutting him loose for a 3-1 lead. Brooks hit another takedown to increase his lead to 6-1 and remained in control to rack up close to two minutes in riding time as the first period came to a close. Allred chose the bottom position and Brooks let him up for the escape. Brooks kept the pressure on for another takedown and again controlled from the top position, building his riding time over three minutes of riding time. He led 9-2 heading into the third period. Starting from the neutral position, Brooks hit his fourth takedown to take a commanding 12-2 lead. He let Allred up and forced the Cornhusker to give up a stall point. Brooks used a high shot for his fifth takedown and cut Allred loose again. The Nittany Lion couldn’t break through for a tech fall, but Brooks won the match with a 17-4 major decision.
Penn State extended its lead to 17-13 going into the final bout.
Heavyweight
Top-ranked Greg Kervliet faced Nebraska’s Nash Hutmacher in the final match. Kerkvliet struck first with a takedown midway through the first and controlled Hutmacher for the remainder of the period, surpassing the 1:30 riding-time mark. Opening the second period in the down position, Kerkvliet quickly reversed Hutmacher to increase his lead to 5-0. Hutmacher got hit with stalling, adding a point to Kerkvliet’s lead. Heading into the third period, Kerkvliet lead 6-0 with well over three minutes of riding time. Hutmacher was hit with stalling again as he struggled to get out from underneath the Nittany Lion. Kerkvliet rode out the period and won the bout with a 10-0 major decision to seal the win for Penn State.
No. 1 Penn State won the match 22-13 in a competitive set of bouts with No. 3 Nebraska.
What’s Next?
Penn State will return to Rec Hall for the final time this season as it takes on the Fighting Scots of Edinboro at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 25. The dual will be streamed on BTN+.
Geoff Rushton contributed to this report.
