No. 1 Penn State wrestling (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) shut out No. 29 Indiana (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) 46-0 in the team’s first Big Ten dual meet of the season on Sunday in front of a sold-out crowd in Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions scored five technical falls on the day and won the takedown battle 35-0. Freshman Tyler Kasak notched a tech fall over a ranked opponent, while fellow first-years Braedan Davis and Josh Barr recorded major decisions.
How It Happened
Starting the dual match action off at 125 pounds was freshman Braeden Davis (9-0) for the Nittany Lions and Michael Spangler (8-5) for the Hoosiers. Davis started quickly with an easy three-point takedown. Spangler escaped, making the score 3-1 after only sacrificing 26 seconds of riding time in the first period.
The second period began as Davis took the down position, where he reversed Spangler, extending his lead to 5-1. Spangler eventually escaped to bring the match to 5-2. The Nittany Lion soon connected on a shot and secured his second three-point takedown, going into the third period with a strong 8-2 lead. Spangler started in the bottom position to start the third period, where he escaped with 1:15 left in the match. Davis secured his third takedown and regained points to extend his lead to 15-3 and pick up the major decision win for the Nittany Lions.
At 133 pounds, No. 4 Aaron Nagao (6-1) took on redshirt freshman Isaac Thornton (3-8). Nagao scored his first takedown in the opening moments of the match and eventually collected two back points. Nagao went on to collect 1:39 of riding time before giving his opponent a chance to escape, making the match 5-1.
Nagao took down Thornton again to extend the lead to 8-1 going into the second period, where the Nittany Lion took the bottom position. Nagao reversed Thornton quickly, making the advantage 10-1. Thornton escaped and then was taken down again, making the match 13-3. The Nittany Lion let his opponent up once again before taking him down, making the match a one-sided 16-3 going into the third period. Nagao allowed an escape and took the Hoosier down one last time to earn the 19-4 tech fall victory at 5:24.
The win extended the Nittany Lions’ lead to 9-0.
At 141 pounds, No. 2 Beau Bartlett (9-0) took on Danny Fongaro (16-1). Tied 1-1 in the final 30 seconds. Bartlett gained position for a takedown out of a scramble after a Fongaro shot and turned the Hoosier for four near fall points to win the match 8-1 in the final moments of the third period.
Barlett’s decision pushed Penn State’s lead to 12-0.
At 149 pounds, Penn State’s Tyler Kasak (5-1) faced senior No. 14 Graham Rooks. Kasak hit a beautiful shot to get the Hoosier on his back early in the match, quickly going up 7-0 with over a minute left in the first period. The Nittany Lion held Rooks down for the rest of the period, racking up two minutes of riding time and securing four more points due to a near fall.
Rooks chose neutral to start the second, but Kasak quickly worked a single for a takedown and controlled the Hoosier for the majority of this period, building up more than three minutes of riding time. Kasak started from bottom position in the third period and finally managed to escape with one second remaining to pick up a 15-0 tech fall over Rooks, increasing the Nittany Lions’ team lead to 17-0.
At 157 pounds, top-ranked Levi Haines (6-0) faced off against Zack Rotkvich (4-4). Haines scored the match’s first takedown a minute into the bout, taking a 3-0 lead and racking up over two minutes of riding time going into the second period. Haines chose to start from neutral position, where he scored his second takedown along with four back points, making the match 10-0. Haines continued to dominate, scoring four more back points before the end of the period. The wrestlers started from neutral position again, and Haines hit his third takedown of the match, making the score 17-0 and a tech fall victory at 6:06.
At intermission, Penn State held onto a dominant 22-0 lead.
After the break, No. 10 Mitchell Mesenbrink (10-0) of Penn State faced off against No. 23 Tyler Lillard (14-3) at 165 pounds. Mesenbrink got a takedown for an early 3-0 lead Mesenbrink, and after an injury time stoppage for Lillard, Mesenbrink sacrificed a point to start from neutral before taking the Hoosier down a second time to go up 6-1. Lillard remained down, with an evident leg injury for a few minutes before agreeing to continue the match. Mesenbrink chose bottom position after the stoppage, where he quickly escaped to make the match 7-1. The Nittany Lion took Lillard down a third time to bring the match to 10-1 before another injury stoppage for the Hoosier. Mesenbrink won the match by injury default, extending Penn State’s lead to 28-0
Top-ranked Carter Starocci (5-0) had little trouble in the 174-pound bout against Robert Major (2-6). The defending champion took control of the matchup quickly, securing five takedowns through the first period for a commanding 15-4 lead . Starocci chose top position to start the second and turned Major for four back points to end the bout with a 19-4 tech fall, his 59th consecutive victory, at the 3:41 mark.
The one-sided dual meet continued to go Penn State’s way, and the group led 33-0.
A 184 pounds Nittany Lion freshman Josh Barr (7-0) made his Rec Hall and dual meet debut, filling in for Bernie Truax against Roman Rogotzke (16-8). Barr hit a double-leg takedown midway through the first period to start the match and Rogotzke escaped to cut the lead to 3-1. Barr hit his second takedown after Rogotzke escaped from the bottom position to start the second period, and worked out of a scramble for another to increase his lead to 9-3. The wrestlers started from neutral position for the third period, and Barr capitalized by hitting his fourth takedown of the match with a minute remaining. Rogotzke escaped again, bringing the score to 12-4 as time ran out in the third period.
Barr’s major decision victory extended the Nittany Lions’ lead to 37-0.
Heading into the 197-pound weight class, top-ranked Aaron Brooks (5-0) faced off against Gabe Sollars (17-7). Brooks started the match with a trio of takedowns and led the Hoosier 9-2 going into the second period. Brooks easily escaped from bottom position and quickly hit his fourth takedown of the match. He let his opponent up and earned his second takedown of the match, growing his lead to 16-4. Brooks put the bout away with a final takedown at the 3:24 mark to secure the 19-4 tech fall victory.
Top-ranked Greg Kerkvliet (5-0) took on Indiana’s Nick Willham (4-5) in the 285-pound bout. Kerkvliet got on the board early as he lifted Willham off the mat for a takedown and stayed in control, turning the Hoosier for two back points and 5-0 lead, along with 2:41 in riding time at the end of the first period. The Nittany Lion started the second in the down position, and quickly got out to increase his lead to 6-0. Kerkvliet then connected on a quick shot his second takedown and increased his riding time to over four minutes after two periods. Willham started from bottom position and escaped within a few seconds. Kerkvliet hit a low double-leg shot to increase his lead to 13-1 with less than a minute to go. The Nittany Lion let Wilham escape before attempting another shot as he looked for a technical fall. Kerkvliet couldn’t get in on a final takedown and settled for 14-2 major decision to close out Penn State’s dual meet victory at 46-0.
What’s Next?
Penn State will hit the road as the Nittany Lions will take on the No. 13 Michigan at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 19. The dual will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
