No. 1 Penn State wrestling (13-0, 7-0 Big Ten) powered through No. 13 Illinois (9-3, 4-3 Big Ten) 29-9 on Sunday in Champaign, Illinois, to secure its fifth consecutive Big Ten regular season championship and 11th overall.
The Nittany Lions solidified their fifth straight undefeated Big Ten record and set the conference record for most consecutive dual meet wins with 70. The streak is good enough for second all-time as the Nittany Lions are just six dual wins shy of surpassing the 1937-51 Oklahoma State Cowboys record.
Highlighting the day for Penn State were Luke Lilledahl’s bounce-back tech fall and Carter Starocci’s disqualification victory as he forced six stalls from his opponent to get a six-point win.
How It Happened
125 Pounds
After a tough loss on Friday night against Ohio State’s Brendan McCrone, No. 7 Luke Lilledahl came out quickly with four first-period takedowns for a 12-3 lead against Illinois’ Caelan going into the second. It didn’t take long for “Lightning” Luke to put the bout away in the second period, scoring an escape and two takedowns for a 19-3 tech fall at 4:19.
133 Pounds
No. 8 Braeden Davis, who has been dealing with an unspecified injured, struggled against Illinois’ No. 4-ranked Lucas Byrd in the 133-pound bout. Byrd got the bout’s opening takedown late in the first period to take a 3-0 lead. Byrd escaped to start the second and scored his second takedown of the match to go up 7-0 heading into the third period. Davis escaped to start the final two minutes but was unable to generate anything else, dropping a 7-1 decision to Byrd.
Penn State lead Illinois 5-3 after two matches.
141 Pounds
No. 3 Beau Bartlett struck first against Illinois’ No. 17 Danny Pucino, using a single leg for a takedown in the last 30 seconds of the first and turning the Illini wrestler for two near-fall points to close out the opening period with a 5-0 lead. Bartlett escaped to extend his lead to six after the second period. Pucino escaped to start the third before Bartlett used a low shot for another takedown to extend his advantage to 9-1. Pucino escaped again at the one-minute mark, but Bartlett claimed the 9-2 decision.
149 Pounds
No. 2 Shayne Van Ness got the opening takedown midway through the first period against Illinois’ No. 14 Kannon Webster, who escaped after 46 seconds of riding time by the Nittany Lion. Van Ness led Webster 3-1 to end the first.
Webster escaped to start the second, but Van Ness scored two more takedowns and added a stall point to take a 10-3 lead and 1:46 in riding time into the third. Van Ness escaped to start the final period and recorded a final takedown with just over a minute left, adding on a riding time point to win by major decision 15-4.
157 Pounds
Freshman Joe Sealey, a former top recruit for the Nittany Lions once again filling in for the injured Tyler Kasak, looked to avenge the loss in his Penn State debut on Friday when he took on No. 30 Jason Kraisser. After a scoreless first period, Kraisser escaped to start the second and took a 1-0 lead into the third. Kraisser rode Sealey for over a minute before the Nittany Lion escaped and got what appeared to be a takedown at the edge of the mat with less than 15 seconds remaining. On review, however, the takedown was overturned and Sealey dropped the 2-1 decision to Kraisser.
Penn State maintained a 12-6 lead heading into the intermission.
165 Pounds
Next, No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink scored an opening single-leg takedown against No. 14 Braeden Scoles and forced two stalling points to take a 5-0 with close to two minutes in riding time after one.
The second period started quickly with a Mesenbrink escape followed by another takedown to extend his lead to 9-0 going into the third period. Scoles escaped to get on the scoreboard, in the third and did and impressive job of defending against Mesenbrink’s offensive advances to hold the Nittany Lion’s victory to a 9-1 major decision.
174 Pounds
No. 2 Levi Haines secured the opening takedown against No. 23 Danny Braunagel in the waning moments of the first period to take a 3-0 lead. Haines escaped quickly to stretch his lead to 4-0 in the second. Braunagel escaped with 41 seconds left in the third, but Haines, who added a riding time point, won by decision 5-1.
Penn State lead Illinois 19-6 with three bots remaining
184 Pounds
No. 1 Carter Starocci got straight to it with two takedowns and a stall point to start the match against No. 12 Edmond Ruth, taking a 7-1 lead into the second period. Starocci picked up another stall point before cutting Ruth loose in the second then secured his third takedown to stretch his lead to 11-3 heading to the third. The Nittany Lion escaped quickly to start the third and then scored a fourth takedown. Starocci led 17-4 after another stall call for two points with 30 seconds left. After a sixth stalling call, Ruth was disqualified to give Starocci the win and add another six points to the Penn State team score.
197 Pounds
No. 3 Josh Barr struck first with a takedown in the first minute against No. 17 Zac Braunagel then again at the end of the period for a 6-1 lead. After escaping to start the second, Barr scored another takedown to take a 10-1 lead. Barr secured his fourth takedown late in the third period, adding a stall point and riding time point, to win by a major decision 15-4.
Heavyweight
Freshman Cole Mirasola, filling in for Greg Kerkvliet for the second consecutive dual, took on No. 10 Luke Luffman in the afternoon’s final bout. The two wrestlers remained scoreless after the first period. Mirasola got docked for stalling followed by a Luffman takedown to go down 4-0 in the second period. After a neutral start in the third, Luffman kept Mirasola at bay to win a 4-0 decision
Penn State won the match 29-9 to extend its dual winning streak to 70 in a row.
What’s Next?
Penn State will be back in action for its regular season finale against American University at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, in Rec Hall. The match can be streamed on Big Ten+.
