Despite Upsets, Penn State Wrestling Expands Lead at NCAA Championships

The Nittany Lions qualified seven wrestlers for the semifinals, with all 10 still in the All-America hunt.

Penn State's Beau Bartlett wrestles CJ Composto of Penn during the quarterfinals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Center. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

After a perfect opening day at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, Penn State ran into more strategic and defensive competition in Friday's third session. As a result, three Nittany Lions fell in the quarterfinals, including the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds.

Penn State wrestling qualified seven to Friday night's semifinals, which begin at 8 p.m. at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center. Those who lost included Tyler Kasak, the nation's No. 1 wrestler at 157 pounds according to InterMat, and freshman Luke Lilledahl, the tournament's No. 1 seed at 125.

Penn State has secured seven All-Americans with three more wrestling for the podium tonight. At one point, Nebraska pulled within a half-point of Penn State in the team standings. But the Nittany Lions (90.5 points) regained their comfortable lead over Nebraska (65.5) with wins from 165-285. Here's a look at Penn State's quarterfinal performances Friday.

125: No. 8 Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) dec. No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) 2-2 TB2 riding time: Penn State's first loss of the tournament was an epic bout of strategy in which Seymour defended Lilledahl's shots from the standing position, took an overtime stalling call and won by riding out the final 5 seconds.

Lilledahl (21-3) had few takedown chances early but a great one in sudden victory. Seymour (25-2) defended it relentlessly for 45 seconds before briefly getting into takedown position of his own. Seymour escaped in the first tiebreaker, limiting Lilledahl's riding time, and took a stalling point in the second tiebreaker to tie the score. But Seymour knew he had the riding time advantage, which proved to be the margin of victory. Lehigh's fifth-year senior also had more endurance than the Penn State freshman.

133: No. 1 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) dec. No. 8 Braeden Davis (Penn State) 12-1: Byrd dominated his rematch with Davis, punctuating the bout with a seven-point move in the second period to take an 11-1 lead. Byrd (23-1) scored the first takedown and then rode Davis (14-6) for most of the first period. He became the first wrestler to earn a bonus-point win against Penn State in the tournament.

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) dec. No. 10 CJ Composto (Penn) 5-0: Bartlett made sure of an NCAA championship rematch with his usually coiled, veteran performance. Bartlett turned a second-period escape into a takedown, which was all the scoring he would need. He added a point for riding time and the 5-0 win.

Now the gauntlet arrives. Bartlett will wrestle Ohio State's Jesse Mendez for the sixth time in the past two years. Bartlett is on a two-bout win streak vs. Mendez, defeating him twice this season, including for third at the Big Ten Championships. Mendez beat Bartlett twice in 2024, including in the NCAA final. Mendez has put together prolific tournament so far, scoring 49 points in three wins.

149: No. 3 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) 7-2: Van Ness returned to the podium (he finished third in 2023) with a patient quarterfinal win. Van Ness drove the action but could not break through McNeil's defense until the third period.

Van Ness (23-2) did so first by going low, grabbing McNeil's hips and driving through with a tackle-like takedown. Van Ness added a late takedown for the final margin. Van Ness gets a semifinal rematch with Nebraska's Ridge Lovett, to whom he lost 10-2 in their January dual.

157: No. 8 Joey Blaze (Purdue) dec. No. 1 Tyler Kasak (Penn State) 5-4: This was the biggest upset of the quarterfinals. Kasak, who had not allowed a takedown all season, gave up his first late in the third period. Blaze, a sophomore, emerged from a scramble by rolling into the takedown and a 5-4 lead.

Blaze (23-5) then rode Kasak for 27 difficult seconds to become the first wrestler to beat Kasak on the mat this season (Kasak's other loss was by injury default). Kasak also appeared tired late in the third, which Blaze used to his advantage. Notably, Blaze's younger brother Marcus is committed to Penn State's 2025 recruiting class.

165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) dec. No. 8 Cameron Amine (Oklahoma State) 5-0: Mesenbrink returned to the semifinals by adjusting his strategy. Since Amine wanted to play defense, Mesenbrink was content to ride him for the entire third period to seal the victory.

Mesenbrink (25-0) had Amine in the second period on the edge of the circle but without control. The Penn State star recalibrated and pulled Amine back onto the mat for his only takedown. That was plenty for Mesenbrink, who will wrestle Nebraska's 12th-seeded Christopher Minto, who upset former Nittany Lion Terrell Barraclough on a takedown at the buzzer. Minto did not wrestle vs. Penn State in the January dual.

174: No. 2 Levi Haines (Penn State) dec. No. 7 Danny Wask (Navy) 7-2: Haines led 4-2 in the second period when he smartly countered Wask's shot for his second takedown and the final margin. Haines scored midway through the first period and appeared content to let that stand.

But in chasing the upset, Wask exposed an opening that Haines covered to seal the victory. Haines (23-1) gets a fascinating semifinal vs. Oklahoma State's Dean Hamiti, who was a two-time All-American at Wisconsin before transferring to wrestle for David Taylor. He was unbeaten until an overtime loss to Keegan O'Toole in the Big 12 final.

184: No. 1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec. No. 8 Jaxon Smith (Maryland) 9-1: Starocci scored two takedowns, in the first and third periods, for a clinical major decision, his third bonus-point win of the tournament. Starocci (24-0) wrestled his usual attacking bout, earning a penalty point on stalling calls.

Starocci gets fourth-seeded Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State in the semifinals. Plott is a two-time All-American who reached the NCAA final at 184 pounds last season.

197: No. 4 Josh Barr (Penn State) dec. No. 5 Michael Beard (Lehigh) 14-3: Barr looked dominant in beating the former Nittany Lion, scoring three takedowns in the first two periods en route to the major decision. Barr dicatated pace and moved fluidly despite wearing a wrap on his left thigh.

Barr (19-3) advanced to the semifinals in his first NCAA tournament. He will meet top-seeded Jacob Cardenas of Michigan, with whom he has split a pair of overtime bouts this season. Cardenas topped Barr 4-1 in sudden victory in the Big Ten semifinals.

285: No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Josh Heindselman (Michigan) 5-0: Kerkvliet, notably wearing a left knee wrap at NCAAs, set up a fascinating semifinal with his third win this season over Heindselman. A first-period takedown was plenty along with a stalling point and more riding time; Kerkvliet accumulated 5 minutes of riding time in Thursday's second round.

Kerkvliet (21-1) meets Oklahoma State's Wyatt Hendrickson is a terrific semifinal. Hendrickson (25-0) began the tournament leading the NCAA's Most Dominant Wrestler award. He has 13 pins this season, three in Philadelphia. Kerkvliet beat Hendrickson 4-2 at the 2023 NCAA Championships, when Hendrickson wrestled for Air Force.

Up Next

The most entertaining session of the NCAA Wrestling Championships is set for 8 p.m. Friday night. The semifinals will go simultaneously with the "blood round," during which wrestlers secure spots on the podium as All-Americans. ESPN will carry the action live.

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