No. 1 Penn State Wrestling Rolls Past No. 6 Nebraska for 64th Straight Win

The No. 1 Penn State wrestling team rolled again Friday night, winning eight of 10 bouts in a dominant 31-7 Big Ten victory over No. 6 Nebraska. A record crowd of 6,661 at the Cornhuskers' Devaney Sports Complex caught a glimpse of the buzzsaw that is Nittany Lions wrestling this season.

Penn State won its 64th consecutive match dating to 2020 on the strength of its upper weights, two freshmen, a bit of drama from Beau Bartlett and the unstoppable force that is Mitchell Mesenbrink. Penn State (8-0) has outscored its dual-match opponents 354-16 this season. Here's the recap.

174: Penn State's Levi Haines (10-1) took a 4-0 lead with riding time into the third period, when Nebraska's Lenny Pinto made the rare quick move from underneath for a reversal to cut Haines' lead in half. But Penn State's returning national champ at 157 pounds escaped quickly and countered Pinto late for his second takedown and the 8-2 victory.

184: Penn State's Carter Starocci improved to 11-0, scoring bonus points in every bout, with an 11-2 major decision of seventh-ranked Silas Allred. As usual, the bout wasn't particularly close. Starocci scored his first takedown midway through the first period, added one more in the second and third and padded his total with a riding-time point. Starocci still has not allowed a takedown this season.

197: Redshirt freshman Josh Barr has been inserted himself confidently into Penn State's lineup. Barr (9-0) earned his third win over a ranked wrestler, scoring a 19-4 technical fall over No. 22 Camden McDanel. Barr, ranked fourth nationally, looked quick, assertive and relentless on his six takedowns, including a textbook double-leg move late in the first period. Barr has started his career at Penn State with a 23-0 record, including 14 wins competing in tournaments as a true freshman last season.

285: Penn State's Greg Kerkvliet (11-0) scored his 31st consecutive win, a 20-2 technical fall that began with a flourish. Nebraska freshman Harley Andrews went for a why-not throw early, which Kerkvliet effectively countered for a takedown. Kerkvliet dominated with a considerable size and strength advantage, though Andrews showed moxie. Kerkvliet got a little out of position during a second-period back-points move, allowing Andrews room for a reversal. Otherwise, this was all Kerkvliet. who has won every bout this season by fall or technical fall.

125: Penn State freshman Luke Lilledahl (10-0) scored the biggest win of his young career, beating sixth-year senior and 2024 All-American Caleb Smith 4-2. Lilledahl turned defense into offense in the third period, fending off a takedown attempt by Smith and crafting that into a score of his own. Lilledahl has three wins over ranked wrestlers, which now includes his first over a top-10 opponent (Smith entered the match ranked sixth).

Luke Lilledahl with the exciting takedown to bring him 4-2 over Nebraska!! 🔥#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/0oZqlvDf6p
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) January 18, 2025

133: Penn State's Braeden Davis (6-2) lost his second bout of the season, as a fiery Jacob Van Dee put Davis on his back early. Using a tilt for a four-point move, Van Dee took a quick 7-0 lead. Davis began to rally with a takedown, but Van Dee finished the active first period with a reversal to take a 9-5 lead. In the third, Davis went for a big-move throw but didn't have it, and Van Dee countered with a takedown to complete his 14-7 win. Davis, who won the Big Ten title at 125 as a true freshman, lost earlier this season to top-ranked Ryan Crookham of Lehigh.

141: Penn State's Beau Bartlett, a two-time All-American and returning NCAA runnerup, delivered a dramatic reversal in the last 15 seconds to stun Nebraska's sixth-ranked Brock Hardy 8-7. In the match's most dramatic bout, Bartlett trailed 7-6 with 20 seconds remaining, when he wriggled out of a Hardy roll and got in position for the reversal. In doing so, the third-ranked Bartlett also negated Hardy's riding-time advantage, thus escaping overtime. Bartlett remained unbeaten on the season (11-0) and beat Hardy for the second time in three bouts.

149: Nebraska's Ridge Lovett, the defending Big Ten champ, reasserted himself at the weight class with a 10-2 major decision over second-ranked Shayne Van Ness. Lovett (11-1) fell behind 2-0 in the second period after giving up a reversal but dominated thereafter. Lovett, ranked fourth, countered the reversal with a quick escape to finish the second, then scored nine unanswered points in the third for the major. That included four back points in the final minute to juice the Nebraska crowd. The loss was the first this season for Van Ness (10-1).

157: Penn State's Tyler Kasak (10-0) remained unbeaten with a strong win over fifth-ranked Antrell Taylor. Kasak gained control early, turning a takedown into back points for a 7-0 lead. Kasak nearly had the pin, which Taylor successfully rolled through. After that, Kasak controlled Taylor to generate the riding-time point and a 9-3 decision.

165: Penn State's top-ranked Mitchell Mesenbrink had little trouble with seventh-ranked Bubba Watson, who returned from a mid-December injury. Mesenbrink (12-0) built a 14-2 lead in the second period before clinching the technical fall. How dominant has Mesenbrink been this season? He has wrestled 10 bouts (with two forfeits) and scored technical falls in every one.