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Penn State Makes Early Statement at Big Ten Wrestling Championships

The Nittany Lions are pursuing their fourth straight Big Ten Tournament title.
Mark Wogenrich|
Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling coach Cael Sanderson watches his team wrestle the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling coach Cael Sanderson watches his team wrestle the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Penn State produced an entertaining first session at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, sending nine wrestlers to the semifinals, two through nail-biting wins and another with a statement.

The Nittany Lions lead the field with 81 points and nine semifinalists. Ohio State is second with 69.5 points and semifinalists. Penn State is pursuing its fourth straight tournament title, hosting the event at the Bryce Jordan Center.

What happened Saturday and what's next? Here's what we learned from the opening round of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships. Semifinals begin at 7 p.m. ET

125: Luke Lilledahl dec. Dean Peterson (Iowa) 8-3

Lilledahl (18-0) began defense of his conference title with his second decision over Peterson this season. The top-seeded Lilledahl scored a pair of takedowns after challenges — the first by Penn State, which was upheld in the second period, and the second by Iowa, which was overturned in the third.

Lilledahl will meet Indiana's Jacob Moran in the semifinals. Lilledahl pinned Moran in their first meeting during the dual-match season.

133: Marcus Blaze (PS) dec. Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) 16-3

While second-seeded Lucas Byrd of Illinois was losing his quarterfinal. Blaze looked sharp in his first Big Ten Tournament bout. The freshman scored takedowns in all three periods of a dominant major decision over Shawver.

Blaze (20-0) took the top seed at 133 over Byrd, the weight class' defending national champ. But Byrd fell in 7-3 stunner to Purdue's 10th-seeded Blake Boarman.

141: Vance Vombaur (Minnesota) tech. fall Braeden Davis 20-5 in 7:00

Davis was no match for Minnesota's third-seeded redshirt senior, who controlled the bout from start to finish. Davis had a rough second period, getting out of position late and giving up a seven-point move.

Vombaur took an 11-5 lead after two periods and clinched the technical at the finish. Davis enters the consolation round looking for a podium finish.

149: Shayne Van Ness (PS) dec. Ryder Block (Iowa) 5-4

Whew and wow. Van Ness won a dramatic opener without scoring a takedown and by getting a two-point stalling call with 5 seconds remaining in the third period. Block, the eighth seed, completely frustrated Van Ness for 6;55, keeping the No. 1 seed from his offense. But he also gave Van Ness four stalling points, which decided the bout.

In the waning seconds of the third, Block stepped out of bounds, resulting in the deciding two points for Van Ness, who labored to get near a takedown. It was a fortunate finish for Van Ness, who allowed his sixth first-period takedown of the season.

157: PJ Duke (PS) dec. Brandon Cannon (Ohio State) 20-7

What to make of Duke's absolute rout of Cannon, the nation's top-ranked wrestler who returned to the mat this weekend after missing two months of action? Cannon had not wrestled since early January because of an injury and was seeded eighth, even though InterMat Wrestling still had him at No. 1 in the country.

Meanwhile, Duke (17-1) was relentless after giving up the first takedown. He scored three takedowns in the third period, the final with 16 seconds left to punctuate the major decision.

Duke gets Illinois' Kannon Webster in the semifinals, but all eyes are pointed to a potential final rematch with Nebraska's Antrell Taylor in the final. Taylor, the defending national champ, is the only wrestler to beat Duke this season.

165: Mitchell Mesenbrink (PS) dec. Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State) 10-2

The top-seeded Mesenbrink (20-0) kept his bonus-point string alive by cruising through a pair of first-period takedowns and securing the major with stalling points and riding time. Mesenbrink, who has scored bonus points in every bout this season, gets Minnesota's Andrew Sparks in the semis.

174: Levi Haines (PS) tech. fall Colin Kelly (Illinois) 17-2 in 6:02

After a methodical start, the top-seeded Haines took control with an eight-point second period that included two takedowns. Haines (19-0) completed the technical with two more takedowns in the third.

Haines gets fourth-seeded Carson Kharchla of Ohio State in the semifinals. Kharchla was injured and did not wrestle in their February dual.

184: Rocco Welsh (PS) dec. Angelo Ferrari (Iowa) 3-2 TB

Welsh and Ferrari, ranked 1-2 in the country, wrestled another grinder that went to the tiebreaker again. This time, 4 seconds were the difference. That was Welsh's riding-time advantage in the tiebreaker periods, as he escaped faster than Ferrari to secure the second win of their tense series.

Ferrari had not wrestled since losing 2-1 to Welsh in mid-January, resulting in his eighth seed. Welsh (18-0) has controlled just about everyone on his schedule since wrestling Ferrari, whose style conflicts with Welsh's offense. Welsh advanced to a semifinal match vs. Michigan's Brock Mantanona, who Welsh beat 8-1 in February.

197: Josh Barr (PS) tech. fall Gabe Sollars (Indiana) 21-6 in 4:10

Like Mesenbrink, Barr (17-0) has won every bout this season with bonus points. He extended that streak with his eighth technical fall. Barr scored seven takedowns, four in the third period. He will face Ohio State's Luke Geog in the semifinals. Barr majored Geog 11-2 last month.

285: Cole Mirasola (PS) dec. Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) 4-2

Impressive start for Penn State's redshirt freshman, who made his takedown early in the first period stand up. The fourth-seeded Mirasola added a second-period escape for his 16th win of the season. Mirasola opened his tournament with a 26-second pin over Northwestern's Gabe Christenson.

Mirasola will wrestle one of Penn State's most intriguing semis, taking on top-seeded Taye Ghadiali of Michigan. Ghadiali won their February bout 4-1, though Mirasola had a good look at a late takedown against the tiring Michigan wrestler.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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