Penn State Wrestling: Josh Barr Injured at Big Ten Wrestling Championships

Barr, the nation's second-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, was injured during the consolation round.

A general view of the Penn State Nittany Lions logo. / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

Penn State wrestler Josh Barr, the nation's second-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, was forced to take an injury default Sunday at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships. Barr, a redshirt freshman competing in his first postseason for Penn State, was helped off the mat in the first period of his consolation-round bout against Minnesota's Isaiah Salazar. Barr also took an injury default from the fifth-place bout to end his tournament.

Barr's status will be a key storyline as Penn State prepares for the NCAA Wrestling Championships, scheduled for March 20-22 in Philadelphia. Barr entered the Big Ten Championships as the No. 2 seed and the No. 2 wrestler in the nation. He went 15-1 during the regular season, losing only to top-ranked Stephen Buchanan of Iowa.

Barr sought a rematch with Buchanan in the Big Ten final but lost a 4-1 decision to Michigan's Jacob Cardenas in Saturday's semifinals. The bout was tied 1-1 in sudden victory, where Cardenas scored the winning takedown. Barr then was injured Sunday in his first bout of the consolation round.

A redshirt freshman, Barr has been one of the revelations of Penn State's lineup this season. He went 14-0 last year wrestling primarily open events but retained his redshirt. Barr began this season with 10 consecutive victories, three over ranked wrestlers, to rise to No. 2 in the InterMat Wrestling rankings. Barr delivered his highlight this season against Rutgers, scoring seven third-period takedowns for a 22-6 technical fall over then 16th-ranked John Poznanski.

Penn State's entire lineup has qualified for NCAAs, and nine will wrestle for medals Sunday night at the Big Ten Championships. Six are wrestling for conference titles: Luke Lilledahl (125), Tyler Kasak (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), Carter Starocci (184) and Greg Kerkvliet (285). Braeden Davis (133), Beau Bartlett (141) and Shayne Van Ness (149) will compete for third place.

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