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Bout-by-Bout Recap of Penn State Wrestling's Dominant Win Over Michigan

The top-ranked Nittany Lions scored five technical falls in winning their 84th consecutive match.
Mark Wogenrich|
Shayne Van Ness of the Penn State Nittany Lions wins his bout against Nebraska's Chance Lamer during a Big Ten dual meet.
Shayne Van Ness of the Penn State Nittany Lions wins his bout against Nebraska's Chance Lamer during a Big Ten dual meet. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The top-ranked Penn State wrestling team put together another dominant Big Ten performance, routing No. 11 Michigan 38-3 on Friday at the Crisler Center. The Nittany Lions (13-0) won their NCAA-record 84th consecutive match and also nearly scored their eighth shutout of the season.

But Taye Ghadiali, Michigan's seventh-year heavyweight, turned his nearly 27-point weight advantage into a 5-1 victory to prevent the shutout. The win positioned Penn State for its match of the season. The Nittany Lions will host No. 2 Ohio State on Feb. 13 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Here's the Penn State-Michigan recap.

125: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (PS) tech. fall No. 23 Diego Sotelo 21-5 in 5:06

Lilledahl, the unbeaten Penn State sophomore, demonstrated late in the first period why he's nicknamed "Lightning Luke." Lilledahl (15-0) dropped and shot in one absurdly fast move for a takedown in the final 10 seconds of the period. Sotelo had absolutely no way to counter it.

Lilledahl did that multiple times in scoring his eighth technical fall of the season. He scored six takedowns, two to close periods, and reversed Sotelo to start and end the third. Lilledahl, a three-time age-group world champion, next faces Ohio State's second-ranked Nic Bouzakis in a Feb. 13 match at the Bryce Jordan Center.

133: No. 4 Marcus Blaze (PS) tech. fall Gauge Botero 17-2 in 4:41

Blaze (17-0) had Botero cradled at the edge of the circle late in the first period but just ran out of time for the fall. The relentless sophomore remained aggressive in the second, scoring his third takedown midway through the period.

Blaze completed the technical fall, his sixth this season, by circling Botero for an easy takedown late in the second. He'll put his unbeaten record on the line next week against second-ranked Ben Davino of Ohio State. Blaze's win gave Penn State a quick 10-0 lead.

141: Nate Desmond (PS) dec. No. 26 Dylan Ragusin 8-5 SV

Another superb freshman for Penn State, Desmond wrestled an electric sudden-victory period, spinning out of a potential takedown and countering Ragusin for the winner 20 seconds into the period. Desmond, who is scheduled to redshirt this season, nevertheless improved to 7-0.

Penn State made a lineup change at 141, where Desmond, a true freshman, wrestled against the sixth-year senior from Michigan. Desmond wrestled in place of starter Braeden Davis, who was pinned by Nebraska's Brock Hardy last week.

Desmond and Ragusin, a sixth-year senior and all-American, wrestled a gem, trading takedowns and nearly collecting back points multiple times. Each wrestled scored reversals to take leads, and Ragusin escaped in the third to force sudden victory.

149: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness (PS) dec. No. 13 Lachlan McNeil 9-1

Van Ness (16-0) scored his first takedown in the second period, soon after McNeil was hit with and unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for a slap to the face. McNeil tried to keep Van Ness from his offense, but Van Ness didn't stop. He attacked on a third-period restart to score his second takedown.

Van Ness rode McNeil for the remainder of the third for his 14th bonus-point win of the season. Van Ness truly took control of the bout in the third, underscoring his gift for getting stronger as a bout progresses.

157: No 4. PJ Duke (PS) dec. No. 13 Cam Catrabone 12-10

Duke rebounded from his first loss of the season with a thrilling decision over Catrabone, who entered the bout with a 5-0 Big Ten record. Duke (14-1) and Catrabone traded some thrilling action, with Duke getting the best of it late in the third.

Catrabone snapped Duke's left leg for a takedown and a 9-7 lead with 45 seconds left in the bout. But Duke quickly escaped and countered by hitting Catrabone's right leg for the eventual winning takedown. Catrabone gamely tried to hold onto Duke's ankle, but the Penn State freshman freed it to secure the score.

The bout went back and forth with multople lead changes. Catrabone targeted Duke quickly, turning an aggressive shot into the first takedown. After an escape, Duke took injury time to get his upper arm checked. In the second, Duke got to his offense, working a left-leg shot into his first takedown.

Late in the second, Duke hit the left leg again, rolling through Catrabone's defensive move for his second takedown and a 7-6 lead. The bout was an offensive gem for Duke, who lost to defending NCAA champ Antrell Taylor 2-1 in the tiebreaker last week. Duke's win gave Penn State a 20-0 lead at the intermission.

165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PS) tech. fall Justin Gates 20-5 in 6:34

Mesenbrink, the defending NCAA champ at 165, began Penn State's run of four top-ranked wrestlers with a perfunctory (for him) technical fall, his seventh of the season. Mesenbrink (17-0) could have secured the technical fall sooner by cutting. Instead, he accumulated a boatload of riding time

Mesenbrink scored the final takedown with a lot of gauze on his forehead after catching a small cut. Mesenbrink's win also secured Penn State's 84th consecutive win.

174: No. 1 Levi Haines (PS) tech. fall No. 11 Beau Mantanona 19-4 in 6:57

Haines and Mantanona continued the match's theme of great action, scrambling through multiple takedown possibilities in the first period before Haines finally secured it. Haines took a more conventional approach late in the first, hitting a double-leg shot for his second takedown and a 6-1 lead.

Haines began taking control in the second, driving into another double-leg takedown and pressing his riding time above 2 minutes. Then he dominated the third, scoring three takedowns in the final minute, including the technical-fall clincher with 3 seconds left.

Mantanona entered the match with three straight ranked victories, including a 9-6 decision over Ohio State's fifth-ranked Carson Kharchla. Haines will see Kharchla next week.

184: No. 1 Rocco Welsh (PS) dec. No. 7 Brock Mantanona 8-1

Welsh fought off an early shot attempt and spun that into takedown, kicking out Mantanona's leg about 2 minutes into the first period. Welsh played some solid defense in the second, preventing Mantanona from circling him for a takedown.

Welsh (15-0) had riding time secured before sealing the deal with a superb blast takedown in the final 20 seconds.

194: No. 1 Josh Barr (PS) tech. fall No. 20 Hayden Walters 19-4 in 6:50

Barr kept his 100-percent bonus-point season going, scoring his seventh technical fall of the season. Barr improved to 14-0 with bonus points in every win and clearly wanted the technical. He sprinted to the center of the mat leading 13-3 with 1 minute remaining in the third and scored two takedowns after that.

Michigan fans gasped for a moment early when Walters nearly hit a shot, but Barr slickly countered for his own takedown and a 3-0 lead. He also accumulated more than 2 minutes of riding time.

Barr opened the second by cutting Walters and quickly attacking for his second takedown. He cut and almost immediately scored again for a 9-2 lead while pushing his riding-time advantage to 3:32.

285: No. 5 Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) dec. No. 12 Cole Mirasola 5-1

Ghadiali, Michigan's seventh-year senior, outweighed the Penn State redshirt freshman by nearly 27 pounds, yet still labored to the decision. Ghadiali got a late takedown in the second period and fended off Mirasola's near-takedown at the end of the third period, though he had a riding time advantage.

Ghadiali, a former All-American at Campbell, weighed in at 253.8 pounds to Mirasola's 227.2, giving him a significant advantage. However, Mirasola (12-4) nearly scored in the final seconds aganst an exhausted Ghadiali and learned some valuable technical information for the Big Ten Championships.

RELATED: At 46, Penn State's Cael Sanderson still wrestles with purpose

What's next for Penn State wrestling

Penn State returns home to the Bryce Jordan Center for college wrestling's match of the season Feb. 13. The top-ranked Nittany Lions will host No. 2 Ohio State in (provided both win Friday) a duel of Big Ten unbeatens.

Penn State is ranked No. 1, and Ohio State (16-0) is No. 2. The Buckeyes hosted fifth-ranked Iowa on Friday night.

After that, Penn State won't leave home until nationals. The Nittany Lions conclude the regular season Feb. 20 against Princeton at Rec Hall. Penn State then hosts the Big Ten Wrestling Championships from March 7-8 at the Bryce Jordan Center.

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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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