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What We Learned From Penn State Wrestling's 6th Shutout Win

The top-ranked Nittany Lions continue rolling through their schedule, routing Indiana 48-0 in Big Ten wrestling action.
Mark Wogenrich|
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Cael Sanderson watches his team wrestle the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Cael Sanderson watches his team wrestle the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The top-ranked Penn State wrestling team rolled to its sixth shutout of the season, routing Indiana 48-0 on Friday at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions (10-0) produced nine bonus-point victories in their NCAA-record 81st consecutive victory.

Penn State can complete a weekend sweep when it visits Maryland on Saturday in a match that was moved up a day because of the impending winter storm. Here's what we learned from Penn State's latest blowout of the 2025-26 season.

Penn State doesn't relent

The Nittany Lions entered Friday's match vs. Indiana with two shutouts in three Big Ten outings. And they simply refused to give the Hoosiers an inch. Penn State scored nine bonus-point wins against Indiana, including five technical falls and two pins.

Penn State (4-0 Big Ten) has outscored its 10 opponents 429-19 this season, producing an average margin of victory of 41 points. Their Big Ten matches haven't even been that close. The Nittany Lions have outscored conference opponents 177-3 and have a bout record of 39-1 in Big Ten duals.

To punctuate the match, heavyweight Cole Mirasola needed less than a period to score the team's fifth technical fall of the night.

Mitchell Mesenbrink is the Hodge Trophy favorite

Mesenbrink was a technical-fall wizard last season, winning 18 of his 27 bouts in that fashion en route to the 165-pound national championship. This year, Mesenbrink prefers falls. On Friday he pinned Indiana's 19th-ranked Tyler Lillard in 4:01 for his team-leading seventh pin of the season. Mesenbrink had two good looks at pin before sealing it on his third try.

Mesenbrink (14-0) has scored bonus points in every bout he has wrestled, with 11 coming via either pin or technical fall. Lehigh's Max Brignola, ranked ninth, is the only wrestler to come within eight points of Mesenbrink this season. Little wonder that Wrestlestat lists Mesenbrink as the leader in the Hodge Trophy standings.

Luke Lilledahl polishes his No. 1 ranking

Lilledahl, the nation's newly minted No. 1 at 125 pounds, didn't rest on that ranking. He continued separating himself from the field, pinning 11th-ranked Jacob Moran in 4:20.

Lilledahl (12-0) led 9-2 in the second period before when he hit double-leg takedown, which he turned into his first fall of the season. Lilledahl, the defending Big Ten champ at 125, took the top spot in the InterMat Wrestling rankings after his 11-5 win over Iowa's Drake Ayala.

Braeden Davis gets offensive

Davis, a junior, has won a lot of bouts at multiple weight classes for Penn State, often in lower-scoring bouts. But Davis is generating points 141 this season, particularly in bouts where he's the heavy favorite.

On Friday, Davis (7-1) used a variety of offensive moves to produce seven takedowns in his highest-scoring bout of the season,a 24-10 win over Henry Davis. The Indiana wrestler did scred the first takedown on an aggressive throw, but Davis steered clear of allowing bonus points and then took control of the bout for the major.

PJ Duke leaves no doubt

Penn State's third-ranked freshman at 157 needed just 3:15 to score his second technical fall of the season. Duke (12-0) scored six first-period takedowns against Indiana's Bryce Lowery and clinched the 21-5 final just 15 seconds into the second.

Duke has been exceptional against ranked wrestlers, scoring bonus point in three of his six victories. But Duke also has dominated the rest of of his schedule with six falls.

Noteworthy

  • Rocco Welsh, who took over the No. 1 spot after beating Iowa's Angelo Ferrari, looked a litle shaky in the third period despite the 15-9 win over 15th-ranked Sam Goin. Welsh (12-0) looked to be cruising to at least a major decision, but Goin charged back in the third with two takedowns, the last to avoid the major.
  • Top-ranked Shayne Van Ness (149) continues to cruise quietly through Penn State's lineup. He scored a very quick first takedown vs. Joey Butler on his way to a 20-3 technical fall. Van Ness (13-0) has been ranked No. 1 for most of the year and has scored bonus points 12 times.
  • Josh Barr, ranked No. 1 at 197, curiously received multiple stalling calls for stalling that led to two points for Indiana's Gave Sollars but still secured a 14-6 major decision with a late takedown and riding time. Barr improved to 11-0.
  • Cole Mirasola (285) was dominant in his sixth straight win, scoring three takedowns within the first minute to cap Penn State's shutout with a first-period technical fall.
  • Penn State even wins its challenges. Indiana's Blaine Frazier was awarded a takedown midway through the second period against Marcus Blaze at 133. But the Nittany Lions' coaching staff challenged the call, saying Blaze cleared his ankle. The challenge was upheld, and Blaze went on to win 19-4, his fifth technical fall of the season.

Penn State 48, Indiana 0

  • 125: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (PS) pin No. 11 Jacob Moran 4:20
  • 133: No. 4 Marcus Blaze (PS) tech. fall Blaine Frazier 19-4 in 5:44
  • 141: No. 11 Braeden Davis (PS) dec. No. 25 Henry Porter 24-10
  • 149: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness (PS) tech. fall Joey Butler 20-3 in 6:45
  • 157: No. 3 PJ Duke (PS) tech. fall Bryce Lowery 21-5 in 3:15
  • 165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PS) pin No. 19 Tyler Lillard 4:01
  • 174: No. 1 Levi Haines (PS) tech. fall Orlando Cruz 17-1 in 6:26
  • 184: No. 1 Rocco Welsh (PS) dec. No. 15 Sam Goin 15-9
  • 197: No. 1 Josh Barr (PS) dec. No. 14 Gabe Sollars 14-6
  •  285: No. 12 Cole Mirasola (PS) tech. fall Caleb Marzolino 22-6 in 2:44

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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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