Six Penn State wrestlers advanced to the championship finals and the Nittany Lions stood atop the team race after the second session of the Big Ten tournament on Saturday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois.
The Nittany Lions saw No. 1 seeds Beau Bartlett and Shayne Van Ness and No. 2 seed Josh Barr go down, but had an upset of their own as freshman Luke Lilledahl knocked off top-seeded Matt Ramos in the 125 pound semifinals. Lilledahl joins Tyler Kasak, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Levi Haines, Carter Starocci and Greg Kerkvliet among Nittany Lions who will wrestle for conference titles on Sunday.
Bartlett, Van Ness and Barr will join fellow Nittany Lion Braeden Davis in the consolation semifinals and each can still place as high as third. Davis won two wrestleback bouts on Saturday night and ensured that all 10 Penn State wrestlers have qualified for the NCAA Championships in two weeks in Philadelphia.
Penn State led the team standings with 145 points, followed by Nebraska with 118.5. Iowa (98), Minnesota (88.5) and Illinois (81.5) round out the top five.
125 Pounds – Luke Lilledahl
No. 4 seed Luke Lilledahl was aggressive from the outset in his semifinal bout against No. 1 seed Matt Ramos. The Nittany Lion freshman scored the bout’s first takedown midway through the first period, then turned Ramos for four near fall points. After a Ramos escape, Lilledahl ended the opening period with a 7-1 advantage.
Ramos took down to start the second, but not before Lilledahl built his riding time over a minute. A Lilledahl escape extended his lead to 8-3 heading into the the third. Lilledahl grabbed onto Ramos’ leg in the third period and tripped him down for a third takedown. Ramos escaped but couldn’t do anything else and Lilledahl captured a 12-4 major decision upset of the top seed.
Lilledahl will meet No. 2 seed Caleb Smith of Nebraska in the final on Sunday. Lilledahl defeated Smith with a 4-2 decision during a January dual meet.
141 Pounds – Beau Bartlett
No. 1 Beau Bartlett fell behind early in the semifinals against No. 4 seed Vance Vombaur of Minnesota. Vombaur shot in on Bartlett’s leg and worked for the opening takedown followed by a Bartlett escape as the Golden Gopher took a 3-1 lead and 52 seconds of riding time into the second.
Vombaur escaped early in the second and fended off a strong Bartlett shot to carry a 4-1 lead into the third. Bartlett took the down position to start the third and couldn’t escape until Vombaur built his riding time to 1:36. Bartlett couldn’t find a shot the rest of the way, and Vombaur pulled off a 5-3 upset to advance to the finals.
Bartlett drops into the consolation semifinals on Sunday, when he will meet No. 6 seed Joey Olivieri of Rutgers. Vombaur will take on No. 3 seed Brock Hardy of Nebraska in the final after upset Ohio State’s No. 2 seed Jesse Mendez in the other 141 pound semifinal.
149 Pounds – Shayne Van Ness
After a scoreless first, No. 1 Shayne Van Ness escaped to open the second period against No. 5 seed Kannon Webster of Illinois. The Illini freshman though fought off two strong shots from Van Ness to keep the Nittany Lion’s lead to 1-0 heading into third.
Webster escaped to start the third and tie the bout at 1-1. With three seconds remaining, Webster got behind Van Ness for the late takedown to secure a 3-1 decision and deal the Nittany Lions their second straight upset loss.
Van Ness will head to Sunday’s consolation semifinals, where he will meet No. 6 seed Andrew Clark of Rutgers. Webster moves to the final where he will meet No. 3 seed Ridge Lovett of Nebraska, who upset No. 2 seed Kyle Parco of Iowa in the other semi.
157 Pounds – Tyler Kasak
No. 2 seed Tyler Kasak got in on an early single leg and tripped No. 3 seed Antrell Taylor of Nebraska for the bout’s opening takedown. Taylor escaped, but Kasak quickly moved in for another takedown and muscled Taylor onto his back for the pin at 1:17.
Kasak will face No. 8 seed Brandon Cannon of Ohio State in the 157 pound final on Sunday.
165 Pounds – Mitchell Mesenbrink
No. 1 seed Mitchell Mesenbrink gave up his first takedown of the season as No. 4 seed Beau Mantanona got in on a quick double leg early in the first period of their 165 pound semifinal. Mesenbrink responded, however, with a takedown and stayed in control on top to end the opening two minutes with a 4-3 lead.
Mesenbrink opened the second with an escape and quick takedown. The Nittany Lion turned it up from there, adding two more escapes and going over a minute of riding time to take a 14-5 lead heading into the third period.
Mantanona escaped to start the final period and Mesenbrink proceeded to put on a clinic, taking down the wearied Wolverine and playing catch and release until securing a 25-8 tech fall at 6:29.
Mesenbrink heads to Sunday’s final where he will take on No. 2 seed Mikey Caliendo of Iowa, who won by tech fall against Illinois’ sixth-seeded Braeden Scoles in the other semifinal. Mesenbrink defeated Caliendo by tech fall in a January dual meet.
174 Pounds – Levi Haines
No. 1 seed Levi Haines used a single leg for an early takedown against No. 4 seed Patrick Kennedy and took a 3-1 lead into the second period of the 174 pound semifinals.
Haines opened the middle period with an escape and, after a single leg, worked for his second takedown followed by a Kennedy escape. Haines led 7-2 going into the final three minutes.
Kennedy escaped to start the third, but Haines added a late takedown to claim a 10-3 decision.
Haines will take on Lenny Pinto of Nebraska in the finals. Pinto beat No. 7 seed Dan Braunagel of Illinois with a last second takedown in the other semifinal. Haines defeated Pinto with a 9-2 decision during a January dual meet.
184 Pounds – Carter Starocci
After a scoreless first, No. 1 seed Carter Starocci opened the second period then scored the bout’s opening takedown in the 184 pound semifinal against No. 5 Jaxon Smith of Maryland.
Smith started the third with an escape but quickly gave up a stall point. Starocci then got in on his second takedown and worked on top before allowing the escape. The Nittany Lion worked a single leg into a final takedown and added a riding time point for a 12-2 major decision.
Starocci will go for his third Big Ten title when he meets No. 2 seed Max McEnelly in the finals on Sunday.
197 Pounds – Josh Barr
No. 2 seed Josh Barr and No. 3 seed Jacob Cardenas wrestled a scoreless first before Barr escaped to a 1-0 lead 10 seconds into the second period of their 197 pound final. That score held into the third.
Cardenas opened the final period with an escape to tie the bout, and it stayed that way through the end of regulation.
Just over a minute into sudden victory, Cardenas got hold of Barr’s leg and came around for the decisive takedown to claim a 4-1 decision.
Barr will takes on No. 4 seed Isaiah Salazar of Minnesota in the consolation semifinals.
Heavyweight – Greg Kervliet
No. 1 seed Greg Kerkvliet used a quick double for a takedown 20 seconds into his semifinal bout against No. 3 seed Josh Heindselman of Michigan. Heindselman escaped, and Kerkvliet took a 3-1 lead and 1:21 of riding time into the second period.
The Nittany Lion started the second with an escape, then with about a minute to go in the period dropped in on Heindselman’s leg and popped around for his second takedown. Kerkvliet stayed on top and led 7-1 heading into the third.
Kerkvliet continued to stay in control in the third period, riding out Heindselman while picking up a stall point to go along with more than four minutes in riding time for a 9-1 major decision.
Kerkvliet will face off against No. 1 seed Gable Steveson of Minnesota in Sunday’s championship final
133 Pounds – Braeden Davis
No. 4 seed Braeden Davis bounced back big after suffering a loss in the quarterfinals. Davis dominated No. 11 seed Dustin Norris of Purdue with a 17-2 tech fall in the first period of their consolation round bout. The Nittany Lion the defeated No. 8 seed Angelo Rini of Indiana by 10-5 decision in the consolation quarterfinals.
Davis will face No. 3 seed Braxton Brown of Maryland in the consolation semifinals on Sunday.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Big Ten Championships wrap up on Sunday starting with consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches beginning at 1 p.m. EDT on BTN+. Third- and fourth-place matches and championship finals start at 5:30 p.m. and will air on the Big Ten Network.
