Penn State Vs. Ohio State Wrestling Preview: How to Watch, Key Bouts, Top Storylines
The top-ranked Nittany Lions begin a Big Ten road trip by visiting the No. 8 Buckeyes for an intriguing conference wrestling match.
The No. 1 Penn State wrestling team closes the Big Ten regular season this weekend with a pair of road matches, beginning Friday night at No. 8 Ohio State. The Nittany Lions can complete their fifth consecutive unbeaten Big Ten campaigns with wins over the Buckeyes and at Illinois on Sunday. The first match will be more interesting.
Ohio State has a strong lineup, notably at 141 pounds, where defending national champ Jesse Mendez begins the road to repeating against his longtime rival. Mendez vs. Penn State’s Beau Bartlett, some potential missing pieces in the Nittany Lions’ lineup and Mitchell Mesenbrink’s bonus-point streak highlight the Penn State-Ohio State match. Here’s what and how to watch Friday.
No. 1 Penn State (12-0, 6-0) vs. No. 8 Ohio State (13-2, 5-2)
- When: 7 p.m. ET Friday
- Where: Covelli Center, Columbus, Ohio
- TV: Fox Sports App
- Betting Line: Penn State is a 19.5-point favorite, according to DraftKings
How to Watch Penn State Vs. Ohio State Wrestling
Big Ten Network will carry the Penn State-Ohio State match live beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Friday. Streamers can check out the Fox Sports app or B1G+. Can’t watch? Listen to Jeff Byers on the Penn State Sports Network.
About the Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State has won 68 consecutive dual matches dating to 2020 and almost certainly will complete a fifth consecutive undefeated season. With two Big Ten wins this weekend, Penn State will become just the second Division I men’s wrestling program to win 70 consecutive dual matches. And it’s a streak that shows no signs of slowing. Penn State is a huge favorite over Ohio State, even though it could be without starters Tyler Kasak and Braeden Davis on Friday night. Nittany Lions coach Cael Sanderson wasn’t definitive about their status this week, though he sounded more optimistic about Davis (No. 8 at 133) than Kasak (No. 1 at 157). Kasak was forced to take an injury default against Maryland last Sunday. Josh Barr (197) was named Big Ten freshman of the week after his 3-2 tiebreaker win over then-No. 2 Josh Cardenas of Michigan. Barr (12-1) is No. 3 at 197, according to InterMat. Eight Nittany Lions are ranked in the top three at their weight classes, according to InterMat. That includes No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, who has won every bout by technical fall or major decision this season.
About the Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes enter the match following a 1-1 weekend in which they defeated Indiana 27-13 and fell to No. 6 Minnesota 20-17. Ohio State has six wrestlers ranked in InterMat’s top 11, led by Mendez and No. 5 Carson Kharchla (174). The Buckeyes’ Brendan McCrone (125) scored a 9-0 major decision upset over then-No. 9 Cooper Flynn of Minnesota, signaling that he could give Penn State’s Luke Lilledahl a test. The best story on Ohio State’s roster is senior Sammy Sasso, a seventh-year wrestler who returned this season after missing all of the 2023-24 campaign. Sasso, a four-time NCAA All-American and two-time runnerup, recovered from a 2023 gunshot wound. Sanderson marveled at Sasso’s story. “Having gone through what he went through, and to be able to get back and compete at a really high level, is really, really impressive.”
Penn State Vs. Ohio State Matchups to Watch
141: No. 3 Beau Bartlett (15-0) vs. No. 1 Jesse Mendez (23-0)
The main event pairs the nation’s Nos. 1 and No. 3 wrestlers in a rematch of last year’s Big Ten and NCAA finals. Mendez won both after falling to Bartlett in the regular season. Mendez also defeated Bartlett 4-1 at the NWCA All-Star Class preseason exhibition in November at Rec Hall. This could start another three-bout series to determine Big Ten and NCAA titles once again.
“I think I’ve been adjusting my mindset to try and improve every week,” Bartlett said during a media availability in State College. “[I] tried to come out really hot at the beginning of the year in the All-Star match and I think I put extra pressure on myself. So really just thinking it’s another match in the right direction, and we’ll have more gos. We’ve had some before. I think I’m doing everything right. I’m having fun with it.”
149: No. 2 Shayne Van Ness (14-1) vs. No. 7 Dylan D’Emilio (17-2)
Van Ness has won four straight bouts, two by technical fall, since his loss to Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett. He has 58 points in those four bouts, putting on an aggressive offensive stretch. D’Emilio, a four-time NCAA qualifier and 2023 All-American, has lost two duals bouts to the nation’s fifth- and third-ranked wrestlers. By comparison, D’Emilio fell to Iowa’s Kyle Parco 8-3, while Van Ness defeated Parco 17-6.
174: No. 2 Levi Haines (14-1) vs. No. 5 Carson Kharchla (11-0)
Ohio State’s Kharchla is the unbeaten here, and his best win is a 7-3 decision over Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy. Haines defeated Kennedy 10-3. Haines is a returning NCAA champ whose lone loss was to Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole, also a returning champ. Kharchla was an NCAA All-American in 2022.
