Penn State Wrestling: Grades, Match of the Weekend, and MVP from Nittany Lions’ wins over Ohio State and Illinois
Following Penn State Wrestling’s wins against No. 8 Ohio State and No. 13 Illinois this past weekend, it’s time again for some match grades, best match of the weekend, and MVP.
The weekend got started off on the right foot for the Nittany Lions as they slapped around the Buckeyes 27-13. And the pain train continued to roll through Sunday afternoon.
Penn State Wrestling took seven of the ten contests in Champaign while rolling up three major decisions, a technical fall, and a rare stalling DQ. More on this one later.
But before we had out match grades, I’d like to touch on something first.
A couple of freshman made their dual meet debuts on Friday and Sunday. And things didn’t exactly go the way a lot of Nittany Lion fans would have liked to see.
I get it. You’re used to seeing one-man-wrecking machines in Penn State singlets week in and week out. You’re used to seeing conference titles, individual titles, and national titles. However, there’s a simple fact that remains.
Wrestling is freaking hard.
And if there’s one thing that blows me away more than anything about what head coach Cael Sanderson has built in Happy Valley, it’s how easy they make it look out on the mat.
But, I assure you the reality is something far, far different than that.
Give the young guys some time and trust the process.
So now onto the match grades!
Ohio State & Illinois Match Grades for Penn State Wrestling
125
125 – No. 21 Brendan McCrone (OSU) fall over No. 7 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) 3:58
Grade: B+
Yes, the outcome wasn’t exactly something I would label as “great”.
But prior to the start of the second period it looked like Lilledahl was on his way to his eighth technical fall of the season. Luke picked up two takedowns in the opening period and McCrone had no answer for the quick attacks.
Up 6-2 at the start of the second, McCrone chose top position because that’s his biggest strength. The dude is a pinning machine. Of his 19 wins on the year, eight have been by fall.
Lilledahl’s lone mistake in the match happened within the first couple seconds of the second period. McCrone broke Luke down immediately and worked his left leg inside and his left arm around LL’s head. He then worked his way up to a higher position on Luke. But there was little he could do.
As soon as McCrone was able to secure Lilledahl’s right leg the match was over. Granted, the referee did signal a super quick pin, but the result would have been the same either way.
However, I’m still giving Luke a high grade. Because there are three takeaways from this match that I believe are positives:
Luke was the superior athlete on his feet.
-This was for sure a learning experience.
-Lilledahl will get stronger the longer he’s in the Penn State Wrestling room.
133
133 – No. 4 Lucas Byrd (ILL) dec. over No. 8 Braeden Davis (PSU) 7-1
Grade: A-
I noted in the recap for Penn State Wrestling’s beatdown of Maryland that if and when Braeden Davis comes back, there’s a small likelihood he’ll be anywhere close to 100%. Which makes sense.
His injury was significant enough that he hadn’t seen action since the Rutgers dual meet on January 24th. And it’s already the middle of February. The postseason is right around the corner and if any wrestler is banged up now, well then they’re going to have to finish the season banged up.
But in Braeden Davis’ case, there’s still some positives to take from this past weekend.
Namely, the fact that he’s still a better wrestler at 70% than a ton of other guys around the nation. Case in point was his win over No. 11 Nic Bouzakis. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
However, Illinois’ Lucas Byrd is another story all together.
He’s a three-time NCAA qualifier, a two-time All-American, and owns a career record of 94-20.
As the Nittany Lion fans saw on Sunday afternoon, Davis just doesn’t have enough in the tank at this point in the season to take out the best of the best. But that doesn’t mean he can’t have a good showing at the 2025 B1G Championships. And that also doesn’t mean he can’t be an All-American this season.
Because if he can accomplish that, then the season would be a huge success.
157
157 – Brandon Cannon (OSU) major dec. over Joe Sealey (PSU) 10-1
157 – No. 30 Jason Kraisser (ILL) dec. over Joe Sealey (PSU) 2-1
Grade: B+
Anyone noticing a trend yet?
Prior to last Friday, Joe Sealey had wrestled in exactly zero matches in his Penn State career.
He had no matches in the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial or Black Knight Invite or Mat-Town Open. Furthermore, he didn’t see any action in the Kent State Open or Southern Scuffle or Franklin & Marshall Open.
Nothing.
I mean sure, he’s locked horns with a bunch of guys in the wrestling room. But there’s a different feel from that and actually donning the Nittany Lion singlet in a true match.
Additionally, I would like to point out something else.
Joe wrestled his senior year at 165 pounds. He competed this past year in the U20 Team Trials at 74 kg (163.1 lbs) and FloWrestling listed him as a future 165/174 pounder. There was nothing in his bio about 157 pounds. The last time he wrestled at that weight was more than two years ago.
And with Tyler Kasak still a little banged up, and with the team needing him, Joe Sealey answered the call under difficult circumstances.
Namely, the fact he would suit up for the first time against two ranked wrestling programs. And that he would be competing at a weight that would have been difficult to get down to without compromising his fitness and strength.
Ohio State Match
So now let’s look at his first match. And, yes, technically Brandon Cannon is the backup for Ohio State at 157. But make no mistake about it, Cannon is no ordinary backup.
He currently sports an 18-2 record along with a 75% bonus percentage. Cannon’s only two losses on the season were to No. 6 Paniro Johnson (149 lbs) and No. 8 Tommy Askey (157). Plus he picked up a ranked win over No. 11 Cody Chittum in the Cleveland State Open.
Sammy Sasso was just keeping the starting seat warm for Cannon.
As for the match, based on the circumstances at hand it pretty much played out how I would have expected it to. Cannon likes to score points in bunches and you could clearly see that Sealey’s energy wasn’t quite there.
To his credit, Joe only surrendered two takedowns. However Cannon was just too strong on top position as he forced two stall points and secured the riding time bonus early in the third period. When both guys were on their feet, the match was way closer than the final score indicated.
This was simply a tough match and a tough spot for Joe.
Illinois Match
I don’t care what the record books show, Joe Sealey won this match.
I don’t care what state or country you live in. Heck, I don’t care what planet you live on. That shot and finish with 12 seconds to go in the third period was absolutely a takedown.
It was a takedown in real time. It was a takedown in instant replay. And it was a takedown if you were watching from a telescope on Mars.
Thanks Angel.
285
285 – No. 9 Nick Feldman (OSU) dec. over Cole Mirasola (PSU) 10-3
285 – No. 10 Luke Luffman (ILL) dec. over Cole Mirasola (PSU) 4-0
Grade: A
Cole Mirasola has put together a pretty solid freshman campaign so far this year. He went 2-0 at the Black Knight Invite and he went 4-0 at the Southern Scuffle. These are all huge positives for a true freshman who’s trying to get acclimated to college and who’s trying to get his body ready for D1 wrestling at the heavyweight division.
When Cole got to Happy Valley, he was already fairly undersized for heavyweight. So it made sense for the coaching staff to ease him into a proper weight for down the road. The last thing you want to do is feed an athlete Ho Hos and Zebra Cakes to pack on pounds.
So yeah, is Mirasola still a bit undersized? Of course. However that didn’t matter when he was going up against the likes of Max Vanadia, Brady Colbert, and Connor Barket. But those guys are incredibly far from the likes of Nick Feldman and Luke Luffman.
Both of those guys look like they have a great shot to All-American this year. And either one of them could make a deep run in the NCAA bracket.
So for Cole Mirasola to be thrown out onto the mat against both of them and for him to only lose two decisions. I’d say that’s a huge positive for the future. Cael Sanderson and his coaching staff have a plan for the future. And for Cole that plan just isn’t for “right now”.
Penn State Football Hires Ex-Temple Head Coach as New RB Coach
Match of the Weekend
141 – No. 3 Beau Bartlett (PSU) vs. No. 1 Jesse Mendez (OSU)
At this point in their collegiate careers Beau Bartlett and Jesse Mendez have a bit of a rivalry going. Friday night marked their fifth career meeting. Additionally, every single match has gone down to the wire.
Here are Beau’s results from the previous four matches:
2024 – OSU Dual – W 4-1 SV
2024 – B1G’s – L 4-1
2024 – NCAA’s – L 4-1
2024 – NWCA – L 4-1
So whenever these two square up, whichever wrestler can land the initial takedown is going home with the win. And leading up to Friday night’s dual meet a lot of the Nittany Lion faithful were curious as to which Beau they were going to see. Me included.
Match
From the opening whistle, it was Mendez who was the early aggressor. Beau fought off a really good shot 30 seconds into the match, however, his elite strength and defense allowed him to battle back to neutral.
Both guys circled the mat for the next minute taking several half shots.
With a minute left in the opening period, Mendez was working with some underhooks on Bartlett. He was looking for the throw however Beau countered with a bear hug and tried a throw of his own. Jesse was ready for it and he snagged a single leg.
Beau worked the whizzer and both guys went to the mat. A scramble ensued and Bartlett was able to readjust to a higher position on Mendez. He whipped his left leg and slid around back for the opening takedown with only 19 seconds remaining.
Beau started the second period on bottom position and he extended his lead to 4-0 with an early escape. Both guys finished the round squared up and on their feet.
Mendez pulled free in the opening seconds of the third period. At this point in the match, he was desperate to get to his offense. And to Beau’s credit, he was able to fend off the onslaught.
But here’s the thing when it comes to folkstyle wrestling, if Beau Bartlett can get an early lead on a guy, he’s going to win. He’s too quick, his defense is almost unmatched, and he essentially has two stall calls in the back of his pocket. And that’s if they are needed.
Jesse Mendez is a menace on offense. That is, unless Beat can get an early lead on him. Because if he does … ballgame.
Result: No. 3 Beau Bartlett (PSU) dec. over No. 1 Jesse Mendez
MVP of the Weekend
184 – No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) tech. fall over No. 18 Ryder Rogotzke (OSU) 22-7
184 – No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) WB DQ over No. 12 Edmond Ruth (ILL) 6:43
Carter Starocci is a man on a mission this year.
He has absolutely obliterated every single human who has actually tried to wrestle him.
The above statement excludes Iowa’s Angelo Ferrari because he wasn’t really trying to wrestle much of that match. But I digress.
Starocci slapped a technical fall on a guy who pinned Bernie Truax last season.
And he followed that up by embarrassing Illinois’ Edmond Ruth Sunday afternoon.
Starocci was already up 17-4 when the referee slapped Ruth with his sixth stall call of the match. Yes, you read that correctly … six.
In baseball, it’s three strikes and you’re out, but in wrestling it’s six strikes and you’re out.
Ladies and gentlemen, Carter Starocci didn’t force six stall calls on a scrub. It wasn’t on a middling starter or even on a lowly ranked guy. He did this to the 2024 B1G Champion and a 2024 All-American.
