Penn State Wrestling: Nittany Lions Take Big Early Lead at Big Ten Championships

Penn State wrestling took a commanding lead after Session 1 of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, sending nine wrestlers to the semifinals and going 11-1 in the first two rounds. Nine Nittany Lions qualified for the NCAA Wrestling Championships, with sophomore Braeden Davis seeking to qualify from the consolation rounds.

Penn State scored 88 team points in Session 1 for an early 28-point lead over second-place Nebraska. Illinois was third (57), and Iowa was fourth (51.5). Penn State scored bonus points in 10 of its 11 wins, led by freshman Luke Lilledahl, who won his first two bouts at 125 pounds by pin and major decision.

The semifinals are scheduled for 8 p.m. ET Saturday at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena. Here’s a look at Penn State’s first two rounds at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships.

125 Pounds

Freshman Luke Lilledahl (17-2) easily won his first two bouts, pinning Illinois’ Caelan Riley before scoring an 11-1 major decision over Iowa’s Joey Cruz. Lilledahl, the fourth seed, scored a takedown in the waning seconds of the first period to take a 3-0 lead over Cruz in the quarterfinals. He added two more takedowns for the victory to earn a spot in the semifinals.

Lilledahl will face Purdue’s unbeaten Matt Ramos, who scored a dramatic pin in sudden victory over Wisconsin’s Nicolar Rivera in the quarterfinals. Ramos (24-0) gave up his first takedown of the season to Rivera. Lilledahl and Rivera will meet for the first time in college competition.

133 Pounds

Sophomore Braeden Davis, the fourth seed, will not win a second Big Ten title after falling 3-1 in the quarterfinals to Rutgers’ Dylan Shawver, the weight class’ reigning champ. Davis, who won the Big Ten title at 125 as a freshman, opened the tournament with an 11-2 major decision over Michigan State’s Andrew Hampton. That prompted a rematch with Shawver, whom Davis defeated 2-1 in January.

Shawver, the defending Big Ten champ at 133 pounds, generated most of the attack this time, though Davis defended shots through the first two periods. Late in the third, however, Shawver converted a shot into the bout’s only takedown. Penn State challenged, but the takedown was upheld. Davis will wrestle Purdue’s Dustin Norris, the 11th seed, later Saturday in the consolation round for a trip to the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia.

141 Pounds

Top-seeded Beau Bartlett cruised into the semifinals with a 13-3 major decision over Purdue’s Grayson Clark. Bartlett (19-0) scored four takedowns in the victory, which moved him to Saturday night’s semifinals. Bartlett will meet fourth-seeded Vance VomBaur of Minnesota, who scored a sudden-victory takedown to top Michigan’s Sergio Lemley 4-1.

Bartlett and Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez remain on course for a Big Ten championships rematch. Bartlett defeated Mendez in the 2024 and 2025 regular-season duals but fell twice to Mendez in the 2024 postseason for Big Ten and NCAA championships.

149 Pounds

Top-seeded Shayne Van Ness (18-1) defeated Maryland’s Kal Miller for the second time this season in a 12-2 major decision. Miller kept this bout closer, however, as Van Ness won their regular-season meeting by a 17-2 technical fall. Still, Van Ness scored the first takedown and controlled the bout with takedowns in each period. Van Ness will meet fifth-seeded Kannon Webster of Illinois, who defeated Ohio State’s Dylan D’Emilio 3-1, in the semifinals. Van Ness majored Webster 15-4 in their regular-season dual.

157 Pounds

Second-seeded Tyler Kasak got off to a strong start with a 7-3 win over Northwestern’s Trevor Chumbley. Kasak scored two first-period takedowns to make the Big Ten semifinals for the second consecutive year. Kasak, who placed third at Big Tens and NCAAs last year, will face Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor in the semifinals. Kasak beat Taylor 9-3 during the dual-meet season.

However, if he beats Taylor again, Kasak will not see Maryland’s Ethen Miller again in the final. Miller, the weight class’ No. 1 seed, lost his first bout of the season 9-2 to Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon. Kasak was forced to take an injury default vs. Miller in the regular season due to a concussion. That is Kasak’s lone loss of the year.

165 Pounds

Top-seeded Mitchell Mesenbrink won’t wrestle until the semifinals, as opponent Paddy Gallagher of Ohio State took an injury default. Gallagher advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-2 win over Northwestern’s Maxx Mayfield but was unable to go vs. Mesenbrink.

The Penn State redshirt sophomore, who is among the nation’s most dominant wrestlers, will take on Michigan’s Beau Mantanona in the semifinals. Mantanona, the fourth seed who won by fall in the quarters, is among only two wrestlers who have not lost by technical fall to Mesenbrink this season. Mesenbrink won their dual meeting by an 18-4 major decision.

174 Pounds

Top-seeded Levi Haines (18-1) scored Penn State’s first of two falls of the quarterfinals, pinning Purdue’s Brody Baumann in 5:58. The pin was Haines’ eighth of the season and improved his career record vs. Big Ten opponents to 36-0.

Haines, who won Big Ten and NCAA titles at 157 pounds last season, gets a rematch with Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy in the semifinals. Haines won their regular-season meeting 10-3.

184 Pounds

It seems like so long ago that Penn State’s Carter Starocci lost to Indiana’s DJ Washington. But he did, 10-9, in a 2021 dual. Starocci (19-0) since has avenged that loss three times, including Saturday’s 18-1 technical fall in the Big Ten quarterfinals. With the win, Starocci advanced to a semifinal rematch with Maryland’s Jaxon Smith, who scored a dramatic 3-2 tiebreaker win over Iowa’s Gabe Arnold. Starocci defeated Smith 20-3 during the regular season.

197 Pounds

Second-seeded Josh Barr began his first Big Ten Championships with a 17-2 second-period technical fall over Nebraska’s Camden McDaniel. Barr (15-1) needed just 4:05 to record his sixth technical fall of the season. Barr will meet Michigan’s third-seeded Jacob Cardenas in the semfinals. Cardenas gave Barr a duel in February, though Barr emerged with a 3-2 tiebreaker victory.

285 Pounds

Greg Kerkvliet (17-0) began defense of his Big Ten title with a first-period pin of Iowa’s Ben Kueter. Kerkvliet finished the fall in 1:54, his second bonus-point victory over Kueter this season. In the semifinals, the second-seeded Kerkvliet meets third-seeded Josh Heindselman of Michigan. Kerkvliet beat Heindselman 6-0 in February.