Penn State Wrestling Wobbles in Big Ten Semifinals But Still Holds Commanding Lead

Penn State wrestling takes a comfortable lead into the final day of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, having qualified six Nittany Lions to the championship finals and its entire lineup to the NCAA Championships. Still, Saturday night wasn’t the most efficient for the nation’s top-ranked team.

The semifinals were a bit wobbly for Penn State. Two if its top seeds, Beau Bartlett (141) and Shayne Van Ness (149), lost. Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) gave up a takedown for the first time this season. And Nebraska briefly took an eight-point lead over the Nittany Lions in the team standings.

Then Tyler Kasak (157) recalibrated Penn State with a first-period pin, and the Nittany Lions went 5-1 in the semifinals from 157-285. Six Penn State wrestlers will compete for Big Ten titles in Sunday’s final round, which begins at 5:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. They are Luke Lilledahl (125), Kasak, Mesenbrink, Levi Haines (174), Carter Starocci (184) and Greg Kerkvliet (285).

Penn State leads the team standings with 145 points, followed by Nebraska (118.5) and Iowa (98). Penn State leads all teams with six finalists. Nebraska has four, and the teams will square off at 174 pounds. Here’s the semifinal recap.

125: Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) dec. Matt Ramos (Purdue) 11-4

Lilledahl, Penn State’s fourth-seeded freshman, delivered one of the most impressive performances of hte semifinals, jumped all over top-seeded and unbeaten Matt Ramos quickly. Lilledahl took a 7-0 lead midway through the first period, countering a Ramos shot with his own and turning that into four near-fall points. Ramos began clawing back with an escape, but Lilledahl swept a leg for a third-period takedown and the win.

Lilledahl (18-2) had a phenomenal Saturday, winning three bouts with a pin, major decision and decision over the nation’s No. 1 wrestler. After handing Ramos his first loss of the season, Lilledahl will wrestle for a Big Ten title Sunday. Lilledahl will meet Nebraska’s Caleb Smith, who defeated Rutgers’ Dean Peterson in sudden victory in the other semifinal. Lilledahl, who beat Smith 4-2 in January, seeks to become the second straight Penn State freshman to win the Big Ten title at 125 (Braeden Davis won last season).

133: Braeden Davis advances in consolations

After a quarterfinal loss, Braeden Davis (11-4) rebounded for two high-scoring wins to clinch his spot at the NCAA Championships and remain in contention for a Big Ten third-place meda;. Davis needed just 2:03 to clinch a 17-2 technical fall over Purdue’s Dustin Norris and then scored a 20-9 major decision over Indiana’s Angelo Rini.

141: Vance VomBaur (Minnesota) dec. Beau Bartlett (Penn State) 5-2

The anticipated next edition of the Beau Bartlett-Jesse Mendez rivalry won’t happen in the Big Ten final. VomBaur scored one of the semifinal upsets, taking out top-ranked Beau Bartlett, who will end his career without a Big Ten title. Bartlett (19-1) had allowed just one takedown during the dual-meet season, during which he never gave up the first takedown. He also pinned VomBaur at the 2024 NCAA Championships.

But VomBaur, the No. 4 seeded, scored first to take a 3-0 lead. After the wrestlers traded escapes, Bartlett fended off a VomBaur shot as the second period expired. VomBaur then locked riding time in the third period, and Bartlett couldn’t get the tying takedown and took his first loss of the season. VomBaur will meet Nebraska’s Brock Hardy, who defeated Ohio State’s Mendez 9-8 in the other semifinal. Hardy’s victory also momentarily tied Nebraska with Penn State in the team standings.

149: Kannon Webster (Illinois) dec. Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) 4-1

Penn State took another remarkable upset at 149, as the sixth-seeded Webster avenged a February 15-4 loss to Van Ness. Webster attacked the top-seeded Van Ness relentlessly in the third period. Van Ness nimbly dodged two takedown attempts but couldn’t avoid the third. Webster finally caught Van Ness with 4 seconds left in the bout for the win.

Van Ness (18-2) turns to the consolation round. He placed fourth at Big Tens in his last postseason run in 2023.

157: Tyler Kasak (Penn State) pin Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) 1:18

Kasak righted a wobbly Penn State run with a commanding first-period pin of Taylor that also slowed the Cornhuskers’ run. Kasak (16-1) led 6-1 when he put Taylor on his back for the fall in under 80 seconds. The victory was Kasak’s second this season over Taylor.

Kasak, the No. 1 seed, will meet eighth-seeded Brandon Cannon of Ohio State in the final. Cannon has made a strong run through the bracket, including a 9-2 win over top-seeded Ethen Miller of Maryland. Kasak did not wrestle Cannon this season, having missed the Ohio State match with an injury.

165: Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) technical fall Bean Mantanona (Michigan) 25-8 in 6:29

Another surprise: Mesenbrink allowed the first takedown of the semifinal, which also was the first takedown he has allowed this season. Mantanona attacked quickly at the opening whistle and caught Mesenbrink off guard. The Penn State redshirt sophomore had not wrestled until Saturday night’s quarterfinals, having begun the day with a bye and an injury default.

But Mesenbrink righted himself, ending the first period with a takedown and adding three more in the second period to take a 14-5. lead. He scored three more takedowns to complete his 16th technical fall of the season. Mesenbrink will defend his Big Ten title vs. Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo, whom he has defeated four times over the past two seasons.

174: Levi Haines (Penn State) dec. Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 10-3

Haines (19-1) methodically dispatched Kennedy to reach his third straight Big Ten final. He scored takedowns in the first and second period and spent the third period defending Kennedy before scoring a takedown at the buzzer for the assertive victory. The win was Haines’ second this season over Kennedy.

Haines seeks to become a three-time Big Ten champ Sunday when he wrestles Nebraska’s Lenny Pinto, who won a dramatic 9-8 decision over llinois’ Dan Braunagel. Pinto’s takedown at the third-period whistle initially went uncalled but was confirmed on review, giving him the stunning win. Haines, who is 37-0 against Big Ten competition in his career, beat Pinto 9-2 in January.

184: Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec. Jaxon Smith (Maryland) 12-2

Starocci (20-0) returned to the Big Ten final for the first time since 2023 (he was injured for the event last season). After a quiet first period, the four-time NCAA champ scored takedowns in the second and third period en route to his 98th career victory. The major decision was his 18th bonus-point win of the season.

Starocci will wrestle for his third Big Ten title Sunday against Minnesota’s Max McEnelly, who remained unbeaten with an 11-3 major decision in the semifinals. McEnelly (20-0) is the No. 2 seed and is ranked fifth nationally.

197: Jacob Cardenas (Michigan) dec. Josh Barr 4-1 (Penn State) SV

Cardenas scored the winning takedown in sudden victory to produce the third semifinal upset of a Penn State wrestler. Barr, the No. 2 seed, couldn’t get to his offense against Cardenas, whom he defeated 3-2 in a February dual. This time, the third-seeded Cardenas caught Barr out of position in sudden victory for the winning takedown.

The loss was Barr’s second of the season and sent him to the consolation round, where he will wrestle for third place.

285: Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) dec. Josh Heindselman (Michigan) 9-1

On a night of upsets, Kerkvliet and Minnesota’s Gable Steveson assured that they would deliver the main event of Sunday’s Big Ten finals. Kerkvliet (20-0) scored two takedowns and loaded more than 4 minutes of riding time for the semifinal major decision. And now, Kerkvliet, the defending Big Ten and national champ at 285, will meet Steveson (13-0) for the first of likely two postseason finals.

Steveson, who won NCAA titles in 2021 and ’22, advanced to the final with a major decision over Ohio State’s Nick Feldman. Steveson and Kerkvliet have not met in college. Steveson has not lost a college match since the 2019 NCAA final to Penn State’s Anthony Cassar.