Penn State wrestling claims half of Black Knight Invite champions
Penn State wrestling’s team made the trek to West Point, N.Y. for the Black Knight Invite without six of its starters.
The Nittany Lions had 17 wrestlers compete over seven weight classes on Sunday inside the Christl Arena on the campus of Army West Point.
When it was all over, Penn State emerged with five champions as part of its 12 place winners. It had a total of seven finalists, including a pair of teammates squaring off in the 141- and 165-pound finals.
The Nittany Lions were a combined 47-20 on the day collecting 28 bonus-point victories — 10 major decisions, nine pins and nine technical falls.
Braeden Davis (125 pounds), Aaron Nagao (133), Beau Bartlett (141), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) and Josh Barr (184) were those champions for Penn State. Tyler Kasak (141) and Terrell Barraclough (165) were the other two finalists.
The other placewinners for the Nittany Lions included Robbie Howard (125, 4th), Gary Steen (125, 5th), David Evans (141, 5th), Matt Lee (165, 6th) and Brian Borden (174, 6th).
Bartlett and Mesenbrink were those Penn State wrestlers who had to beat a teammate for their title. They also bonused their way to the finals.
Bartlett pinned his way to the championship match against Kasak, who was making his Nittany Lions debut. Bartlett’s fastest was his tournament opener with Brown’s Riley Halal, when he put Halal on his back in 2:36.
In the finals, Bartlett and Kasak traded escapes for the lone points during regulation. Bartlett got the match-winning takedown with one minute remaining in sudden victory.
Kasak got to the finals with a pair of major decisions. He also had to beat Evans, 3-2, in ultimate tiebreakers in the quarterfinals.
Mesenbrink used a pair of technical falls and a pin to reach the finals. In the technical fall victories, he outscored his opponents, 42-8.
He used a pin of Rutgers’ Anthony White in the semifinals to set up the match with Barraclough.
Mesenbrink used a pair of first period takedowns to hold a 6-2 lead after two periods of wrestling. Barraclough wasn’t deterred by the score as he fought back.
He used a late takedown in the third period to get within, 8-5, but there wasn’t enough time to rally.
Just like Mesenbrink, Barraclough had a pin in the semifinals — of Michigan State’s Caleb Fish, who was the No. 1 seed — in sudden victory. He also used a takedown with one minute remaining in a sudden victory period to top Lee in the quarterfinals.
Nagao, who was making his Penn State debut, was the lone wrestler to have all bonus point victories on the day.
He had a pair of technical falls and a major decision on his way to the finals. The transfer had just three points scored against him the whole tournament as well.
Nagao opened with a 15-0 technical fall in 3:40 of wrestling. He followed that with a 13-1 major decision, and used a 17-2 technical fall in 6:53 to make the finals.
In the finals, Nagao needed just 52 seconds to dispatch Army’s Braden Basile as he flattened the Black Knight in the first period.
Davis took out a pair of ranked wrestlers on his way to his crown.
He opened with a 17-1 technical fall over Long Island University’s Ariel Waldman, who Davis topped last Sunday in the Journeymen Collegiate Classic. After collecting an 11-1 major decision in the quarterfinals, the true freshman topped the No. 31 ranked wrestler in Michigan State’s Tristan Lujan, 4-2.
In the finals, Davis used a solid top game, and a third period escape and takedown to frustrate and beat Army’s Ethan Berginc, 6-1. Berginc is currently ranked 30th in the country.
Barr opened his title run with an 18-3 technical fall of Army’s Kyle Swartz in 6:20. In the quarterfinals, the true freshman hung on for a 9-5 win over Michigan State’s Luke Vanadia.
Barr nearly rode Binghamton’s Jacob Nolan, who is 13th in the country, for the entire second period of their semifinals match. The built up riding time was what Barr needed to top Nolan, 2-1.
In the finals, the Penn State wrestler needed sudden victory to win his title. He traded escapes with Buffalo’s Chase Kranitz, but nearly stuck Kranitz with just under one minute left in the sudden victory frame for a 6-1 victory.
Former St. Joseph’s wrestler goes 0-2
St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy grad Keegan Rothrock competed in the Black Knight Invite for Brown University at 165 pounds.
He took on Lee in his tournament opener. Lee pinned Rothrock in 2:25.
In his second bout, Rothrock came up just short against Rutgers’ Luke Gayer, 8-6.
Black Knight Invite
Sunday at West Point, NY
Team key: Army (A), Binghamton (BH), Brown (B), Buffalo (BF), Gardner-Webb (GW), Long Island University (LIU), Michigan State (MSU), Northern Colorado (N), Penn State (PSU), Rutgers (R)
Team scores: 1. Army 121.5, 2. Penn State 108, 3. Rutgers 100.5, 4. Michigan State 85, 5. Northern Colorado 77.5, 6. Binghamton 67.5, 7. Gardner-Webb 42, 8. Brown 38, 9. Buffalo 32.5, 10. Long Island University 9
Finals
125: Braeden Davis, PSU, dec. Ethan Berginc, A, 5-1; 133: Aaron Nagao, PSU, pinned Braden Basile, A, :52; 141: Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Tyler Kasak, PSU, 4-1; 149: Thomas Deck, A, vs. Matthew Williams, A, no contest; 157: Vincent Zerban, N, dec. Chase Saldate, MSU, 9-5; 165: Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, dec. Terrell Barraclough, PSU, 8-5; 174: Shane Cartegena-Walsh, R, dec. Dillon Sheehy, A, 5-2; 184: Josh Barr, PSU, dec. Chase Kranitz, BF, 6-1 (SV); 197: Kael Wiser, MSU, dec. Lucas Daly, MSU, 8-1; 285: Yaraslau Slavikouski, R, dec. Cory Day, BH, 5-2
3rd Place Matches
125: Tristan Lujan, MSU, med. forfeit Robbie Howard, PSU
5th Place Matches
125: Gary Steen, PSU, major dec. Charlie Farmer, A, 14-4; 141: David Evans, PSU, tech. fall Joe Fongaro, R, 21-5 (6:09); 165: Brevin Cassella, BH, med. forfeit Matt Lee, PSU; 174: Jonothan Conrad, B, major dec. Brian Borden, PSU, 14-3
Semifinals
125: Berginc, A, major dec. Howard, PSU, 12-3; Davis, PSU, dec. Lujan, MSU, 4-2; 133: Nagao, PSU, tech. fall Devon Britton, R, 17-2 (6:53); 141: Bartlett, PSU, pinned Rich Treanor, A, 3:57; Kasak, PSU, major dec. Todd Carter, GW, 8-0; 165: Barraclough, PSU, pinned Caleb Fish, MSU, 7:20 (SV); Mesenbrink, PSU, pinned Anthony White, R, 2:15; 184: Barr, PSU, dec. Jacob Nolan, BH, 2-1
5th Place Semifinals
125: Steen, PSU, tech. fall Nick Corday, MSU, 19-4 (5:57); 133: Dominick Serrano, N, tech. fall Baylor Shunk, PSU, 19-4 (5:19); 141: Evans, PSU, dec. Jordan Hamdan, MSU, 12-6; 165: M. Lee, PSU, dec. Baylor Fernandes, BH, 8-5; 174: Borden, PSU, dec. Dylan Schell, BH, 4-1
5th Place Quarterfinals
125: Steen, PSU, pinned Max Elton, BF, 4:23; 133: Shunk, PSU, major dec. Andrew Hampton, MSU, 11-1; 141: Evans, PSU, major dec. Armando Garcia, N, 11-1; 149: Michael Cetta, R, dec. Connor Pierce, PSU, 7-5; Joey Giordano, R, dec. Imran Heard, PSU, 7-3; 165: M. Lee, major dec. Dakota Morris, A, 9-1; 174: Borden, PSU, dec. Aurelius Dunbar, PSU, 4-2; 184: Luke Vanadia, MSU, tech. fall Jack Kelly, PSU, 21-5 (4:53)
5th Place Second Round
133: Shunk, PSU, tech. fall Charlie Sly, GW, 15-0 (5:00); 165: Luke Gayer, R, dec. Keegan Rothrock, B, 8-6; 174: Dunbar, PSU, dec. William Ebert, BH, 7-4
Quarterfinals
125: Howard, PSU, dec. Steen, PSU, 5-2 (SV); Davis, PSU, major dec. Charlie Farmer, A, 11-1; 133: Nagao, PSU, major dec. Andrew Hampton, MSU, 13-1; 141: Bartlett, PSU, pinned Joe Fangaro, R, 4:48; Kasak, PSU, dec. Evans, PSU, 3-2 (UTB); 149: Matthew Williams, A, dec. Heard, PSU, 7-5; Jacob Butler, R, dec. Pierce, PSU, 5-3; 165: Barraclough, PSU, dec. M. Lee, PSU, 11-8 (SV); Mesenbrink, PSU, tech. fall Brevin Cassella, BH, 25-6 (6:55); 174: Marcus Petite, BF, dec. Borden, PSU, 10-3; 184: Barr, PSU, dec. Vanadia, MSU, 9-5
Second Round
125: Steen, PSU, dec. Carson Wagner, BH, 12-5; Howard, PSU, dec. Aedyn Concepcion, GW, 6-4; Davis, PSU, tech. fall Ariel Waldman, LIU, 17-1 (3:47); 133: Nagao, PSU, tech. fall Takeo Davis, GW, 15-0 (3:40); Dyson Kunz, N, dec. Shunk, PSU, 16-11; 141: Bartlett, PSU, pinned Riley Halal, B, 2:36; Evans, PSU, dec. Nathan Lucier, BH, 11-4; 149: Heard, PSU, dec. William McMullen, LIU, 4-2; Pierce, PSU, pinned Sam Harris, GW, 2:07; 165: Barraclough, PSU, major dec. Gayer, R, 12-2; M. Lee, PSU, pinned Rothrock, B, 2:25; Mesenbrink, PSU, tech. fall Morris, A, 17-2 (6:16); 174: Corey Connolly, LIU, pinned Dunbar, PSU, 7:22 (SV); Borden, PSU, major dec. Aydin Rix-McElhinney, N, 15-7; 184: Barr, PSU, tech. fall Kyle Swartz, A, 18-3 (6:20)
This story was originally published November 19, 2023 at 7:53 PM.
