Penn State wrestling claims 4th straight Big Ten regular season title. Here are 5 takeaways
Penn State wrestling’s dual against Nebraska got off to a hairy start in Rec Hall on Sunday, with the Nittany Lions — who were missing Aaron Nagao — dropping three of the first five bouts.
But the second half of the lineup did what it has done all year, as Penn State earned a 22-13 win over the No. 3 Cornhuskers. It gave the Nittany Lions their fourth straight Big Ten regular season title and 10 of the last 13.
Here are five takeaways from Penn State’s win:
Kasak can hang with the best
True freshman Tyler Kasak got his toughest test of the season with No. 1 Ridge Lovett.
Kasak came out and recorded the first points of the match by taking Lovett down with a smooth double leg takedown. Lovett quickly reversed him to make it 3-2 after one period.
The second period saw Lovett tie the bout, and Kasak fended off several takedown attempts. Late in the third period, Lovett got a takedown that was challenged by Penn State’s coaches. The challenge failed and Lovett added a riding time point for a 7-3 win.
Although Kasak didn’t come out with the win, it was probably a spot where Nebraska coaches were counting on bonus points. It was only Kasak’s third loss of the season — only the second against someone that was a teammate.
“It was a tied score in the third period, so he’s close. It’s easier to keep something close and to win a match. He’s right there,” coach Cael Sanderson said. “He’s going to get better each match. He just needs some more experience, but a great test for him today. I think Tyler believes he can beat anybody, so I don’t know if anything really changes.”
Haines’ victory key in rally
The No. 1 wrestler in the country took on Nebraska’s Peyton Robb, who almost wasn’t able to wrestle this season after battling with bacterial infection necrotizing fasciitis in his leg.
The Nittany Lions trailed 10-3 when Levi Haines hit the mat, but he showed why he’s considered a leader on the team.
After a scoreless first period, Haines caught Robb and put him in danger for a three count and a takedown. The Cornhuskers’ coaches challenged the call, which was confirmed.
The third period saw Haines snap off two quick back-to-back takedowns to the roar of the crowd. He went on to collect a 10-3 lead to get Penn State to within 10-6 at the break.
“I don’t think that was necessarily him breaking. I just kind of hit my groove, and doing what I do,” said Haines on the ease of scoring those takedowns. “Coach told me to go out there and keep getting angles. If you do that, guys get tired, so it allows you to open them up.”
2nd half of PSU lineup always comes through
Usually when the Nittany Lions’ second half of the lineup comes to the mat, the team is leading and they just add to the lead to blow out a close match.
On Sunday, Penn State won four of the last five bouts to rally the squad. Mitchell Mesenbrink gave up a takedown, but used that as fuel, even clapping in Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor’s face, to the crowd’s pleasure.
Mesenbrink earned a 9-5 victory.
“I love wrestling after Mitchell. He gets me fired up. I like his energy, so it’s always fun going after him,” Carter Starocci said.
Starocci followed up by snapping off six takedowns, and collected a 20-4 technical fall in 5:58. It gave the Nittany Lions their first lead of the dual at 14-10.
After Bernie Truax suffered a loss, Aaron Brooks and Greg Kerkvliet closed out the dual with bonus point victories.
Brooks had a 17-4 major decision, but the dual wasn’t technically locked up yet. Kerkvliet had a 10-0 major decision and nearly stalled out Nash Hutmacher for the dual-clinching victory.
“It’s a team effort. If something doesn’t go our way, then it gives other people an opportunity to step up and help the team,” Sanderson said. “You always want to win every match, but we’ve got some stuff we can play with, and get ready for the next go.”
Atmospheric change
The enthusiasm of Penn State’s fans has come under scrutiny over this season.
Sanderson mentioned how they’ve added background music during matches as it’s been too quiet inside Rec Hall. He jokingly talked about it being so quiet that “you can hear a four year old kid up in the corner yell ‘We Are.’”
The music was back on Sunday, but the fans in attendance made it hard to hear with all of noise. They came to a roar when Kasak snapped off a takedown of the No. 1 wrestler in the country.
They were emphatic when Penns Valley grad Baylor Shunk, who was filling in for Nagao, nearly put Jacob Van Dee on his back. They roared when Truax collected a takedown of No. 3 Lenny Pinto as he looked to try and make a comeback.
“When you have back and forth, tough dual meets, people are going to be a little louder. I mean that’s just natural. This is our home. We want as much of an advantage as we can get,” Sanderson said. “We want this to be the toughest place in the country to wrestle. We can’t do that, only our fans can do that. Obviously, we have to have the product out there, the attitude and enthusiasm, but we need that matched. We have to give people something to cheer about too.”
Cornhuskers are team to keep an eye on come March
Nebraska gave Penn State its toughest dual of the year.
The Cornhuskers recorded the most dual points with their 13 scored. Their nine takedowns were the second highest tallied against the Nittany Lions, after Lehigh had 11 in the Dec. 3 dual.
The potential of their lineup showed Nebraska could have two NCAA finalists in Lovett and Pinto, with Lovett being a favorite to win it all. Brock Hardy and Robb were All-Americans last season, so they should repeat this year.
Add in Silas Allred, who was known for beating Max Dean twice last year and coming up just short of being on the podium, along with Antrell Taylor, who looked excellent against Mesenbrink and beat Michigan’s Cameron Amine last Friday, the Cornhuskers could be looking at a top-five team finish in Kansas City.
“Nebraska had a really good team, and a very good dual meet team. That’s why we do what we do, wrestle the best. They’re certainly one of the best,” Sanderson said.
No. 1 Penn State 22, No. 3 Nebraska 13
Sunday at University Park
125: No. 12 Caleb Smith, N, major dec. No. 6 Braeden Davis, 11-3
133: No. 17 Jacob Van Dee, N, dec. Baylor Shunk, 6-2
141: No. 1 Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. No. 7 Brock Hardy, 9-6
149: No. 1 Ridge Lovett, N, dec. No. 9 Tyler Kasak, 7-3
157: No. 1 Levi Haines, PSU, dec. No. 7 Peyton Robb, 10-3
165: No. 6 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, dec. No. 15 Antrell Taylor, 9-5
174: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU, tech. fall No. 33 Bubba Wilson, 20-4 (5:58)
184: No. 3 Lenny Pinto, N, dec. No. 6 Bernie Truax, 8-6
197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, PSU, major dec. No. 13 Silas Allred, 17-4
285: No. 1 Greg Kervliet, PSU, major dec. Nash Hutmacher, 10-0
Takedowns: N 9, PSU 21
Records: Nebraska (11-2, 6-2 Big Ten), Penn State (11-0, 8-0)
Next match: Edinboro at Penn State, Sunday, 2 p.m.
This story was originally published February 18, 2024 at 6:28 PM.
