How will Penn State’s wrestling dual with Nebraska play out? See our bout-by-bout breakdown
Penn State will have one of its bigger duals of the early Big Ten wrestling season Friday night when it heads on the road to take on the No. 7 Nebraska Cornhuskers.
The bout will feature plenty of ranked wrestlers on both sides, with more than a few unbeaten records potentially on the line in Lincoln.
Here’s a look at how we think it could play out:
125 pounds: No. 12 Luke Lilledahl (9-0) vs. No. 6 Caleb Smith (12-3)/Kael Lauridsen (3-1)
Nate Cobler: Lilledahl is slated to get his toughest test of the year in Smith. The Nittany Lions freshman took on Lehigh’s Sheldon Seymour earlier this year when Seymour was ranked No. 15. Lilledahl showed off his nickname “Lightning Luke” by countering a Seymour shot late in the third period for a winning score. He’s cut his teeth already with Seymour, so look for Lilledahl to continue his recent successes over Smith, which will have him leap the individual rankings. Prediction: Lilledahl by decision in sudden victory.
Jon Sauber: This dual is going to start at one of the toss-up weights, with Luke Lilledahl having a phenomenal freshman year as one of the few undefeated 125-pounders left in the country. He’ll be taking on a veteran in Smith, who has found a lot of success since joining the Huskers from Appalachian State after the 2023 season. This will be Lilledahl’s first major test as a Nittany Lion and one he’ll have a chance to build off if he wins. This should be close, but Lilledahl gets the slight edge with a decision victory for Penn State. Prediction: Lilledahl by decision.
133 pounds: No. 5 Braeden Davis (6-1) vs. No. 16 Jacob Van Dee (7-5)
Cobler: Davis came onto the college wrestling scene last year as a true freshman, working his way up to a Big Ten title and the No. 1 seed at 125 pounds in the NCAA championships. He’s continued to excel at his new weight, even though he suffered a 4-2 loss to Lehigh’s Ryan Crookham, who is ranked No. 1. Van Dee had some pretty good wins last year as well at this weight, but it hasn’t translated to this year. Prediction: Davis by decision.
Sauber: Davis will have a chance to keep things rolling for Penn State in a winnable bout of his own against Van Dee, who has struggled to begin the season. The Husker 133-pounder has begun the year 7-5, with all five of those losses coming before the middle of December. He’s since rebounded with three straight wins, while Davis has been very good for the Nittany Lions since falling to Lehigh’s Ryan Crookham in early December. This should be another close one, but once again the edge goes to the Nittany Lion. Prediction: Davis by decision.
141 pounds: No. 3 Beau Bartlett (10-0) vs. No. 6 Brock Hardy (13-2)/Blake Cushing (3-2)
Cobler: These two have a history. They’ve wrestled each other twice and the record is 1-1. Hardy took the first matchup in the Big Ten Championships in 2023, but Bartlett won the most recent, 9-6, in last year’s dual inside Rec Hall. Coach Cael Sanderson always has his wrestlers responding well once they face an opponent the first time around. The only exception for Bartlett has been Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez, and Bartlett may have a shot at him Feb. 14. Prediction: Bartlett by decision.
Sauber: Penn State’s edge could start to widen in a big way in this dual once it gets to the middle weights, as Bartlett is the beginning of a run of some of the team’s strongest wrestlers. That being said, he’s not exactly been a bonus point machine in his career and that could leave something on the table for the Huskers and Hardy in this situation. Still, he’s undefeated for a reason and has been very good this season. Bartlett gets the win to keep things going. Prediction: Bartlett by decision.
149 pounds: No. 2 Shayne Van Ness (10-0) vs. No. 4 Ridge Lovett (10-1)
Cobler: A college wrestling fan would almost hope that the teams would agree to a draw and start at 157 pounds, so this dual would start with a bang and end with a bang. We’ll get to 157 next, but for now, this matchup is juicy. Last year as Van Ness was out due to an injury, Lovett earned himself a Big Ten title and ultimately lost in the NCAA semifinals to the eventual champ in Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson, who has given Lovett his lone loss this year. Prediction: Van Ness by decision.
Sauber: This might be the best bout of the dual. Van Ness has been excellent this season for Penn State, and Lovett is one of the best in the country with his only loss coming to No. 1 Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech. I’d expect some points to be put on the board in this one, with Van Ness being a major source of bonus points this season for the Nittany Lions. That being said, Lovett can score in bunches too and he gets the ever so slight edge here as the run of decisions in the dual continues. Prediction: Lovett by decision.
157 pounds: No. 3 Tyler Kasak (9-0) vs. No. 5 Antrell Taylor (14-1)
Cobler: This bout is a wildcard because these two have never faced off against one another. They also have no common opponents. No matter how much of a wildcard it is, it’s still a great one to see. Kasak continues to excel at his new weight after finishing third in the NCAA as a true freshman last year at 149 pounds. Taylor also was a NCAA place winner last year in eighth, but at 165 pounds. Both guys are capable of recording bonus points as Kasak is at 70% on the year with Taylor just over 50%. No bonus coming here though. Prediction: Kasak by decision.
Sauber: This might be the final bout that is close in this dual. Taylor is excellent, but so is Kasak and both have wrestled well this year, with Taylor taking on more tests than the Nittany Lion thus far. That being said, Penn State’s Kasak has only won by decision three times this year, with all of his other victories earning bonus points. Taylor on the other hand has gone to sudden victory in his last two bouts and could see that happen again this weekend. He gets the edge to knock off the undefeated Kasak. Prediction: Taylor by decision.
165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (11-0) vs. No. 7 Bubba Wilson (9-4)/Christopher Minto (13-1)
Cobler: All season long, this is where Penn State’s lineup has no question marks. It comes as no surprise that Mesenbrink leads the way after the success he had last year in his first season with the Nittany Lions. He is No. 1 for a reason, and that reason is that Mesenbrink is a perfect 100% when it comes to scoring bonus points. Now, he has two forfeits, but all of his other victories have been technical falls. Also, Mesenbrink has had only 21 points scored against him. It doesn’t matter who hits the mat for Nebraska. Prediction: Mesenbrink by technical fall.
Sauber: And here comes the Penn State run. Mesenbrink has been unstoppable this season, and for as helpful as Minto has been for Nebraska, he’s not the guy to bring that run to an end. Not having Bubba Wilson will take some of the excitement out of this bout for the Huskers, but it should lead to more points for Mesenbrink. He’ll have the chance to rack up points and seal the deal for Penn State with a tech fall win. Prediction: Mesenbrink by technical fall.
174 pounds: No. 2 Levi Haines (9-1) vs. No. 15 Lenny Pinto (13-3)
Cobler: A battle of Pennsylvania kids will go down in Nebraska. Haines was a three-time PIAA placewinner in the three years he wrestled at Biglerville. He finished no lower than second. Pinto placed twice in the three years he wrestled for Stroudsburg. Each won a PIAA title. When it comes to the college ranks, Haines has continued his podium finishes — second his freshman season and of course a champion last year. Pinto has qualified twice for NCAAs, but hasn’t placed yet. Both wrestlers are new to the weight this year as Pinto was at 184 pounds the previous two seasons. Haines has shown that he belongs as he nearly took out Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole, who is No. 1. Prediction: Haines by major decision.
Sauber: Haines has been great for Penn State since moving up in weight this year with his only loss to O’Toole. And even that was in sudden victory. His impressive run this season has come with bonus points in all nine other bouts and all of those have been by fall or tech fall. While he’s not likely to catch Pinto like that, he should still roll to a major decision victory. Prediction: Haines by major decision.
184 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci (10-0) vs. No. 7 Silas Allred (11-2)/Ethan DeLeon (10-2)
Cobler: Remember what I said two weight classes ago? It doesn’t matter who the Cornhuskers throw out on the mat — it’s going to be a win for Starocci. It’s just a matter of how many bonus points the four-time NCAA champ will get. If it’s Allred, the bonus points will be dwindled down. If it’s DeLeon, there shouldn’t be any reason why a fall doesn’t come here. Look for Allred to take the mat even though he’s lost his last two bouts. Prediction: Starocci by major decision.
Sauber: Starocci has lost four times in his college career and Allred isn’t going to make it five. This bout is a little more interesting because the two wrestlers are coming from different weights last year (Starocci up from 174 and Allred down from 197) but the Nittany Lions still have a big advantage any time Starocci takes the mat. It doesn’t help that Allred has lost his last two bouts, including going down by fall to Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen. This one has Starocci victory written all over it despite Allred being No. 7 at the weight. Prediction: Starocci by major decision.
197 pounds: No. 4 Josh Barr (8-0) vs. No. 22 Camden McDanel (12-6)
Cobler: After the run that Barr has had, it appears that the answer of who’s the starter at 197 for Penn State is decided. He cruised his way to a Black Knight Invitational title, topping a pair of teammates along the way. Then he collected an 11-3 major decision on Lehigh’s Michael Beard. Barr has recorded bonus points in all of his victories but one, which was a 4-1 sudden-victory win over Little Rock’s Stephen Little in Nashville, Tenn., right before Christmas. McDanel isn’t on Barr’s level, so look for some more bonus points here. Prediction: Barr by technical fall.
Sauber: Barr is undefeated at Penn State and is dominating everyone in his path thus far. He has one sudden victory win over Little Rock’s Stephen Little, but every other bout has earned the team bonus points along the way, including a major decision win over Lehigh’s Michael Beard, a former Nittany Lion. McDanel has been competitive this season but not enough so to inspire confidence against Barr. The Nittany Lion takes it by major decision. Prediction: Barr by major decision.
285 pounds: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (10-0) vs. No. 24 Harley Andrews (8-7)
Cobler: Kerkvliet is only No. 2 in the country because Minnesota’s Gable Steveson decided to come back to college wrestling after nearly two years away. Those two are head and shoulders above everyone else in the country. Bonus points are a guarantee here, it’s just a matter of how much. Kerkvliet has five falls and five technical falls this year. Prediction: Kerkvliet by technical fall.
Sauber: Kerkvliet hasn’t loss since 2023 when he took on Mason Parris of Michigan, and Andrews isn’t going to change that. This should be the biggest victory for Penn State in the dual, with there being a very good chance Kerkvliet is able to pick up a fall and close out the night in Lincoln with a decisive win. Prediction: Kerkvliet by fall.
Team outlook
Cobler: A year ago, Nebraska gave Penn State its toughest dual of the year inside Rec Hall. However, theses Nittany Lions are even better than last year’s squad. They’ve had four shutouts and kept Michigan State from tallying a single takedown in the most recent shutout victory. The Cornhuskers will get a couple of takedowns, but they’ll be shut out on the scoreboard. Prediction: Penn State, 38-0.
Sauber: Penn State is the best team in the country yet again and Nebraska isn’t on its level yet. This one is going to be exciting at times because there will be individual bouts that are close, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Nittany Lions should run away with the win to stay undefeated. Prediction: Penn State, 32-6.
No. 1 Penn State (7-0, 1-0 Big Ten) at No. 7 Nebraska (6-1, 1-0 Big Ten)
When: 9 p.m. Friday
Where: Devaney Center, Lincoln, Neb.
Radio: Big Foot Legends (103.7 & 104.3 FM)
TV: Big Ten Network
Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com
X: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest
