Penn State wrestling takes down Rutgers in dominating fashion for 65th straight win
Friday night’s wrestling match between Penn State and Rutgers marked the 26th time the teams have squared off.
In the previous 25 meetings the Nittany Lions were the victors, and it remained that way after everything was settled in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Penn State did see one of their undefeated wrestlers suffer his first loss of the year, but as a team they came out with another dominating win, 35-3, over the No. 14 Scarlet Knights. The Nittany Lions tallied a 24-1 takedown advantage in the rout. It was Penn State’s 65th straight dual win.
Rutgers tried to get momentum in its corner early when No. 19 Dean Peterson snapped off a late counter takedown of No. 6 Luke Lilledahl for a 4-1 win at 125 pounds. It was Lilledahl’s first loss of the season after coming off his biggest win of the year last week over Nebraska’s Caleb Smith.
But Peterson’s win was the lone victory for the Scarlet Knights.
Braeden Davis bounced back from a tough loss last week by edging No. 9 Dylan Shawver, 2-1. Davis needed a riding time point for the winning points in a matchup of reigning Big Ten champions.
Beau Bartlett was solid in his 7-3 win over Joseph Oliveri at 141 pounds. Shayne Van Ness followed with a 17-2 technical fall over Alex Nini in 5:26 to give Penn State an 11-3 lead.
Tyler Kasak took on another former Pennsylvania wrestler in Conner Harer at 157 pounds. Kasak had a first period takedown, and rode out Harer for the entire third period in a 4-0 win.
Mitchell Mesenbrink was his typical relentless self against No. 26 Anthony White. The No. 1-ranked wrestler kept pressuring White to the tune of a 19-3 technical fall in 6:30. It was Mesenbrink’s 11th tech of the season.
“I love wrestling after Shane because he’s a point scorer and he’s very poised out there. It kind of just puts me at ease watching him go out there and do his thing. He’s got experience in this too, so it’s nice going after him,” Kasak told the Penn State Sports Network. “Leading off Mitchell, he’s just awesome. Me and Mitchell talk in the back before every match. I’ll tell him stories about hunting or fishing adventures. We have a lot of fun in the back, and it’s starting to become a little bit of a tradition. We keep it fun and lighthearted. It’s really fun being around those type of guys.”
Levi Haines was in a couple of scrambles with Jackson Turley, but eventually came away with a 5-2 win. Carter Starocci kept his mark of tallying bonus points in all of his victories by racking up a 17-2 technical fall on Shane Cartagena-Walsh.
Josh Barr kept his remarkable season rolling against John Poznanski, who is a three-time NCAA qualifier. Barr snapped off seven takedowns in the span of a minute in the third period to capture a 22-6 technical fall in 6:19.
Barr tallied all of his points in the third period.
“I think that’s what makes this sport fun, there is never an ‘I made it’ moment. Even when your an Olympic champion, there is always more,” Mesenbrink said to the Big Ten Network. “It’s always very fun to just keep that in mind to keep getting better. What Josh did was so sweet.”
The dual came to a close with Greg Kerkvliet using an escape and getting a stall point from Yarislav Slavikouski in a 2-1 win.
Now the Nittany Lions turn their focus to next Friday in the Bryce Jordan Center. They’ll host the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes in a dual that every college wrestling fan will be watching.
“There’s no denying it, I’ve had this marked on my calendar since the schedule came out. I love competing against guys that like to compete,” Kasak said to the Penn State Sports Network. “I think Iowa brings that (competitiveness). I’m looking forward to just the tough guys versus the technique guys. It’s going to be fun, and it is every time we wrestle them. I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a really good time.”
No. 1 Penn State 35, No. 14 Rutgers 3
Friday at Piscataway, New Jersey
125: No. 19 Dean Peterson, R, dec. No. 6 Luke Lilledahl, 4-1
133: No. 7 Braeden Davis, PSU, dec. No. 9 Dylan Shawver, 2-1
141: No. 3 Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. No. 14 Joseph Oliveri, 7-3
149: No. 4 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, tech. fall Alex Nini, 17-2 (5:24)
157: No. 3 Tyler Kasak, PSU, dec. No. 31 Conner Harer, 4-0
165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, tech. fall No. 26 Anthony White, 19-3 (6:30)
174: No. 2 Levi Haines, PSU, dec. No. 22 Jackson Turley, 5-2
184: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU, tech. fall No. 18 Shane Cartagena-Walsh, 17-2 (6:58)
197: No. 4 Josh Barr, PSU, tech. fall No. 16 John Poznanski, 22-6 (6:19)
285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, dec. No. 7 Yaraslau Slavikouski, 2-0
Takedowns: PSU 24, R 1
Records: Penn State (9-0, 3-0 Big Ten), Rutgers (10-4, 2-2 Big Ten)
Next match: No. 2 Iowa at Penn State, Friday, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published January 24, 2025 at 11:27 PM.
