Wins from Shayne Van Ness, Tyler Kasak highlight No. 1 Penn State wrestling’s rout of Iowa
“We’re just trying to be at our best in the big moments.”
Those were the words that Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said after his team’s 30-8 victory over Iowa on Friday night in front of a jam-packed Bryce Jordan Center crowd of 15,998.
Sanderson and Co. have always had their wrestlers at the top of their game when it matters most in March. However, the Nittany Lions looked as if they were on a mission against the Hawkeyes right from the start.
“This team’s ... just doing what they do and and just competing hard. They wrestle pretty dang good,” Sanderson said. “It’s a really good team we saw tonight, so proud of them.”
There was plenty for Sanderson to be pleased with, even right from the start. In the dual’s opening bout, Penn State’s Luke Lilledahl went from being up six points on No. 26 Joey Cruz to start the third to a 22-6 technical fall in a span of 1 minute and 43 seconds. Lilledahl rattled off five takedowns with ease in that timeframe to get the Penn State fans on their feet immediately.
Iowa’s Drake Ayala next took on Kurt McHenry at 133 pounds. McHenry got the call as starter Braeden Davis sat out. Sanderson mentioned Davis “was just a little banged up from last week.”
Ayala took advantage of the opportunity to record six of the Hawkeyes’ eight total takedowns in a 19-4 technical fall in 3:42. His win tied the dual at 5-5.
That’s as close as Iowa would get.
Beau Bartlett got things back in the Nittany Lions’ favor with a 7-3 win over Cullan Schriever, and then came the highlights of the dual.
Shayne Van Ness and Tyler Kasak had a pair of top-5 victories in bouts they each dominated.
Van Ness record the first points of the bout with No. 2 Kyle Parco, but Parco responded with a takedown of his own to have the first period come to a 4-4 tie. Parco opened the second with a reversal, but from that point it was all Van Ness.
After an escape, he took Parco down and muscled him toward his back for nearfall points to lead 12-6 at the end of the second period. In the third period, Van Ness added another takedown to secure a 17-6 major.
Kasak followed with an emphatic 5-2 victory over No. 1 Jacori Teemer.
The Penn State wrestler had an escape to open scoring in the second period. He later took Teemer down, but the Iowa wrestler escaped to trail 4-1 after two periods.
Teemer got an escape early to make it 4-2. He went for a winning takedown late, but Kasak picked Teemer up into the air with a hug.
With Teemer still in the air, Kasak looked to the crowd with a giant smile and a fist pump as time expired. When the horn blew, he flexed and lifted his hands to make the crowd noise go even louder.
“I kind of just blacked out. I have no idea what I really did,” Kasak said with a laugh. “I was just enjoying the moment and grateful for the opportunities to go wrestle a team like Iowa. They’re probably my favorite team to wrestle.”
It was 15-5 after Kasak’s win, and the Nittany Lions continued to pour it on.
Mitchell Mesenbrink showed he’s clearly the No. 1 wrestler in the country. He used his relentless pressure and pace to amass a 19-4 technical fall over No. 2 Mikey Caliendo in 6:24.
Levi Haines recorded three takedowns of No. 6 Patrick Kennedy in a 10-3 win at 174 pounds. Carter Starocci got to take on Angelo Ferrari as opposed to starter Gabe Arnold, who was trash talking Starocci earlier this week.
Iowa coach Tom Brands said after Friday’s match that he was load-managing Arnold, not unlike the NBA does with its players.
“The rule, you get five dates; we’re going to use them for Ferrari. We’re going to use them, and we’re not going to use them against cupcakes,” Brands said. “We got to load manage Gabe Arnold. That’s a term in the NBA that people don’t like. Gabe Arnold, we need to make sure that he’s feeling pretty doggone good down this stretch, he’s going to be our guy at ‘84.”
Starocci used a stall point and an escape to top Ferrari, 2-1.
Iowa’s No. 1 Stephen Buchanan was able to corral Josh Barr from getting another big win for his career in a 5-1 victory. He used a late takedown and riding time to separate a tied bout late.
Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet then closed the dual out by hanging a 12-2 major decision on No. 11 Ben Kueter.
Even in such a lopsided victory, Sanderson felt his team was still able to learn something.
“We have a couple situations that we can really learn from and make some improvements. We have a lot of little things we can work on,” Sanderson said. “I think I say it every year, but Iowa does a really good job of figuring your guys out and scouting them. You can always go back and see what you can do better because they’re usually very prepared for the matches.”
No. 1 Penn State 30, No. 2 Iowa 8
Friday at University Park
125: No. 7 Luke Lilledahl, PSU, tech. fall No. 26 Joey Cruz, 22-6 (6:43)
133: No. 3 Drake Ayala, I, tech. fall Kurt McHenry, 19-4 (3:42)
141: No. 3 Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Cullan Schriever, 7-3
149: No. 4 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, major dec. No. 2 Kyle Parco, 17-6
157: No. 3 Tyler Kasak, PSU, dec. No. 1 Jacori Teemer, 5-2
165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, tech. fall No. 2 Mikey Caliendo, 19-4 (6:24)
174: No. 2 Levi Haines, PSU, dec. No. 6 Patrick Kennedy, 10-3
184: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU, dec. Angelo Ferrari, 2-1
197: No. 1 Stephen Buchanan, I, dec. No. 4 Josh Barr, 5-1
285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, major dec. No. 11 Ben Kueter, 12-2
Takedowns: I 8, PSU 24
Records: Iowa (9-1, 3-1 Big Ten), Penn State (10-0, 4-0 Big Ten)
Next match: No. 19 Michigan at Penn State, Friday, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 11:08 PM.
