Can Penn State wrestling shut out Michigan? Here are our predictions for the dual at the BJC
The regular season is slowly winding down for Penn State’s wrestling team.
At 6 p.m. Friday, the Nittany Lions host No. 19 Michigan for the final Bryce Jordan Center dual of the year. Penn State then takes on Maryland at 1 p.m. Sunday inside Rec Hall.
Here’s a bout-by-bout look at how we think it could play out with Michigan:
125 pounds: No. 7 Luke Lilledahl (12-1) vs. Wilfried Tanefeu (7-7)
Nate Cobler: Should this dual begin at 125 pounds, Penn State is going to be off and running. Lilledahl should record bonus points easily here as Tanefeu sits with a .500 record. The question is, how many bonus points will “Lightning Luke” tally? Prediction: Lilledahl by fall.
Jon Sauber: Penn State has a massive advantage here with Lilledahl, who has been on fire this season in his first year competing as a Nittany Lions. This bout, like many of the others Friday night, will just come down to how many bonus points the PSU wrestler can rack up. Prediction: Lilledahl by technical fall.
133 pounds: No. 7 Braeden Davis (7-2) vs. Nolan Wertanen (5-11)
Cobler: Davis missed last week’s rout over Iowa, so he should come out firing on all cylinders. He’s been having his right leg heavily taped since suffering an injury in the dual against Drexel. Wertanen won’t be too tough of a test for Davis, so it should be a good match to welcome him back to the mat. Prediction: Davis by technical fall.
Sauber: This will be a good bout for Davis to come back to after missing the Iowa dual, with Wertanen providing very little resistance. While the Nittany Lion hasn’t been at his best all season, he should be able to get some bonus points against the Wolverine who has struggled mightily. Prediction: Davis by technical fall.
141 pounds: No. 3 Beau Bartlett (13-0) vs. No. 12 Sergio Lemley (6-3)
Cobler: Bartlett gets his first real test of the season with Lemley. The pair have squared off twice in the past with Bartlett winning both bouts. They’ve been really close matches, too, with the most recent being a 5-4 win for the Nittany Lions’ wrestler in the Big Ten semifinals. Prediction: Bartlett by decision.
Sauber: This bout might be more interesting than it seems, largely because Bartlett tends to slow his pace against his best opponents. Lemley is no slouch, despite his 6-3 record, and should be able to push the Nittany Lion. That being said, if Bartlett is able to hit another gear and score bonus points, it will be a good sign for how he should do against other high-end 141-pounders. Prediction: Bartlett by decision.
149 pounds: No. 3 Shayne Van Ness (12-1) vs. Dylan Gilcher (8-5)
Cobler: Van Ness is riding high after picking up a huge win over Iowa’s Kyle Parco last Friday. He’ll continue to ride that wave against Gilcher, who is in his redshirt freshman campaign. Last season, the Wolverines wrestler was 7-7, so his record this year isn’t too much better. Prediction: Van Ness by technical fall.
Sauber: Van Ness has been very good for Penn State all season and has proven to be one of the best in the country at 149 pounds, especially after he defeated Parco. There’s little question as to who will win this one, with the amount of bonus points once again being the only thing up in the air. Prediction: Van Ness by fall.
157 pounds: No. 1 Tyler Kasak (13-0) vs. No. 14 Chase Saldate (9-6)
Cobler: Remember what I just said about Van Ness and riding a high? Kasak’s even higher after he earned a big 5-2 win over then-No. 1 Jacori Teemer last Friday. Kasak enters his first bout as the No. 1 wrestler in the country, but don’t look for Saldate to pull off what Kasak did last week. Prediction: Kasak by major decision.
Sauber: Kasak had one of his best bouts of the season last week at the Bryce Jordan Center when he knocked off then-No. 1 Jacori Teemer — and carried him while celebrating as time expired. Saldate is not Teemer and is not going to be the wrestler to beat the Nittany Lion. Prediction: Kasak by technical fall.
165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (14-0) vs. No. 10 Beau Mantanona (9-2)
Cobler: What more can be said about Mesenbrink? Last week, he casually racked up a 19-4 technical fall on the No. 2 wrestler in the country. In fact, outside of two forfeits, the No. 1 wrestler in the country has done nothing but tech fall his opponents. Mantanona will become the next one that Mesenbrink lights the scoreboard up on to keep his 100% mark of bonus-point victories on the year. Prediction: Mesenbrink by technical fall.
Sauber: There isn’t a 165-pounder in the country that would be able to stop Mesenbrink from getting bonus points right now. That’s relatively easy to say after he just earned a technical fall against Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo last week — and Caliendo is still No. 2 in the country in the class. Mantanona has had a good season, but this will be all Mesenbrink. Prediction: Mesenbrink by technical fall.
174 pounds: No. 2 Levi Haines (12-1) vs. No. 29 Joseph Walker (11-5)
Cobler: It’s been nearly one month since Haines picked up his last bonus-point victory — a pin of Michigan State’s Ceasar Garza in 4:13 on Jan. 10. He’ll be licking his chops to get more bonus for Penn State in this one, which shouldn’t be a problem against Walker. Prediction: Haines by fall.
Sauber: Haines has proven to be one of the best in his class after only losing to Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole, who is No. 1 in the country at 174 pounds. That being said, he hasn’t been nearly as dominant over his last three bouts — although he was a late escape by Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy away from a major decision last week at the BJC. He’ll get the job done against Walker and keep on rolling. Prediction: Haines by technical fall.
184 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci (13-0) vs. No. 24 Jaden Bullock (9-10)
Cobler: When you compare these two against common opponents, there is a glaring disparity. Starocci is a perfect 15-0, while Bullock is 0-8. Bullock has given up bonus points in half of those losses. The No. 1 wrestler in the country will look to open up his offense more than he did against Iowa. Prediction: Starocci by technical fall.
Sauber: Starocci was in a low-scoring bout with Iowa’s Angelo Ferrari that he won 3-1. He’s only lost two matches since 2021 and both of those were injury defaults last year at the Big Ten Tournament. Bullock is not going to get in his way, and Starocci should get bonus for the 13th time in 14 matches as he continues his trek to a fifth national title. Prediction: Starocci by fall.
197 pounds: No. 4 Josh Barr (12-1) vs. No. 2 Jacob Cardenas (14-0)
Cobler: This is the one spot where Michigan may be able to get a win in the dual. Barr enters the bout coming off his first loss — 4-1 to Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan. Cardenas has wrestled Buchanan too, but it was in last year’s NCAA Championships where Buchanan won 9-4. Barr might be considered a slight underdog against Cardenas, but look for Barr to learn and rebound from the loss to Buchanan. Prediction: Barr by decision.
Sauber: Michigan will have a shot at 197 and you can argue Cardenas should be favored. That being said, this one is a coin flip and should be treated as such. Barr will be looking for a bounce back after falling to Buchanan by decision last week, and this is his chance to prove he’s in the same tier as the best in the weight class. Prediction: Barr by decision.
285 pounds: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (13-0) vs. No. 8 Josh Heindselman (17-1)
Cobler: Kerkvliet hasn’t been tested too much this season. Yes, he only topped Rutgers’ Yaraslau Slavikouski 2-0, but he hung a 12-2 major decision on Iowa’s Ben Keuter last Friday. Heindselman, who is a four-time NCAA qualifier, has had a great season by collecting 17 wins. He’s had 11 bonus-point victories of those 17. His loss was being pinned by Minnesota’s Gable Steveson, who is the front runner along with Kerkvliet for tops in the weight. Prediction: Kerkvliet by major decision.
Sauber: Heindselman has had a very good season, but he isn’t Steveson, who is still the only wrestler with a real shot to upset Kerkvliet with the way the Nittany Lion is rolling. The dual will be in hand long before this match ends, and this could be the final bout in Penn State’s march to another shutout. If it is, then Kerkvliet will get the job done and help PSU blank another opponent. Prediction: Kerkvliet by major decision.
Team outlook
Cobler: This is not a great Michigan team, but this is a great Penn State team. Yes, the Wolverines have several wrestlers ranked in the top 33. However, they still suffered a 19-18 loss to Maryland, which has been at the bottom of the Big Ten for quite some time. Cardenas has a shot to keep this from being a shutout, but with Penn State out to a rout early, look for Barr to secure that for his team. Prediction: Penn State 46, Michigan 0
Sauber: Another shutout is on the horizon for the Nittany Lions, as long as Barr gets the job done at 184 and Bartlett doesn’t get caught at 141. It’s far less likely Barr falls to Cardenas, but even that could easily go in Penn State’s favor. This is yet another dominant win for the Nittany Lions in a season full of them. Prediction: Penn State 47, Michigan 0
No. 19 Michigan (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) at No. 1 Penn State (10-0, 4-0 Big Ten)
When: 6 p.m. Friday
Where: Bryce Jordan Center, University Park
Radio: Big Foot Legends (103.7 & 104.3 FM)
TV: Big Ten Network
Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com
X: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest
Maryland (8-7, 3-2 Big Ten) at No. 1 Penn State (10-0, 4-0 Big Ten)
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Rec Hall
Radio: Big Foot Legends (103.7 & 104.3 FM)
TV: Big Ten Network
Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com
X: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest
Note: Maryland faces Rutgers on Friday
| Nittany Lions | vs. | Terrapins |
| 125: No. 7 Luke Lilledahl (12-1) | vs. | Tyler Garvin (4-14) OR Presden Sanchez (3-5) |
| 133: No. 7 Braeden Davis (7-2) | vs. | No. 11 Braxton Brown (16-2) |
| 141: No. 3 Beau Bartlett (13-0) | vs. | Dario Lemus (7-10) OR Michael Pizzuto (5-6) |
| 149: No. 3 Shayne Van Ness (12-1) | vs. | No. 32 Kal Miller (14-5) |
| 157: No. 1 Tyler Kasak (13-0) | vs. | No. 6 Ethen Miller (17-0) OR Kevin Schork (1-4) |
| 165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (14-0) | vs. | Alex Uryniak (2-9) OR Sammy Gautreau (3-6) |
| 174: No. 2 Levi Haines (12-1) | vs. | Branson John (9-12) |
| 184: No. 1 Carter Starocci (13-0) | vs. | No. 11 Jaxon Smith (14-4) |
| 197: No. 4 Josh Barr (12-1) | vs. | Chase Mielnik (10-12) |
| 285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (13-0) | vs. | No. 12 Seth Nevills (13-3) OR Sam O’Brian (0-4) |
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 9:02 AM.
