Penn State claims 5 Big Ten wrestling champions, team title. Here’s how each Nittany Lion did
The Big Ten Wrestling Championships came to a close on Sunday night inside Welsh Ryan Arena on the Northwestern University campus.
Penn State came away with five conference champions out of its six finalists.
The Nittany Lions won their third consecutive Big Ten team title with a school record 181.5 points. It was fourth highest scoring mark by a team in the Big Ten’s history.
Here’s how each wrestler finished the Big Ten championships:
125 pounds: Luke Lilledahl
Record for tournament: 4-0
Finish: Champion
Recap: Lilledahl took on Nebraska’s Caleb Smith in the finals.
In the dual earlier this year, Lilledahl used a late third-period takedown to edge Smith. On Sunday, Lilledahl got the takedown early with 37 seconds left in the first period.
“Obviously, if you can score, score. That opportunity just presented itself, and I took it,” Lilledahl said of the early score. “There wasn’t really many opportunities after that. It’s just kind of where the match went.”
He was called for a questionable stall call following that. Smith got an escape as the lone points in the second period.
The third period saw Lilledahl open with an escape, and seemed to control the middle of the mat. However, the official called him for two more stall calls to set up the final score of 4-3, giving the true freshman his first Big Ten crown.
“It gives me a little more confidence. But to be honest, I knew in my heart that I’m better than all these guys,” Lilledahl said. “I just got to go out and prove it. Obviously, I had a couple losses early in the season, but it doesn’t really matter until now and until Philly.”
133 pounds: Braeden Davis
Record for tournament: 4-2
Finish: 4th
Recap: Davis’ day didn’t end as well as it began.
He faced Ohio State’s Nic Bouzakis in the consolation finals and grabbed an early lead thanks to a takedown. Bouzakis reversed him and collected nearfall to hold a 4-3 lead.
With 1:18 left in the first period, Davis got a reversal, but Bouzakis reversed him right back. However, Bouzakis locked Davis up and pinned him in 2:22.
The Penn State wrestler started his day by taking on Maryland’s Braxton Brown, and raced out to an 8-2 lead after one period of wrestling. Davis caught Brown for takedown and threw him to his back for nearfall points.
The third period started with Davis recording an escape to make it 9-4. Brown tallied a takedown with just under 40 seconds left, and nearly collected nearfall points, but Davis hung on for a 9-7 win.
141 pounds: Beau Bartlett
Record for tournament: 3-1
Finish: 3rd
Recap: Bartlett took on a familiar face in the consolation finals in Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez.
The pair were expected to wrestle for the title of the weight, but that didn’t happen. Sunday’s matchup was the fifth time they wrestled, with the the series tied at two wins a piece.
Mendez won the matches that mattered the most — Big Ten and NCAA finals, last year. Bartlett took the series lead when he topped Mendez, 4-2, to finish third.
Like Saturday night’s semifinals bout, Bartlett couldn’t get to his offense that well in his consolation semifinals match with Rutgers’ Joseph Olivieri. He did manage to secure a first period takedown, which was enough in a 4-2 win to put him in the consolation finals.
149 pounds: Shayne Van Ness
Record for tournament: 3-1
Finish: 3rd
Recap: Obviously, Van Ness would’ve wanted to claim a conference title, but he got the next best thing in a third-place finish.
And he did so in dominating fashion against Iowa’s Kyle Parco, shutting out the Hawkeyes wrestler, 13-0.
With just over one minute left in the first period, Van Ness took Parco down and to his back to hold a 7-0 lead. The Nittany Lions wrestler poured it on in the second period with an escape and takedown for a comfortable 11-0 lead.
The third period saw Van Ness ride Parco for the entire frame.
Van Ness started his day off in the consolation semifinals after dropping his semifinals match on Saturday night.
He took on Rutgers’ Andrew Clark, and had no problems with the Scarlet Knights wrestler. Van Ness dominated his way to the consolation finals with a 12-1 major decision over Clark.
157 pounds: Tyler Kasak
Record for tournament: 3-0
Finish: Champion
Recap: Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said Kasak “beastmoded” his semifinals match Saturday night.
Kasak showed off that beast mode in a different sense against Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon in a 12-2 major decision title-cliniching victory.
With the Nittany Lions wrestler leading 4-2 midway through the third period, he threw the Buckeyes wrestler toward his back for a seven-point throw. Kasak rode out Cannon for the remainder of the period to earn his first conference crown.
“This is something I love to do. I love wrestling, to compete, to win and to dominate. I love getting bonus points,” Kasak said. “I love hyping up these guys. Everything I’m doing right now is special. I’m part of history. There’s never going to be a team in any sport in NCAA that is going to be as good as this team has been, so it’s just an honor and a blessing to be a part of something like this.”
165 pounds: Mitchell Mesenbrink
Record for tournament: 3-0
Finish: Champion
Recap: Mesenbrink has been making it a habit of beating his opponents by 15-plus points every time he wrestles with his relentless pace.
Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo, who was Mesenbrink’s finals opponent, knew all about the Nittany Lions wrestler’s attack. Mesenbrink collected a technical fall over Caliendo in the Jan. 31 dual.
On Sunday, Mesenbrink looked set to do it again by collecting a first period takedown with 10 seconds left.
However, Caliendo learned from that loss, and was able to keep Mesenbrink at bay. The duo traded escapes over the second and third periods.
It gave Mesenbrink a 4-1 win, and his second consecutive Big Ten title.
“Obviously, I want to score more points, but sometimes you got to battle,” Mesenbrink said. “I appreciate Mikey, he wants to battle. There’s not many people that do. I appreciate that.”
174 pounds: Levi Haines
Record for tournament: 3-0
Finish: Champion
Recap: Haines entered his finals bout against Nebraska’s Lenny Pinto already knowing what it takes to win a Big Ten title. He already has two, but at 157 pounds.
In Sunday’s match, it was all Haines from the get go. He opened the scoring by collecting a takedown in the first period.
The second period saw the two-time Big Ten champ blow open the bout.
Haines had an escape to open the scoring. He then took Pinto down and toward his back for a seven-point throw. It was 11-1 after two periods.
In the third period, Haines rode Pinto out for the entire frame to collect a 12-1 victory, and his third conference crown.
“I’m just super grateful for the opportunity to compete this weekend, especially in the Big Ten. It’s a prestigious conference. I’m getting to do it with a lot of my teammates,” Haines said. “Their support is the best. I really appreciate all them, and all the help that they put in this weekend for me. I don’t deserve it, so just super grateful.”
184 pounds: Carter Starocci
Record for tournament: 3-0
Finish: Champion
Recap: Starocci took on an unknown wrestler in Minnesota’s redshirt freshman Max McEnelly in the finals.
McEnelly was undefeated coming into the bout, and even took Starocci down, but the veteran came away with an 8-5 sudden-victory title win. It was the first time this year that Starocci was taken down.
Starocci escaped before the first period ended. In the second period, the four-time NCAA champ added an escape and takedown to hold a 5-4 lead after two periods.
McEnelly quickly escaped in the third to tie the bout. The pair then headed toward sudden victory.
With 21 seconds left in the period, Starocci snapped off a takedown on the edge of the mat for the winning score, and his third and final Big Ten crown.
197 pounds: Josh Barr
Record for tournament: 1-3
Finish: 6th
Recap: The day didn’t start well for Barr.
He took on Minnesota’s Isaiah Salazar in the consolation semifinals. During an early scramble, Barr appeared to suffer a left leg injury.
On the ensuing restart after an injury timeout for Salazar during the scramble, the Golden Gophers’ wrestler shot in on Barr for a takedown. On his way down, the Penn State wrestler signaled for injury time, and the bout was stopped.
Barr was then unable to compete in his fifth-place match against Nebraska’s Camden McDanel.
285 pounds: Greg Kerkvliet
Record for tournament: 2-1
Finish: 2nd
Recap: College wrestling fans got the dream matchup they wanted: Kerkvliet taking on Minnesota’s Gable Steveson in the finals.
The bout was very one sided though, and it wasn’t in the Nittany Lions wrestler’s favor in a 10-3 loss.
Steveson snapped off a takedown of Kerkvliet with 34 seconds remaining in the first period to have a 3-0 lead.
Kerkvliet was able to secure an escape to open the second, but Steveson collected another takedown. Kerkvliet added another escape before the period ended to trail 6-2.
The third period saw Steveson add one more takedown that Kerkvliet escaped from, but Steveson also had enough riding time for another point.
“He’s tough. He’s an Olympic champion, a multiple time national champion,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said of Steveson. “I don’t even know how many national titles he’s got, but he’s really good.”
Big Ten championships
Sunday at Evanston, Ill.
Team key: Illinois (IL), Indiana (IN), Iowa (I), Maryland (M), Michigan (MI), Michigan State (MSU), Minnesota (MN), Nebraska (N), Northwestern (NW), Ohio State (OSU), Penn State (PSU), Purdue (P), Rutgers (R), Wisconsin (W)
Team scores: 1. Penn State 181.5, 2. Nebraska 137, 3. Iowa 112, 4. Minnesota 108.5, 5. Illinois 105.5, 6. Ohio State 95.5, 7. Michigan 71, 8. Maryland 54, 9. Rutgers 46, 10. Purdue 44.5
Finals
125: Luke Lilledahl, PSU, dec. Caleb Smith, N, 4-3; 133: Lucas Byrd, IL, pinned Drake Ayala, I, 3:16; 141: Brock Hardy, N, pinned Vance Vombaur, MN, 1:58; 149: Ridge Lovett, N, dec. Kannon Webster, IL, 1-0; 157: Tyler Kasak, PSU, major dec. Brandon Cannon, OSU, 12-2; 165: Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, dec. Mikey Caliendo, I, 4-1; 174: Levi Haines, PSU, major dec. Lenny Pinto, N, 12-1; 184: Carter Starocci, PSU, dec. Max McEnelly, MN, 8-5 (SV); 197: Jacob Cardenas, MI, dec. Stephen Buchanan, I, 4-2; 285: Gable Steveson, MN, dec. Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, 10-3
Consolation Finals
133: Nic Bouzakis, OSU, pinned Braeden Davis, PSU, 2:22; 141: Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Jesse Mendez, OSU, 4-2; 149: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, major dec. Kyle Parco, I, 13-0
5th Place Match
197: Camden McDanel, N, forfeit Josh Barr, PSU
Consolation Semifinals
133: Davis, PSU, dec. Braxton Brown, MD, 9-7; 141: Bartlett, PSU, dec. Joseph Olivieri, R, 4-2; 149: Van Ness, PSU, major dec. Andrew Clark, R, 12-1; 197: Isaiah Salazar, MN, injury def. Barr, PSU, 1:07
This story was originally published March 9, 2025 at 9:42 PM.
