Penn State wrestling has perfect Day 1 at NCAA championships, sends 10 to quarterfinals
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2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships
The Penn State Nittany Lions won their 13th national title and made some history at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia. Read all of our coverage here.
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The dust has settled on the first day of the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships inside the Wells Fargo Center.
Penn State sent 10 wrestlers into Friday’s quarterfinals for the first time in the program’s history to cap off a perfect 20-0 day.
As a team, the Nittany Lions tallied 39.5 points Thursday to lead the team race over Nebraska (28 points) by 11.5. They had 13 bonus-point victories with three pins, seven technical falls and three major decisions.
“A good day. Obviously, a lot of tough matches and just being ready to go at the national tournament,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said when asked about his team’s performance on Thursday. “I think our guys wrestled well. Day 2 is always a fun day, so that’s the one you look forward to.”
Here’s a look at how each Penn State wrestler did:
125 pounds: Luke Lilledahl
Record for day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Lilledahl made an emphatic NCAA debut as the No. 1 seed.
The true freshman tallied technical falls in both of the matches he wrestled, while outscoring his opponents 38-7. He opened by racking up a 19-4 victory in 4:25 over Cornell’s Marcello Milani.
Lilledahl then hung a 19-3 technical fall on Northern Illinois’ Blake West to reach the quarterfinals. He’ll face Lehigh’s Sheldon Seymour, whom he edged in a dual earlier this year, on Friday afternoon.
133 pounds: Braeden Davis
Record for day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Davis had to battle his way to the quarterfinals, even though the final score of his first bout didn’t quite show that.
The true sophomore took on Bucknell’s Kurt Phipps to start the day and trailed early after giving up a takedown. Davis stayed calm and collected, earning a seven-point throw in the final period to earn a 12-1 major decision.
In the second round, the Penn State wrestler got a familiar foe in Maryland’s Braxton Brown. The pair previously squared off in the Big Ten consolation semifinals, where Davis hung on for a two-point victory.
The same thing occurred on Thursday night with Davis using a first-period takedown to edge Brown 5-3. The Nittany Lions wrestler faces the top seed in Illinois’ Lucas Byrd on Friday.
141 pounds: Beau Bartlett
Record for day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: This time of the year, the mentality is survive and advance.
For Bartlett, he’s not known for lighting up the scoreboard, so he did what he had to do to make the quarterfinals.
In the first round, the Penn State wrestler used a first-period takedown to dispatch West Virginia’s Jordan Titus, 4-2. Bartlett then made the quarterfinals by collecting a second-period takedown of South Dakota State’s Julian Tagg en route to a 4-1 decision.
On Friday, he faces Penn’s CJ Composto, who had a 6-4 upset win over Oklahoma State’s Tagen Jamison.
149 pounds: Shayne Van Ness
Record for day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Van Ness bonused his way to the quarterfinals.
He opened his day by sticking Wyoming’s Gabe Willochell in 4:12. In the second round, Van Ness scored at will against Rutgers’ Andrew Clark in an 11-1 major decision.
The Nittany Lions’ wrestler faces North Carolina’s Lachlan McNeil during Friday afternoon’s session.
157 pounds: Tyler Kasak
Record for day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Kasak’s day started off easy, but he had to battle a little in the second round to reach the quarterfinals.
After starting the day by pinning Northern Illinois’ Landen Johnson in 1:39, the No. 1 seed took on Iowa State’s Cody Chittum in an 8-3 victory.
Kasak tallied the first points with an early first-period takedown. In the second period, he opened with a reversal, but recorded a late takedown to lead 8-2 after two. Chittum had an escape in the third but couldn’t get any other scoring.
Kasak gets a Big Ten foe in Purdue’s Joey Blaze in Friday’s quarterfinals.
165 pounds: Mitchell Mesenbrink
Record for day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: All year long, Mesenbrink has been tech falling his opponents. It was no different in the NCAA championships.
The No. 1 seed gave up just six points all day, while tallying 38 points for himself. Both of his victories ended in the second period.
In his opener, Mesenbrink shut out Central Michigan’s Chandler Amaker, 16-0, in 3:32. The second round saw the Nittany Lion record 12 points in the first period en route to a 22-6 win in 4:15.
Mesenbrink faces Oklahoma State’s Cameron Amine in Friday’s quarterfinals round.
174 pounds: Levi Haines
Record for day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Haines took part in the bonus point parade — but only during one of his matches.
His bonus points came in the first round when he pinned Maryland’s Branson John in 2:46. In the second round, the Penn State wrestler faced Oklahoma’s Gaven Sax.
Haines did all the scoring with a first-period takedown and a second-period escape for a 4-0 victory. He’ll face Navy’s Danny Wask in the quarterfinals on Friday.
184 pounds: Carter Starocci
Record for day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Starocci looks like a man on a mission in his final NCAA championships appearance.
He needs just three more wins to complete a historic feat in claiming his fifth national title, but he was focused on each of his bouts Thursday.
The four-time NCAA champion steamrolled his way to the quarterfinals by outscoring his opponents 33-2. Starocci opened by racking up an 18-2 tech on Lehigh’s Caden Rogers in 6:20.
In the second round, Starocci shut out a Big Ten foe in Rutgers’ Shane Cartagena-Walsh, 15-0, in 4:23.
Starocci takes on Maryland’s Jaxon Smith on Friday in the quarterfinals.
197 pounds: Josh Barr
Record for day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Questions swirled around Barr’s health heading into the NCAA championships.
It’s fair to say that those questions have been answered with his performance in his NCAA debut.
Barr cruised to a 9-1 major decision over Lock Haven’s Tucker Hogan in the first round. It was a bout that Barr looked to be feeling out the situation and atmosphere.
In the second round, he needed a takedown with one minute left in sudden victory to top Oregon State’s Trey Munoz, 5-2.
“A gritty win by Barr. He’s wrestling a really good kid, a couple-time All-American there,” Sanderson said.
Barr now faces Lehigh’s Michael Beard, whom he had a major decision on earlier this year, in Friday’s quarterfinals.
285 pounds: Greg Kerkvliet
Record for day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Kerkvliet sported a brace on his left leg, which came as a surprise since he didn’t have one during the Big Ten championships. It’s unknown what his injury is, but it didn’t stop him from reaching the quarterfinals.
The defending NCAA champ opened the defense of his crown by shutting out Wyoming’s Sam Mitchell, 15-0, in 5:31. In the second round, Kerkvliet squared off with Lock Haven’s Gavin Hoffman.
The Nittany Lion recorded a first-period takedown and rode Hoffman out for the final two periods of wrestling. Kerkvliet amassed 5:01 in riding time to secure a 4-0 win.
He takes on Michigan’s Joshua Heindselman in Friday’s quarterfinals.
NCAA Championships
Thursday at Philadelphia
Team key: Appalachian State (APP), Arizona State (ASU), Army West Point (A), Bellarmine (BM), Binghamton (BG), Brown (B), Bucknell (BN), Cal State Bakersfield (CSB), Cal Poly (CP), Cal Baptist (CB), Campbell (C), Central Michigan (CM), Chattanooga (CT), Cleveland State (CS), Columbia (CL), Cornell (CN), Drexel (DX), Duke (D), Edinboro (E), Gardner-Webb (GW), George Mason (GM), Harvard (H), Hofstra (HF), Illinois (ILL), Indiana (IN), Iowa (I), Iowa State (ISU), Lehigh (L), Little Rock (LR), Lock Haven (LH), Maryland (MD), Michigan (M), Michigan State (MSU), Minnesota (MN), Missouri (MS), Morgan State (MST), Navy (NY), Nebraska (N), North Carolina (NC), North Carolina State (NCS), North Dakota State (ND), Northern Colorado (NCO), Northern Illinois (NIU), Northern Iowa (NI), Northwestern (NW), Ohio (O), Ohio State (OSU), Oklahoma (OK), Oregon State (ORS), Penn State (PSU), Penn (PN), Pittsburgh (PITT), Princeton (PT), Purdue (P), Rider (RD), Rutgers (R), South Dakota State (SD), Stanford (S), The Citadel (TC), Utah Valley (U), Virginia (V), Virginia Tech (VT), West Virginia (WVU), Wisconsin (W), Wyoming (WY)
Team scores: 1. Penn State 39.5, 2. Nebraska 28, 3. Oklahoma State 27, T4. Iowa 18, T4. Minnesota 18, T4. Ohio State 18, 7. Northern Iowa 17.5, 8. Cornell 17, T9. Illinois 16.5, T9. Michigan 16.5
Second Round
125: Luke Lilledahl, PSU, tech. fall Blake West, NIU, 19-3 (6:52); 133: Braeden Davis, PSU, dec. Braxton Brown, MD, 5-3; 141: Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Julian Tagg, SD, 4-1; 149: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, major dec. Andrew Clark, R, 11-1; 157: Tyler Kasak, PSU, dec. Cody Chittum, ISU, 8-3; Antrell Taylor, N, pinned Jude Swisher, PN, 2:16; 165: Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, tech. fall Kyle Mosher, HF, 22-6 (4:15); 174: Levi Haines, PSU, dec. Gaven Sax, OK, 4-0; 184: Carter Starocci, PSU, tech. fall Shane Cartagena-Walsh, R, 15-0 (4:23); 197: Josh Barr, PSU, dec. Trey Munoz, ORS, 5-2 (SV); 285: Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, dec. Gavin Hoffman, LH, 4-0
Consolation First Round
184: Malachi DuVall, GM, major dec. Dennis Robin, WVU, 13-0
First Round
125: Lilledahl, PSU, tech. fall Marcello Milani, CN, 19-4 (4:24); 133: Davis, PSU, major dec. Kurt Phipps, BN, 12-4; 141: Bartlett, PSU, dec. Jordan Titus, WVU, 4-2; 149: Van Ness, PSU, pinned Gabe Willochell, WY, 4:11; 157: Kasak, PSU, pinned Landen Johnson, NIU, 1:38; Swisher, PN, pinned Cobe Siebrecht, SD, 1:55; 165: Mesenbrink, PSU, tech. fall Chandler Amaker, CM, 16-0 (3:32); 174: Haines, PSU, pinned Branson John, MD, 2:46; 184: Starocci, PSU, tech. fall Caden Rogers, L, 18-2 (6:19); Silas Allred, N, pinned DuVall, GM, 6:37; 197: Barr, PSU, major dec. Tucker Hogan, LH, 9-1; 285: Kerkvliet, PSU, tech. fall Sam Mitchell, WY, 15-0 (5:31)
This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 11:16 PM.
