2 Penn State wrestlers, 1 club member advance in hunt for spots on US World Team
A five-man contingent representing the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club competed Friday and Saturday in the U.S. Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament — and three more wrestlers connected to the club still have a chance to represent the U.S. World Team in international competition.
Josh Barr (92 kilograms), Levi Haines (79 kg) and club member Kyle Dake (86 kg) all won their respective finals matches in Louisville, Kentucky, to advance to next month’s Final X, which determines who makes the U.S. World Team. Final X winners will represent their country at the prestigious 2025 Senior World Championships in Croatia.
Other Nittany Lions taking part at the team trials, and not advancing further, include Beau Bartlett (65 kg) and Carter Starocci (86 kg). With Haines and Barr making Final X, it gives the Nittany Lions four wrestlers aiming to make the U.S. World Team as Mitchell Mesenbrink (74 kg) and Luke Lilledahl (57 kg) earned spots previously by winning the U.S. Open.
A lot was on the line in Kentucky.
Penn State results
Starocci and Dake squared off in Saturday’s finals for the chance to face Zahid Valencia in next month’s Final X. Dake had a takedown of Starocci with one minute left in their match, which sealed his 3-3 victory on criteria to advance. Starocci made the finals by using a four-point throw on Chance Marsteller in the first period in a 4-2 victory.
Dake topped Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen, 11-1, scoring 11 unanswered points for the technical superiority victory in 3:58 to earn his spot in the finals.
Haines, who was the top seed of his weight, got some revenge in his finals match. He faced off with Oklahoma State’s Dean Hamiti, who topped Haines in the 174-pound NCAA semifinals in Philadelphia.
After the pair traded takedowns in the first period, it was all Haines in the second period. He rattled off four takedowns on Hamiti to secure a 10-2 win. Haines made those finals by racking up a 10-5 win over Ohio State’s Carson Kharchla in the semifinals.
The Penn State wrestler faces former Wisconsin wrestler Evan Wick at Final X.
Barr, who was coming off a second-place finish in the NCAA championships, was the top seed at his weight. He faced off with Missouri’s Aedon Sinclair; the pair have a history as they wrestled against each other four times last year.
Barr has the edge in the rivalry now, when he used a four-point throw and takedown late in the second period to top Sinclair, 7-3. The Nittany Lions wrestler made the finals by using four takedowns to top former Oklahoma State wrestler Dustin Plott, 10-4, in the semifinals.
Barr will take on former North Carolina State wrestler and Mifflin County native, Trent Hidlay, at Final X.
Bartlett went 0-2. He suffered a tough 1-0 loss to Iowa commit and District 6 wrestler Bo Bassett in the quarterfinals.
Bartlett was then eliminated after getting rolled up, 10-0, by Carter Young.
Results from PSU commits
A pair of Penn State commits also competed in Marcus Blaze (65 kg) and PJ Duke (70 kg).
Duke won the title at his weight, topping several well-named wrestlers. He opened by beating Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor, who just claimed an NCAA title at 157 pounds, by a score of 9-6.
In the semifinals, Duke edged Taylor’s teammate in Ridge Lovett, who just earned an NCAA title at 149 pounds, by a score of 3-2. The future Nittany Lion used a late first-period takedown to top former Virginia Tech wrestler Bryce Andonian 4-1 in the finals.
Duke takes on Yianni Diakomihalis at Final X.
Blaze was kicked to the consolation bracket after suffering a 4-1 loss to two-time NCAA champion Jesse Mendez in the semifinals. He battled his way back to a third-place finish with wins over Aden Valencia (2-1), Bassett (5-1) and Young (4-0).
