Penn State wrestling finishes off sixth straight unbeaten season by thrashing Princeton
There were several unusual things about Penn State’s wrestling match on Friday night , but the result was still the same.
Yes, it was Senior Night, but the Nittany Lions (15-0) only had one senior in their starting lineup of a 50-0 rout of Princeton. It was the eighth shutout of the season, which is second most in NCAA history, tying Iowa who had eight in the 2009-2010 season.
Levi Haines was the lone senior in Penn State’s lineup, so he made sure to make his final Nittany Lions’ dual a memorable one.
“The place I’ve grown the most is being myself in the bigger moments. I feel like when I was a little bit younger, sometimes I let the outside environment get to me a little bit,” Haines said. “Being here surrounded by the right people has helped me open my eyes, and just going and getting what I want.”
He said he always wants to pin everybody, so that’s what he did.
With the dual already in hand as Penn State led, 28-0, Haines stepped on the mat for the last time inside Rec Hall for his 174-pound match.
He quickly took Cody Tavoso down twice in the first period for a 6-1 lead. The second period saw the senior open with a reversal, let Tavoso get to his feet, and then Haines decked his opponent in 4:05.
The crowd rose to their feet and gave a loud ovation.
“When you’re always trying to pursue mastering yourself or mastering your craft, time just goes quick because you’re just focused on the task at hand,” Haines said. “There’s so many memories that I can’t tell you a favorite one. One that sticks out in my memory is last year when we had a bunch of guys wrestle back to get third place. I think was pretty special.”
Following Haines’ victory, Penn State kept pouring it on.
Rocco Welsh ripped off seven takedowns in a 21-6 technical fall in 4:11 at 184 pounds. Josh Barr built up a 6-1 lead, before sticking Conor McCloskey with an assassin in 1:29.
Cole Mirasola, who was fresh off an upset, racked up seven takedowns in his 21-6 technical fall in 3:46 to close out the dual.
The match got underway with an unusual start at 125 pounds as Luke Lilledahl took on No. 12 Marc-Anthony McGowan in what was going to be the best bout of the dual.
Instead, Lilledahl’s relentless pressure forced McGowan to collect five stall calls, which disqualified him and ended the match at 6:54.
Neither wrestler recorded a takedown or attempted for a takedown.
“Maybe that’s a first, I don’t remember that before. Luke did a nice job. The whole time he was moving forward,” Nittany Lions coach Cael Sanderson said. “The referees are usually trying to count shots, but that’s not what the rule book says. Stalling is what the opponent is doing. You’re not supposed to earn a stalling call. It’s supposed to be penalty for being passive, tactical and backing up, avoiding action.”
Marcus Blaze, who just jumped to No. 2 in the country, eased his way to an 11-3 major decision after Lilledahl’s win.
Braeden Davis had to hang on for an 11-8 win over Matthew Martino at 141 pounds. Davis gave up two stall points at the tail end of the bout.
Shayne Van Ness had no trouble earning a 15-6 major decision. PJ Duke followed with eight takedowns in a 24-8 technical fall in 6:08 to give Penn State a 22-0 lead at the half.
Mitchell Mesenbrink kept his bonus point-to-win ratio at 100% as he pinned No. 19 Ty Whalen in 3:31 before Haines came to the mat.
Penn State is now off until it hosts the Big Ten Championships on March 7-8. And Sanderson feels his team is right where it needs to be with the postseason looming.
“Nationals, obviously, is where you want to be at your best. Of course, you want to wrestle well at the Big Ten,” Sanderson said, “but that’s the plan, that’s what we train to do.”
No. 1 Penn State 50, Princeton 0
Friday at University Park
125: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl, PSU, def. No. 12 Marc-Anthony McGowan, DQ (6:54)
133: No. 2 Marcus Blaze, PSU, major dec. No. 32 Ethan Rivera, 11-3
141: No. 12 Braeden Davis, PSU, dec. Matthew Martino, 11-8
149: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, major dec. No. 14 Eligh Rivera, 15-6
157: No. 4 PJ Duke, PSU, tech. fall Gavin Hawk, 24-8 (6:08)
165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, pinned No. 19 Ty Whalen, 3:31
174: No. 1 Levi Haines, PSU, pinned Cody Tavoso, 4:05
184: No. 1 Rocco Welsh, PSU, tech. fall Xavier Giles, 21-6 (4:11)
197: No. 1 Josh Barr, PSU, pinned Conor McCloskey, 1:29
285: No. 6 Cole Mirasola, PSU, tech. fall Sebastian Garibaldi, 21-6 (3:46)
Takedowns: P 2, PSU 39
Records: Princeton (4-11), Penn State (15-0)
Next match: Penn State at Big Ten Championships, University Park, March 7 & 8
