Penn State wrestling got its leader, Cael Sanderson, his 200th win Friday night and did it by dominating by Iowa.
Sanderson, of course, is the best coach in college wrestling and possibly the best coach in any college sport.
Penn State’s won 10 of the past 12 national titles under Sanderson, and tonight was a reminder that this years team is a heavy, heavy, heavy favorite to make it 11 of 13.
Penn State wrestling only lost two matches, and both of those losses were by true freshmen. No. 2 Braeden Davis lost to No. 7 Drake Ayala at 125 and No. 10 Tyler Kasak lost in sudden victory to No. 12 Caleb Rathjen.
Everybody else won, and here’s how it happened.
125: No. 2 Braeden Davis (Penn State wrestling) vs. No. 7 Drake Ayala (Iowa)
Ayla starts with an early takedown, and an escape point by Davis makes it 3-1, which is where it stays at the end of the period. Ayala adds a point in the second period to lead 4-1 going into the third. Davis starts the third on bottom. An escape makes it 4-2.
That’s how the final score stays.
Ayala 4, Davis 2
Iowa 3, PSU 0
133: No. 6 Aaron Nagao (Penn State) vs. No. 20 Cullan Schriever
Nagao gets it started with Penn State’s first takedown of the night. Nagao continues to control the match for the rest of the period, earning almost two minutes of riding time.
Nagao gets an escape early in the first period to make it 4-0, and that’s where it stays through two.
The wrestlers start the third period in neutral. Nagao has a chance to get his second takedown early on and ends up securing the turn to go up 7-0. Nagao stays in control afterward, securing riding time and an 8-0 lead. Nagao almost gets a fall with 20 seconds left, but Schriever escapes with a near fall. But Nagao wins, 10-0, getting a major decision.
Nagao 10, Schriever 0
Penn State 4, Iowa 3
141: No. 1 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Real Woods (Iowa)
The match gets off to a slow start, with the ref telling the wrestlers “offense, men, let’s go.” Bartlett got going, getting a takedown roughly a minute in to get ahead, 3-0. Woods gets an escape point to close to 3-1. Bartlett held that lead into the second period, where he starts on top with riding time. Woods is able to escape and stop Bartlett’s riding time at 57 seconds closing the deficit to 3-2. Woods starts the last period on top, and Bartlett gets an escape point. With less than a minute left, Woods needs a takedown to win and the crowd audibly gets behind him. But Bartlett gets a takedown near the end to seal the win.
Bartlett 7, Woods 2
Penn State 7, Iowa 3
149: No. 10 Tyler Kasak (Penn State) vs. No. 12 Caleb Rathjen (Iowa)
Rathjen gets a takedown late in the first period and leads 3-0 going into the second. Rathjen starts the second period on top. Kasak gets an escape to stop riding time and make it 3-1. A beautiful counter gets Rathajan another takedown and makes it 6-1. It takes Kasak 20 seconds to escape riding time, which Iowa disagrees with. Nonetheless, Kasak leads 6-2 going into the last period. Kasak starts the third period on top, and Rathjen escapes to make it 7-2. But then, Kasak gets a takedown to make it 7-5. With less than a minute to go, Rathjen leads 8-5. Kasak ties the match with a double-leg takedown and keeps Rathjen down while he has riding time.
Kasak doesn’t allow an escape, and the match goes into sudden victory. He gets called for a stall early in the last period. With 1:11 left, Rathjen gets a takedown and the win.
Rathjen 11, Kasak 8
Penn State 7, Iowa 6
157: No. 1 Levi Haines (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Jared Franek (Iowa)
Haines gets the scoring started with a takedown roughly a minute and a half in. Frank’s gets a stall warning. Haines secured riding time by handling Franek for the next minute plus. Frank starts the second period on top, but it takes Haines about 10 seconds to escape: Franek has a chance for a takedown by grabbing Franek’s leg, but Haines fights through it and ends up taking Franek down to make it 7-0, plus the riding time point. Franek ends up getting a stall call. Franek tries for a takedown with a counter attack, but again, Haines has an answer. Another takedown makes it 11-0. Haines ends up getting his eighth bonus point victory of the season and Penn State’s second bonus point win and shutout of the evening.
Haines 12, Franek 0
Penn State 11, Iowa 6
165: No. 7 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) vs. No. 6 Mikey Caliendo (Iowa)
Nothing much happens in the first minute and nobody scores. Then, Mesenbrink gets a takedown to open the scoring. Caliendo halts riding time with an escape 16 seconds in to make it 3-1. Another takedown gives Mesenbrink a 6-1 lead plus riding time. The 6-1 lead stays into the second period.
Caliendo starts on bottom in the second period and gets an early escape to close to 6-2. Mesenbrink gets that point back with an escape. With roughly 40 seconds left, Mesenbrink gets his third takedown to make it 10-2. Caliendo gets an escape toward the end of the period but Mesenbrink still leads 10-3 with the riding time point putting him in line for a bonus point win.
Mesenbrink starts the third period on bottom. He gets an escape 15 second in to make it 11-3. A takedown by Caliendo with 15 seconds left saves him from losing by major decision, but Mesenbrink still gets the win.
Mesenbrink 12, Caliendo 6
Penn State 14, Iowa 6.
174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. No. 7 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa)
Starocci hasn’t allowed a takedown all season and didn’t start in the first period against Kennedy. Starocci then has almost 40 seconds of riding time before Kennedy escapes to make it 3-1. Starocci gets his second takedown right at the buzzer to make it 6-1 and have riding time going into the second period.
Kennedy starts the second period on top, but Starocci escapes to make it 7-1. Another takedown by Starocci makes it 10-1 and puts him in line for a major.
Kennedy hangs in there during the last period, but Starocci still gets a bonus point win, his nation-leading 62nd straight,
Starocci 14, Kennedy 5
Penn State 18, Iowa 6
184: No. 6 Bernie Truax (Penn State) vs. Aiden Riggins (Iowa)
It takes Truax just 30 seconds to get a takedown. He stays in control long enough to secure riding time. Riggins starts the second period on top and Truax gets an escape to end the period up 4-0.
With 40 seconds left in the match, Truax gets a takedown, and with riding time secured, he’s in line for a bonus point victory. He gets it, and gets Penn State’s third shutout and secures the victory.
Truax 8, Riggins 0
Penn State 22, Iowa 6
197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State wrestling) vs. No. 11 Zach Glazier (Iowa)
Brooks does his thing
Brooks 4, Glazier 1
Penn State 25, Iowa 6
Heavyweight: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs. Bradley Hill (Iowa)
Kerkvliet does his thing
