UNIVERSITY PARK– This was the second-to-last home dual meet for Penn State wrestling and the last marquee one.
Penn State takes on Edinboro next Sunday in what will be nothing more than a tune-up for next month’s Big Ten championships.
But this dual meet, against No. 3 Nebraska, was a big deal.
As usual, Penn State rose to the occasion, albeit in a closer meet than many expected coming in, 22-13.
Penn State has now won 54 straight dual meets. Coach Cael Sanderson now has 202 dual meet wins, and the program has 1,001 wins overall.
Here’s how win No. 1,001 went down.
125 – Braeden Davis and Nebraska’s Caleb Smith were deadlocked at 1 midway through the third period before Smith pulled off a big 7-point move to take control of the match. Rather than go for the pin off a restart, Smith elected to go on his feet and got another takedown to pick up a big 11-3 major decision to put Nebraska on the board.
133 – Baylor Shunk took over for the ill Aaron Nagao in this one against the Cornhuskers’ 17th-ranked Jacob Van Dee. Van Dee got a pair of takedowns in the first period to take a 6-2 lead. Shunk and Van Dee rode each other out in the next two periods as Van Dee took home a 6-2 lead to put Nebraska up 7-0.
141 – Beau Bartlett got the Nittany Lions on the board and it was much-needed against Nebraska’s Brock Hardy. Bartlett had a 7-2 lead after two periods, but had to fight his way to a victory in the third period after a Hardy rally. Bartlett won the match, 9-6.
149 – PSU’s Tyler Kasak was given a tall task on Sunday against Nebraska’s top-ranked Ridge Lovett. Kasak gave Lovett all he had, however, as Lovett got the winning takedown in the final 10 seconds. A riding time point gave Lovett a 7-3 win.
157 – Levi Haines had a dogfight with Nebraska’s Peyton Robb. Haines got a takedown in the final seconds of the second period to go up 3-1. He used that to explode for two more takedowns in the third period to take a 10-3 win, although he missed the major decision by a point. Nebraska leads 10-6 at intermission.
165 – Mitchell Mesenbrink was stunned off the whistle with a takedown by Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor, but Mesenbrink recovered well after that. The PSU true freshman got a takedown in both the second and third period, plus a riding time point to take a 9-5 win.
174 – Carter Starocci did what Carter Starocci does. Starocci totaled six takedowns in a 20-4 technical fall in 5:58 over the Cornhuskers’ Bubba Wilson. Penn State took its first lead of the dual meet, 14-10.
184 – Bernie Traux had a dogfight with Nebraska’s third-ranked Lenny Pinto. Truax was down 6-3 after two periods, and got a takedown to put himself within a point. A last-chance effort at the end wasn’t enough as Pinto held on for an 8-6 win.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.197 – It didn’t put the dual meet on ice just yet, but Aaron Brooks got four points to all but seal the deal. Brooks got five takedowns in a bout with the Cornhuskers’ Silas Allred to get a 17-4 major decision.
285 – Greg Kerkvliet rounded out the dual meet in a bout with Nash Hutmacher, who is also a defensive tackle on the Nebraska football team. Kerkvliet earned a 10-0 major decision, and four of those points were off stall warnings. Kerkvliet also had over five minutes of riding time in the win.
Penn State 22, Nebraska 13
125 – Caleb Smith (N) maj. dec. Braeden Davis (PSU), 11-3.
133 – Jacob Van Dee (N) dec. Baylor Shunk (PSU), 6-2.
141 – Beau Bartlett (PSU) dec. Brock Hardy (N), 9-6.
149 – Ridge Lovett (N) dec. Tyler Kasak (PSU), 7-3.
157 – Levi Haines (PSU) dec. Peyton Robb (N), 10-3.
165 – Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) dec. Antrell Taylor (N), 9-5.
174 – Carter Starocci (PSU) tech. fall Bubba Wilson (N), 20-4 5:58.
184 – Lenny Pinto (N) dec. Bernie Truax (PSU), 8-6.
197 – Aaron Brooks (PSU) maj. dec. Silas Allred (N), 17-4.
