With Penn State wrestling scheduled to begin a little over a month away, here are updated projections for the starting lineup.
125 – Luke Lilledahl It’s likely that Braeden Davis is moving up to 133, which probably leaves the spot for another true freshman. Lilledahl went undefeated last season as a senior at Wyoming Seminary. If Cael Sanderson would decide to redshirt Lilledahl, it would likely go to familiar face Gary Steen.
133 – Davis/Aaron Nagao: Penn State wrestling fans are familiar with both wrestlers. Davis exploded onto the season last year at 125 and got a Big Ten championship along the way. Nagao transferred in from Minnesota last year, and struggled at times during the season. Nagao still ended up with a 17-7 record.
141 – Beau Bartlett: There’s no secret here. Bartlett came back for one more crack at a national championship after finishing as a runner-up last season.
149 – Shayne Van Ness: Van Ness had a tough break last year as an injury ended his season. Tyler Kasak did just fine in his place as he finished with a third place finish at nationals. Van Ness had a chance to do just as well, perhaps even better. We’ll see about this year.
157 – Tyler Kasak/Alex Facundo: The middle of the lineup is where it’s anyone’s guess at what it will look like. Assuming Kasak moves up a weight, it may be a battle between him and Facundo, who took an Olympic redshirt last season. Kasak is scheduled to wrestle at 157 against Peyton Kellar in the NWCA All-Star Classic, so we assume he’s bumping up a weight for the season.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.165 – Mitchell Mesenbrink/Alex Facundo: You’d think after last season that the coaching staff is going to find a spot for Mesenbrink. Mesenbrink picked up his first Big Ten championship at 165 last season as a redshirt freshman and finished as runner-up at NCAAs to David Carr. It would make a lot of sense for Mesenbrink to return to the weight.
174 – Levi Haines: Haines is wrestling at 174 in the All-Star Classic against Ohio State’s Rocco Welsh, so again we’re going to assume he’s wrestling there the whole season. Bumping up two weight classes is a big jump, but if anyone can be successful, it’s Haines after winning the title at 157 last season.
184 – Carter Starocci: Starocci himself has confirmed he’s going to 184 pounds this season. It was a surprise that he returned to the team, but Starocci’s search for an unprecedented fifth NCAA championship was too great to pass up.
197 – Josh Barr: There’s some experience at this weight class with Lucas Cochran and AJ Fricchione, but Barr has a lot of hype around him as a redshirt freshman. Unless he can be beaten out by true freshman Connor Mirasola, expect to see the first look at Barr.
285 – Greg Kerkvliet: Just like Bartlett and Starocci, Kerkvliet is coming back for more after finally getting his first NCAA title last season. It was a long time coming for him after constantly competing against the likes of Minnesota’s Gable Steveson and Michigan’s Mason Parris, two Olympians and Hodge Trophy Winners.
