UNIVERSITY PARK— There’s no question what the signature moment of the Penn State wrestling-Iowa dual meet Friday night was, and Tyler Kasak made it happen.
It’s not often that a wrestler is able to lift their opponent in the air long enough to flex for the home crowd, let alone when said opponent is ranked No. 1 in the country.
You won’t see many better endings than this. Tyler Kasak lifts Jacori Temmer into the air and fires up the crowd at the same time,
Penn State leads 18-5 going into the break. pic.twitter.com/74TDGsbLbL
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) February 1, 2025
That moment, which sealed No. 3 Kasak’s 5-2 win over Iowa’s Jacori Temmer, would have been epic enough if Kasak had not been bleeding.
But blood always adds to the intensity of any sporting event, and when Temmer inadvertently cut Kasak’s right eye, the bout became all the more compelling. The ending turned into the signature moment not just of Friday night’s dual but of Kasak’s time at Penn State.
You won’t see many better endings than this. Tyler Kasak lifts Jacori Temmer into the air and fires up the crowd at the same time,
Penn State leads 18-5 going into the break. pic.twitter.com/74TDGsbLbL
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) February 1, 2025
THE BLOOD
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: Tyler Kasak
When talking with reporters after the meet, Kasak didn’t seem as fascinated by the blood as a lot of the Penn State wrestling fans were.
“Blood time, that’s just what happens in wrestling,” Kasak said. “Things happen.”
“I mean, it’s all wrestling at the end of the day. You kind of take the emotions out of it. Especially when you have, I don’t know how many people were there, so adrenaline kind of gets pumping. I didn’t even know how bad, what it really looked like. There probably was a little bit of blood.”
What Kasak said next channels The Undertaker.
“So it’s (blood is) just part of the sport and I kind of like it. It’s fun. It makes you feel alive a little bit.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Kasak competing through the blood impressed his coach.
“That’s not his eyebrow,” Cael Sanderson said, “a lot of those are stitches. Yeah, it was pretty bad. Tough dude.”
THE CELEBRATION
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: Tyler Kasak
When Will Ferrell’s character in old school, Frank “The Tank” Ricard beat James “The Rajin Cajun” Carville in a debate.
After he won, his first words were “what happened? I blacked out.”
Kasak had similar vibes after his moment.
“As far as the celebration I kind of just blacked out,” Kasak said. “I have no idea what I really did, just enjoying the moment.”
“Everyone was pumped up. The bigger the matches the more fun we end up having, the more free I feel like I get.”
Overall, Kasak made his teammate Levi Haines— who preceded him at 157 and now wrestlers at 174– proud.
“He didn’t really tell me anything,” Kasak said. “Just told me to go smash him. And I did a pretty good job of that.”
