Philadelphia— Carter Starocci did something that probably nobody will ever do again.
Mitchell Mesenbrink did something he plans on doing at least one more time.
Josh Barr fell just short.
In any case, it was a thrilling night for Penn State wrestling, which cemented its record-setting weekend in Philadelphia with two national title wins.
Starocci started the night at 184– a decision that confused many, who thought it would make sense to have his unprecedented fifth national title bout end the to it tournament. But it didn’t stop Starocci from beating Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen 4-3.
Mesenbrink, the top seed at 165, was the heavy favorite in his title bout with Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo, seeded third. He didn’t disappoint, beating Caliendo 8-2.
At 197, Barr, seeded No. 4, took on No. 2 Stephen Buchanan. He fought hard but ultimately fell 5-2. Barr will have his chances, though, as he’s just finished his redshirt freshman season.
Most importantly, Penn State won its 12th team title in 14 years.
Amazingly, some fans are at least somewhat disappointed in how this week has played out for PSU so far.
Penn State started perfect, going 20-0 on the first day of competition.
The second day didn’t go as well. Penn State sent seven to the semifinals, but of those seven, only three–Mesenbrink (165),Starocci (184) and Barr(197)– won their bouts.
At the same time, it’s hard to find much to complain about with a national title, and even harder considering Penn State had 10 All-Americans, the first time since 2001 (Minnesota) that a team accomplished that feat and just the second overall.
It’s the 13th overall in program history and 12th under Sanderson.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.This also might be an appropriate time to remind everybody that Cael Sanderson is only 45 years old.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Penn State— 177
2. Nebraska— 117
3. Oklahoma State— 102.5
4. Iowa— 81
5. Minnesota— 51.5
T5. Ohio State— 51.5
7. Cornell— 50
8. NC State— 46.5
9. Northern Iowa— 45.5
10. Illinois— 44.5
