On one side of Penn State’s campus THON was kicking off. On the other, Penn State’s wrestling team was wrapping up its dominant dual meet campaign with a 50-0 shutout over Princeton Friday night.
It marked the eighth shutout of the season and capped off a 15-0 dual meet record and would’ve outscored the Nittany Lions on the football field in all but one game during the 2025 season.
Nine of the 10 matches earned bonus points including the final six matches all being won by fall in which three were pins.
Luke Lilledahl got the evening started at 125 pounds winning by disqualification as Princeton’s Marc-Anthony McGowan was called for not one, not two, but five stalls to give the Nittany Lions a 6-0 lead out of the gate.
At 133 pounds it was Marcus Blaze who continued the success with a 11-3 Major Decision over Ethan Rivera which pushed the lead to 10-0 after two matches.
The matchup between Braeden Davis and the Tigers’ Matthew Martino was the closest Princeton would come to earning any points, but Davis prevailed with an 11-8 win to make it 13-0.
From there, the extra points rained down on the wrestlers in blue-and-white. Shayne Van Ness beat Eligh Rivera at 149 with a 15-6 Major Decision before Penn State went on a falling spree.
PJ Duke notched a 24-8 tech fall over Gavin Hawk at 157 to put the Nittany Lions up 22-0 before Mr. Fall himself Mitchell Mesinbrink earned a pin against Ty Whalen in the 169 to push the cushion to 28-0.
Fans wouldn’t have to wait long for Penn State’s next pin as Levi Haines earned one over Cody Tavoso at 174 in his final match at Rec Hall for his career.
At 184 pounds Rocco Welsh racked up 21 points against Xavier Giles in his 21-6 tech fall victory before Josh Barr pinned Conor McCloskey in just 1:29 at 197 pounds to push the Nittany Lions lead to 45.
Not to be out done, Cole Mirasola wrapped up the dominant performance with a 21-6 tech fall of his own against Sebastian Garabali at 285 pounds.
The 50-point mark was the second such performance in 365 days as Penn State beat American 50-3 last year on February 21, 2025.
It will be a two week break for the Nittany Lions as they now prepare for the Big Ten Tournament. They won’t have far to go as they’ll be competing just down the street at the Bryce Jordan Center March 7-8.
125 – No. 1 Luke Lilledahl 6, No. 12 Marc-Anthony McGowan 0 win by DQ – forced 5 stalls
OUR GUY! PJ Duke with the 24-8 TECH FALL! 🔥#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/sEvwZxXkFe
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 21, 2026
133 – No. 2 Marcus Blaze 11, No. 32 Ethan Rivera 3 – Major Decision
Cole Mirasola ENDS TONIGHT’S MATCH with a TECH FALL! 50-0 PSU 🏆#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/cVIWGN0Tnr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 21, 2026
141 – No. 12 Braeden Davis 11, Matthew Martino 8
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.DAVIS with the 11-8 WIN tonight at Rec Hall! 🫡#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/ItlHGLEIA1
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 21, 2026
149 – No. 1 Shayne Van Ness 15, No. 14 Eligh Rivera 6 – Major Decision
Shayne VAN NESS 😈 with the 15-6 MAJOR! #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/mCoTn1HZjx
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 21, 2026
157 – No. 4 PJ Duke 24, Gavin Hawk 8 – Tech Fall
OUR GUY! PJ Duke with the 24-8 TECH FALL! 🔥#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/sEvwZxXkFe
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 21, 2026
169 – No. 1 Mitchell Mesinbrink defeated No. 19 Ty Whalen – Fall (Pin), 3:31
Mitchell Mesenbrink gets it DONE✅! Winner by Fall! 😎#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/sWeMmBeqB2
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 21, 2026
174 – No. 1 Levi Haines defeated Cody Tavoso – Fall (Pin) 4:06
Mitchell Mesenbrink gets it DONE✅! Winner by Fall! 😎#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/sWeMmBeqB2
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 21, 2026
184 – No. 1 Rocco Welsh 21, Xavier Giles 6 – Tech Fall, 4:11
Mitchell Mesenbrink gets it DONE✅! Winner by Fall! 😎#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/sWeMmBeqB2
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 21, 2026
197 – No. 1 Josh Barr defeated Conor McCloskey – Fall (Pin), 1:29
JOSH BARR 🔚’s it in the FIRST PERIOD!! Winner by FALL! 🙈#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/rGsFWj4hE8
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 21, 2026
285 – No. 6 Cole Mirasola 21, Sebastian Garabali 6 – Tech Fall, 3:46
Cole Mirasola ENDS TONIGHT’S MATCH with a TECH FALL! 50-0 PSU 🏆#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/cVIWGN0Tnr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 21, 2026
