No. 1 Penn State wrestling has its biggest dual meet of the season— and maybe its biggest in multiple years— coming up Friday night.
PSU has taken part in a multiple No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups over the years. But the fact that this one is taking place with the Big Ten team championship on the line adds significance to it.
No. 2 Ohio State comes into this bout undefeated. The Buckeyes just took care of No. 8 Iowa on Senior Night in Columbus. Ever since OSU won the National Duals in November, it’s been thought to be the biggest threat to Penn State.
That still holds true in late February.
Here are three individual bouts to watch Friday night at the Bryce Jordan Center
125
No. 1 Luke Lilledahl vs. No. 2 Nic Bouzakis
Photo by Penn State Athletics
This No. 1 vs. No. 2 team bout will also feature a No. 1 vs. No. 2 individual matchup. After a successful true freshman season where he won the Big Ten championship and took home All-America honors by finishing third at the National Championships, Lilledahl has gotten better. He’s 15-1 this season and unbeaten in dual meet action. His only loss came against teammate Nate Desmond at the Black Knight Invitational in late November. 71% of Lilledahl’s wins have been via bonus point. The most was a 21-5 tech fall over Michigan’s Diego Sotelo.
Bouzakis– who, like Lilledahl, wrestled at Pennsylvania’s Wyoming Seminary– is 12-1 with a 61% bonus win rate, with the most recent win being a 9-5 decision over a top 10 opponent in Iowa’s Dean Peterson.
Bouzakis and Lilledahl haven’t wrestled each other at the college level, and there’s a chance it doesn’t happen Friday night.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.After Bouzakis’ win, he was seen holding his lower back, so his health is something to monitor.
174
No. 1 Levi Haines vs. No. 5 Carson Kharchla
Photo by Penn State Wrestling: Levi Haines
Haines has been the main to beat at 174 this season, starting 17-0 with an 82% bonus point win rate. In his last bout, Haines took on Michigan’s Beau Mantanona, who came in ranked No. 11, and dominated with a 19-4 tech fall. Kharchla has ben excellent as well, starting the year 14-3 with a 53% bonus rate. Kharchala is coming off a tough bout against No. 3 Patrick Kennedy, which he lost 2-1.
Haines has dominated almost everybody he’s faced this season, which is why he’s right in the mix for the Hodge Trophy. His most exciting bout of the year came Jan. 30 against Nebraska at the BJC, where he grinded out an 8-6 win over Nebraska’s Christopher Minto, ranked No. 4. Haines has shown repeatledy over his time at Penn State that he can dig deep, and he might have to do that again against Kharchla
133
No. 2 Ben Davino vs. No. 4 Marcus Blaze
Two of the best wrestlers in the nation at 133 are freshman, and they’ll be going against each other for the toughest test of each of their careers. Davino has more experience in college than Blaze, since he redshirted last season. Davino is 22-0 in all competitions with a bonus point rate above 63%. He recently had a tough customer in Iowa’s Drake Ayala, who came in ranked No. 9. Davino won that match, 4-2.
Blaze came in as maybe the most hyped high school recruit in the country, and h’es lived up to it, starting 17-0 with an 88% bonus win rate.
These guys could see each other a lot over the next three years, and what better time to start than now?
