Here’s where Penn State stands after Day 1 of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships
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Saturday marked the opening to Penn State wrestling’s most fun time of the year, as the Big Ten Championships got underway at the Xfinity Center at the University of Maryland.
After the first day was complete, the Nittany Lions sent seven of their 10 wrestlers into the finals, which set a program record.
When it came to the team race, Penn State has 130 points to lead the way by 20.5 over Michigan. Nebraska is in third with 89 points.
Here’s a look at how the first day ended:
125 Pounds: Braeden Davis
Record after session: 3-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Davis had the pro-Penn State crowd hooting and hollering during his semifinal match with Michigan’s Michael DeAugustino.
The pair traded escapes in regulation. They traded two more and neither had a riding time advantage to decide a winner, so they went to a second sudden victory period at 2-2.
In the second sudden victory period, they tied up into an upperbody lock early. Davis hit a knee pick on DeAugustino for the winning takedown.
The true freshman will square off with Minnesota’s Patrick McKee in the finals.
“He was in some tough spots and just kept fighting, that’s what it’s all about. That’s why we compete and play sports, is to have opportunities like that,” Nittany Lions coach Cael Sanderson said. “It was good to see and fun.”
The 125-pound weight class, nationally, has been full of chaos all year long. It continued Saturday morning as the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 seeds all fell.
Davis played the part in upset of the No. 3 seed, Wisconsin’s Eric Barnett, but the quarterfinals bout didn’t start out well.
Barnett came out and fired off a takedown early and was given a penalty point from Davis, who escaped before the first period ended. He then tacked on a takedown and an escape in the second period to lead 5-4 after two.
The third period got crazy with the pair trading reversals. Davis needed his in order to force sudden victory as Barnett had riding time advantage. In sudden victory, Davis went in on a deep shot that Barnett tried to fight off, but he was called for an illegal hold, giving Davis the 8-7 win.
Davis’ first tournament opened with a solid 11-1 major decision over Illinois’ Justin Cardani.
133 Pounds: Aaron Nagao
Record after session: 2-1
Current round: Consolation semifinals
Recap: Nagao took on a familiar foe in Michigan’s Dylan Ragusin in the semifinals.
The pair squared off in the Jan. 19 dual, which Nagao dominated for most of the match, but Ragusin came away with the win as he pinned Nagao.
Saturday night’s match didn’t need overtime.
Ragusin scored the first points with a takedown, but Nagao got a reversal to trail 3-2 after one. Nagao tied the bout with an escape in the second period.
Ragusin’s escape was the lone point scored in the third period and he added a riding time point for a 6-3 win.
Nagao had quite the interesting last month of the season. He was in and out of the lineup because of illness and suffered some losses along the way that had Penn State fans doubting him.
Sanderson remained positive and said Nagao’s best wrestling will be there when it counted most.
The transfer opened his second Big Ten tournament by shutting out the Spartans’ Andrew Hampton, 11-0. In the quarterfinals against Nebraska’s Jacob Van Dee, Nagao won 4-3.
He came out and collected the first points with a takedown at 12 seconds left in the first period. Neither wrestler scored in the second period, but Nagao added an escape in the third. Van Dee did get a takedown but it was too late to do much more as Nagao came away with the narrow win.
141 Pounds: Beau Bartlett
Record after session: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Bartlett has talked about how he’d like to get to his offense quicker.
He didn’t do that against Michigan’s Sergio Lemley in the semifinals. However, he went to it when he needed to the most.
Leading 1-0 late in the second period, Bartlett snapped off a single-leg takedown of Lemley before the period ended for a 4-0 lead. Lemley didn’t go away, though, as he tied the bout up with an escape and takedown with 52 seconds left in the third period.
Bartlett calmly escaped and fended off Lemley’s takedown attempts in a 5-4 win. He’ll take on Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez in his first Big Ten final.
Bartlett didn’t have too much work to do Saturday morning.
He had just one match, which was against Michigan State’s Jordan Hamdan. Bartlett scored all of his points in the second period with an escape and a takedown in a 4-2 win.
Hamdan tried to rally, but only secured two escapes.
149 Pounds: Tyler Kasak
Record after session: 2-1
Current round: Consolation semifinals
Recap: The last time Kasak faced Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett, Lovett dispatched Kasak, 7-3, in the February dual.
Saturday night the result was the same with a Lovett victory, but Kasak showed he learned from that loss.
Neither wrestler scored in the first period, and Lovett’s escape in the second was the lone point. In the third, Kasak wanted to start on his feet, and kept Lovett at bay.
The Cornhuskers wrestler was able to secure a takedown with 27 seconds, and earned the 4-0 win.
“Tyler is a competitor. He keeps getting better. He’s willing to work hard for one point like a riding point, and that’s rare,” Sanderson said. “You’re wrestling the top-ranked guy in the country and you’re right in there, just got to give Tyler credit.”
This is Kasak’s first Big Ten tournament, but he sure opened it like a veteran.
He raced out to a 7-0 lead on Northwestern’s Aiden Vandenbush midway through the first period. Kasak then put Vandenbush to his back for a fall in 2:48.
In the quarterfinals, Kasak built up a bunch of riding time in the second period on Ohio State’s Dylan D’Emilio. He opened the third period with a reversal, but D’Emilio escaped to make it 2-2. The pair looked for scoring chance the rest of the period, but nothing came to fruition, and Kasak advanced thanks to the riding time, 3-2.
157 Pounds: Levi Haines
Record after session: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Haines made it look easy getting back to his second straight Big Ten finals against Iowa’s Jared Franek.
The reigning Big Ten champ kept Franek off the scoreboard. Haines had an escape and a takedown in the second period to lead 4-0 after two periods.
The third period saw Haines showcase a tough top game to not allow an escape. He earned a riding time point to finish off the 5-0 win.
He’ll face Michigan’s Will Lewan Sunday afternoon.
Haines had no problems against Northwestern’s Trevor Chumbley in the quarterfinals.
He scored at will on Chumbley, racing out to a 7-0 lead after two periods of wrestling. In the third period, Haines added his third takedown of the bout and added a riding time point and stall point for a 12-0 shutout of Chumbley.
165 Pounds: Mitchell Mesenbrink
Record after session: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Mesenbrink was one of four Nittany Lion wrestlers making their Big Ten Championships debut.
He made it one that Penn State fans will remember by reaching his first conference final with a barrage of points against Iowa’s Michael Caliendo.
The first period saw Mesenbrink snap off three takedowns to a 9-3 lead. Mesenbrink added a pair of takedowns in the second and third period to earn a 23-7 technical fall in 6:47.
“He loves to score points and doesn’t stop firing. He’ll just keep getting better and better with that kind of attitude,” Sanderson said.
In the quarterfinals, Mesenbrink built up a 13-2 lead early in the second period on Minnesota’s Blaine Brenner, thanks to a trio of first-period takedowns. Mesenbrink then put Brenner to his back for a fall in 3:59.
174 Pounds: Carter Starocci
Record after session: 0-2
Current round: Eliminated
Recap: Ever since Starocci suffered a knee injury against Edinboro, everyone wondered what his status would be.
Well, he came out to the mat, shook hands with his opponent, Minnesota’s Andrew Sparks, and the referee blew his whistle. A second later, the referee blew his whistle again, and Sparks was declared the winner via injury default.
The loss snapped Starocci’s 64-match win streak, which was the longest in the country.
He then injury defaulted again to Purdue’s Brody Baumann to end what could be his last Big Ten Championships.
“He wanted to wrestle the whole tournament and was planning on wrestling the tournament. It is really tough for him. He’s having a hard time about this. He’d wrestle if both of his legs were hurt,” Sanderson said. “He’s just so competitive. He’s pretty upset, but there’s just no reason, when he meets the criteria to get an at-large (bid), to put himself in a position to set himself back.
“He’s not happy, with me, but that’s why he’s Carter Starocci.”
184 Pounds: Bernie Truax
Record after session: 3-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Truax was another one of those Nittany Lions making their Big Ten debut.
Just like others in the past, he was able to make the finals in his first conference tournament.
Truax took on Nebraska’s Lenny Pinto, whom he nearly beat in the team’s February dual. Saturday evening he made sure to get the win.
After neither wrestler scored in the first period, Truax had an escape in the second to lead, 1-0. Pinto tied it three seconds into the third period.
Nearly 30 seconds later, Truax was able to secure a takedown that held up in a 4-2 victory over Truax. He’ll face Minnesota’s Isaiah Salazar Sunday afternoon.
“He figures things out. He’s got a lot of skill and experience. He’s a big match guy, as you’ve seen with his NCAA tournaments,” Sanderson said. “I’m happy for him. I mean that’s a real tough competitor there in Pinto, so it’s a good win for him.”
Truax said on Monday that he was ready to have fun in the Big Ten Championships.
He showed it Saturday afternoon by starting with a 19-1 technical fall in 2:42 of Maryland’s Chase Mielnik. Truax had two takedowns and four sets of nearfall points for his scoring.
In the quarterfinals, the three-time NCAA placewinner picked off a pair of takedowns on Michigan State’s Layne Malczewski in a 7-2 victory.
197 Pounds: Aaron Brooks
Record after session: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Brooks has been in this position before — four times, to be exact.
However, this time it was at a different weight, but it didn’t matter because the result was still the same.
The three-time NCAA and Big Ten champion went to work on Nebraska’s Silas Allred to the tune of two first period takedowns in their semifinals match.
In the second period, Brooks locked up a cradle and put Allred to his back, but was unable to secure the fall. Instead, he lead 10-1 to start the third period.
The Hagerstown, Md. native tacked on one more takedown in the third period and has 4:01 in riding time to earn a 14-2 major decision. Brooks will take on Iowa’s Zach Glazier for his fourth and final Big Ten title.
Brooks was dominant in his Big Ten opener, against Northwestern’s Evan Bates.
He snapped of a pair of first-period takedowns and added some nearfall points for a 9-1 lead. The second period was all Brooks as he tallied an escape and added a third takedown.
In the third period, he put the icing on the cake by collecting two more takedowns for the 19-3 technical fall in 5:50.
285 Pounds: Greg Kerkvliet
Record after session: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Kerkvliet was one of only two Penn State wrestlers to not have a single point scored against him Saturday.
His final match of the day was against Rutgers’ Yaraslau Slavikouski. The two were slated to face off in the Bryce Jordan Center dual in the middle of February, but Kerkvliet pulled out late. Instead, Slavikouski faced Lucas Cochran, who gave up significant weight and still beat the Scarlet Knight.
Kerkvliet showed that Cochran’s win that day wasn’t a fluke.
Kerkvliet collected a takedown three seconds into the match Saturday evening and rode Slavikouski for the remainder of the period. He got a stall point too along the way.
The second period saw Kerkvliet open with an escape, and he recorded another takedown with a single-leg takedown. In the third period, the pair were content just circling around the whole frame, but Kerkvliet came out with a 9-0 major decision.
He’ll face Ohio State’s Nick Feldman Sunday afternoon.
Kerkvliet seemed like he had somewhere to be in his quarterfinals match.
He came out and scored 10 points on Minnesota’s Bennett Tabor thanks to a takedown and two sets of nearfall points in the first period. Toward the end of the second period, Kerkvliet collected a stall point from Tabor and tacked on four nearfall points for a 15-0 shutout in 4:25.
Big Ten Championships
Saturday at College Park, Md.
Team key: Illinois (Ill.), Indiana (Ind.), Iowa (I), Maryland (M), Michigan State (MSU), Michigan (Mich.), Minnesota (Minn.), Nebraska (N), Northwestern (NW), Ohio State (OSU), Penn State (PSU), Purdue (P), Rutgers (R), Wisconsin (W)
Team scores: 1. Penn State 130, 2. Michigan 105.5, 3. Nebraska 89, 4. Iowa 88.5, 5. Ohio State 78.5, T6. Rutgers 71.5, T6. Minnesota 71.5, 8. Wisconsin 43, 9. Purdue 36, 10. Maryland 31
Semifinals
125: Braeden Davis, PSU, dec. Michael DeAugustino, Mich., 5-2 (SV2); 133: Dylan Ragusin, Mich., dec. Aaron Nagao, PSU, 6-3; 141: Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Sergio Lemley, Mich., 5-4; 149: Ridge Lovett, N, dec. Tyler Kasak, PSU, 4-0; 157: Levi Haines, PSU, dec. Jared Franek, I, 5-0; 165: Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, tech. fall Michael Caliendo, I, 23-7 (6:47); 184: Bernie Truax, PSU, dec. Lenny Pinto, N, 4-2; 197: Aaron Brooks, PSU, major dec. Silas Allred, N, 14-2; 285: Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, major dec. Yaraslau Slavikouski, R, 9-0
Consolation Second Round
174: Brody Baumann, P, injury def. Carter Starocci, PSU, :01
Quarterfinals
125: Davis, PSU, dec. Eric Barnett, N, 8-7 (SV); 133: Nagao, PSU, dec. Jacob Van Dee, N, 4-3; 141: Bartlett, PSU, dec. Jordan Hamdan, MSU, 4-2; 149: Kasak, PSU, dec. Dylan D’Emilio, OSU, 3-2; 157: Haines, PSU, major dec. Trevor Chumbley, NW, 12-0; 165: Mesenbrink, PSU, pinned Blaine Brenner, Minn., 3:59; 174: Andrew Sparks, Minn., injury def. Starocci, PSU, :01; 184: Truax, PSU, dec. Layne Malczewski, MSU, 7-2; 197: Brooks, PSU, tech. fall Evan Bates, NW, 19-3 (5:50); 285: Kerkvliet, PSU, tech. fall Bennett Tabor, Minn., 15-0 (4:25)
First Round
125: Davis, PSU, major dec. Justin Cardani, Ill., 11-1; 133: Nagao, PSU, major dec. Andrew Hampton, MSU, 11-0; 149: Kasak, PSU, pinned Aiden Vandenbush, NW, 2:48; 184: Truax, PSU, tech. fall Chase Mielnik, M, 19-1 (2:41)
