Penn State wrestling live blog: NCAA Championships second round

Penn State wrestling took an early lead in Thursday afternoon’s opening session at the NCAA Championships and hasn’t looked back. The Nittany Lions enter the second round of the national tournament with 24 points, leading second-place Oklahoma State by 8.5.

Nittany Lion wrestlers went a perfect 10-0 in round one. Penn State was the only team to advance all ten of its wrestlers to the round of sixteen. Nine wrestlers posted 14 bonus points including three falls, 4 tech falls, and 2 majors in the first round. Penn State scored 24 of the 30 possible points possible in round one. Cael Sanderson will look to try and get his full lineup through to tomorrow afternoon’s quarterfinals.

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Live blog: Penn State wrestling begins pursuit of a title at 2025 NCAA Championships

Coverage of the second round can be found live on ESPN. Action from all eight mats can be found on ESPN+. Winners on Thursday night will advance to Friday’s Quarterfinals.

Match-by-match results for Penn State wrestlers can be found below. Please note this page will not update automatically. To see the latest results, please refresh your browser.

Team Standings (End of Round 2)

Round of 16

125: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) def No. 16 Blake West (NIU) by 19-3 tech fall

Penn State wrestling 125-pounder Luke Lilledahl. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Luke Lilledahl scored a takedown with under 15 seconds remaining in the first period to lead 3-0 heading into the second. West started on bottom to begin the 2nd period and Lilledahl was able to ride him up to 48 seconds before allowing the escape. After some back and forth shots from neutral it was Lilledahl who was able to convert taking down West for a 2nd time to get the takedown.

After multiple takedown and and releases Lilledahl picked up the 19-3 technical fall win at the 6:52 mark. It was a dominant performance from start to finish for the true freshman who will next wrestle in the Quarterfinals tomorrow afternoon hoping to be the first Penn State 125 pounder to All-American at this year’s NCAA Championships.

133: No. 8 Braeden Davis (PSU) def No. 9 Braxton Brown (MD) by 5-3 decision

Penn State wrestling 133-pounder Braeden Davis. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Braeden Davis attacked early and picked up a takedown in the first minute of the match after getting in on a leg. Brown tried to get the reversal but Davis stayed in good position while rolling through to not give up the points. After a short ride Brown got the escape and cut the lead to 3-1.

Davis started on bottom to begin the 2nd period and escaped in 3 seconds to extend his lead to 4-1. A late takedown attempt by Brown looked to be the first offensive score of the match but he couldn’t finish before the 2nd period clock ran out. Brown started on bottom and was able to get the reversal on Davis to cut the lead to 4-3 after the Nittany Lion wrestler had accumulated a little bit of riding time.

Davis was able to pick up the escape and extend his lead back to 5-3. Davis got hit for a stall warning after trying to burn some time in the final 50 seconds after the escape but didn’t get hit again and will be advancing to the Quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett (PSU) def No. 18 Julian Tagg (SDSU) by 3-1 decision

Penn State wrestling 141-pounder Beau Bartlett. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Both wrestlers got in on some good shots in the period but neither could score. Beau Bartlett was in on the leg late in the period but Tagg was able to take the match to the edge of the mat and escape with no damage. Tagg opened the the period with an escape and appeared to have Bartlett dead to rights for a takedown but a roll through ended up giving Bartlett the superior position and the 3-1 lead off a takedown of his own. 

Bartlett road Tagg the entire 2nd period pushing riding time over 1:43 in the match and preserving his 3-1 lead. Bartlett chose neutral to begin the 3rd period. In classic Bartlett fashion he closed out the match with a defensive masterclass to not give the South Dakota State wrestler a good chance at scoring and will advance to tomorrow afternoons quarterfinal after having two one score victories.

149: No. 3 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) def No. 19 Andrew Clark (RUT) by 11-1 major decision

Penn State wrestling 149-pounder Shayne Van Ness. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Shayne Van Ness opened the scoring with a takedown one minute in after spending the first part of the match battling for it on the edge of the circle. Van Ness then rode Clark until his riding time was over one minute and then released him making it 3-1 Penn State. He went right back to work picking up another takedown and riding Clark out to finish the first period up 6-1. 

Van Ness began the 2nd period on top and went to work to try and get the Clark turned. Clark was eventually hit with a stall warning about halfway through the period as the two continued to battle. Van Ness rode Clark the entire period to push his riding time up to 3:32 heading into the 3rd. The two wrestlers started the 3rd period neutral and Van Ness went to work getting the takedown on top of a stall call to finish off the major decision.

157: No. 1 Tyler Kasak (PSU) def No. 16 Cody Chittum (ISU) by 8-3 decision

Penn State wrestling 157-pounder Tyler Kasak. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Tyler Kasak came out fast and picked up a takedown in the opening minute of the match, a quick escape by Chittum made it 3-1. Neither wrestler got much else going the rest of the period in a period that was dominated by stoppage due to Tyler Kasak having headgear issues.

Kasak got things going in the 2nd period getting the reversal to extend his lead to 5-2 after the Chittum escape. Kasak was able to pick up another takedown after some neutral danger swipes to extend his lead to 8-2 heading into the 3rd period, firmly in control of the match. An escape by Chittum to start the third is all the more points that we would see as Kasak walks away with the decision.

165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) def No. 16 Kyle Mosher (HOF) by 22-6 tech fall

Penn State wrestling 165-pounder Mitchell Mesenbrink. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Mitchell Mesenbrink opened the scoring with a takedown after getting in on a single leg just seconds into the match. The constant catch and release strategy that we have seen from Mesenbrink all season with opponents went into full effect in this one. The Penn State sophomore picked up multiple takedowns on his way to a 12-2 first period lead. 

Mosher opened the 2nd period with an escape and was immediately taken down. Mesenbrink tried to turn Mosher and instead got caught in a bad position himself and was briefly on his back before giving up a takedown cutting the lead to 15-5. After allowing Mosher back up after the exchange Mesenbrink immediately took him down twice more to close out the 22-6 tech fall at the 4:15 mark. Outside of the brief scare it was another dominant match by Mesenbrink. I still expect him to remain as aggressive throughout the tournament no matter the opponent.

174: No. 2 Levi Haines (PSU) def No. 18 Gaven Sax (OKLA) by 4-0 decision

Penn State wrestling 174-pounder Levi Haines. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Levi Haines opened the scoring in the match with a takedown and road Sax for the remainder of the period to take a 3-0 lead with 1:02 of riding time into the 2nd period. Haines chose bottom to begin the 2nd period and picked up the escape to extend his lead to 4-0. Neither wrestler could get on the board after the escape despite multiple attempts by Haines to try and get the takedown and possibly extend this one to a major decision. Nonetheless Haines will advance to the Quarterfinals tomorrow afternoon with a chance to lock up an All-American spot for the third consecutive season.

184: No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) def No. 16 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RUT) by 15-0 tech fall

Penn State wrestling 184-pounder Carter Starocci. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Carter Starocci opened the match with a quick takedown in the opening 30 seconds to take a 3-0 lead. Starocci then put Cartagena-Walsh on his back for four near fall points to extend his lead to 7-0 with about 50 seconds remaining in the first as he looks for the fall. After a quick break Starocci once again went to work and picked up four more near fall points to push the lead to 11-0 at the end of the first period. 

The two wrestlers started neutral in the 2nd period and Starocci went to work picking up yet another takedown to once again extend the lead to 14-0. After Cartagena-Walsh was called for stalling the lead was pushed to 15-0 and officially ended as a tech fall.

197: No. 4 Josh Barr (PSU) def No. 13 Trey Munoz (ORST) by 5-2 decision in sudden victory

Penn State wrestling 197-pounder Josh Barr. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Neither wrestler could get much going in the first period and it is scoreless after one. Munoz starts on bottom to begin the 2nd and gets the reversal on Josh Barr before allowing the escape to lead 2-1. Barr chose bottom to begin the 3rd period and got the quick escape to tie the score at 2-2. Barr then got in on a single leg but a roll through by Munoz eventually lead to a stalemate with 55 seconds remaining. 

Neither wrestler could finish this one in regulation and it is heading to sudden victory. Barr got in on a single leg and despite Munoz holding on for dear life was eventually able to finish off the takedown for the sudden victory. The win saves Penn State’s chances of advancing all ten wrestlers to the quarterfinals.

285: No. 3 Greg Kerklvliet (PSU) def No. 14 Gavin Hoffman (LH) by 4-0 decision

Penn State wrestling heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

With 1:02 remaining in the 1st period, Greg Kerkvliet got in on the leg and took a 3-0 lead. He then proceeded to ride out Hoffman for the remainder of the first period to push his riding time over one minute. Hoffman started on bottom to begin the 2nd period and he was unable to escape as Kerkvliet rode him the entire period wrapping up the riding time advantage. 

Kerkvliet chose top to begin the 3rd period as he attempted to try and turn Hoffman for a possible fall. He was unable to do so as he rode Hoffman for a total of 5:01 out of the 7 minute match. Kerkvliet completes the lineup for Penn State who will now have all 10 wrestlers competing in the quarterfinals tomorrow afternoon.

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