Penn State wrestling live blog: NCAA Championships Semifinals

It will be a Penn State wrestling-heavy Semifinal Round at the NCAA Championships on Friday night with seven Nittany Lions competing for a chance at a national title.

After sending all 10 wrestlers to the Quarterfinals, Penn State wrestling slowed slightly with Luke Lilledahl, Braeden Davis, and Tyler Kasak all falling on Friday afternoon. But the Nittany Lions ultimately continued to build upon their large lead, now 25 points ahead of the field.

Live blog: Penn State wrestling competes in NCAA Semifinals

Friday night’s session will feature a six-mat dog bone-style setup, with the Semifinal matchups taking place in the center of the Wells Fargo Center floor. Lilledahl, Davis, and Kasak will compete on the outer mats in the consolation bracket.

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 Session 4)

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NCAA Semifinal results

141: No. 3 Jesse Mendez (OHST) def No. 2 Beau Bartlett (PSU) by 2-1 decision (TB)

Both wrestlers spent much of the first period feeling each other and the result was no score. Beau Bartlett started the 2nd period on the bottom and escaped quickly in just 7 seconds to take the 1-0 lead. Mendez matched Bartlett with a 7 second escape to begin the 3rd to tie the score at 1-1. Both wrestlers seemed to be cautious through the first two periods and it was clear the familiarity with each others style.

Mendez got in on the leg with and appeared to have the take down as time was expiring in the 3rd period but the referees didn’t award it. The Ohio State corner immediately through the challenge brick and the call was upheld sending he match to sudden victory. Neither wrestler once again could finish from neutral and the match went to tiebreakers.

Bartlett was able to pick up 27 seconds of riding time before Mendez was able to escape. Mendez was able to ride Bartlett the entire 30 seconds during the tiebreak to pick up the 2-1 victory. Bartlett attempted a roll through with 5 seconds left that appeared to give him the escape but Mendez did an excellent job holding onto an ankle to ride out the remainder of the time. Beau Bartlett now finishes his career 0-3 against Jesse Mendez in Championship bracket competitions.

149: No. 2 Ridge Lovett (NEB) def No. 3 Shayne Van Ness by 14-8 decision

Ridge Lovett came out firing quickly picking up a takedown in the opening 10 seconds of the match giving him a 3-0 lead. After the restart in the middle Lovett then immediately turned Shayne Van Ness to his back for 3 near fall points to extend his lead to 6-0. He continued to ride Van Ness for the remainder of the period and even got him on his back again for four near fall points to extend his lead to 10-0 at the end of the first.

Lovett opened the second period with an escape but Van Ness quickly was able to pick up the takedown to cut the lead to 11-3. After giving up the escape Van Ness took down Lovett again and cut the lead to 13-6. Lovett got hit for stalling as Van Ness began to turn up the pressure in the 3rd period. Lovett was given another stall call and the lead was trimmed to 13-7 with under one minute remaining. Another stall call cut the lead to 13-8 but it wasn’t enough as the 2nd Penn State semifinalist of the night was defeated.

165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) def No. 12 Christopher Minto (NEB) by 13-2 major decision

Mitchell Mesenbrink came out on the offensive and forced a stall call on Minto to open the match. He then proceeded to get a takedown for the opening points of the match to lead 3-0. Another stall call on Minto pushed the lead to 4-0 to end the 1st period. Mesenbrink started down to begin the 2nd period and he quickly picked up the escape to extend his lead to 5-0. Another takedown by Mesenbrink at the 1:10 mark gave the Nittany Lion an 8-0 lead. The sophomore was in complete control and seemed was physically dominating the 12th seeded Minto.

Mesenbrink opened the 3rd period with an 8-0 lead and riding time already wrapped up. He picked up another point to extend his lead before giving up an escape to make the score 9-1. Another takedown and release gave Mesenbrink a 12-2 lead with under one minute remaining. With the addition of riding time Mesenbrink will be heading to the NCAA Final for the 2nd consecutive year after a dominant 13-2 major decision.

174: No. 3 Dean Hamiti (OKST) def No. 2 Levi Haines by 4-2 decision

Dean Hamiti stunned the Wells Fargo Center Crowd with an early takedown of Levi Haines to grab a 3-0 lead. Haines quickly got the escape to cut the lead to 3-1. Neither wrestler was able to score the remainder of the period and it was Hamiti who held the lead going into the 2nd. Haines started down to begin the 2nd period and picked up a quick escape to cut the lead to 3-2.

Despite a few decent shots by Haines, Hamiti did a good job keeping the Nittany Lion away from his legs to keep the lead at one. Haines released Hamiti to begin the 3rd period and the lead was extended to 4-2 for the Cowboy. A late third period attempt at the right leg of Hamiti was unsuccessful and Haines fails to make the NCAA finals in his first season at 174 pounds. He will wrestle in the Consolation semifinals Saturday morning.

184: No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) def No. 4 Dustin Plott (OKST) by 9-3 decision

Carter Starocci opened the match with a takedown in the opening 20 seconds to take the 3-0 lead. Plott got the escape to cut the lead to 3-1 and had a good attempt on a single leg but Starocci was able to fight it off. Starocci then countered with an attack of his own where he was able to get the takedown and the ride out to lead 6-1 heading into the 2nd period.

Starocci started the 2nd period on the bottom and was able to get the reversal to push the lead to 8-1. Plott got the escape and the score was 8-2 heading into the 3rd period. Plott gets the escape to make it 8-3 but Starocci has riding time wrapped up. A late attempt to get the major decision was unsuccessful but Carter Starocci will compete on Saturday night for his 5th NCAA title.

197: No. 4 Josh Barr (PSU) def No. 1 Jacob Cardenas (MICH) by 5-3 decision

Jacob Cardenas got in on the leg to begin the match but Josh Barr was able to fight through it and counter for the takedown and open the match with a 3-0 lead. Barr pushed the riding time to 1:24 before Cardenas was able to get the escape cutting the lead to 3-1. Barr opened the 2nd period with an escape to retake a 3 point lead and still holding 1:09 of riding time.

Cardenas began the third period on bottom and was able to get the escape to cut the lead to 4-2 but Barr locked up the riding time in the process. Barr got called for stalling twice cutting the score to 4-3 with 15 seconds remaining. It was not enough though as the Penn State redshirt freshman picks up the 5-3 decision and is heading to the NCAA finals.

285: No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson (OKST) def No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet by 8-2 decision

Wyatt Hendrickson gets on the board first with a takedown at the two minute mark of the first period to lead 3-0. After being ridden for a bit, Greg Kerkvliet was able to pick up the escape to cut the lead to 3-1 as the period expired. Kerkvliet opened the 2nd period on bottom and picked up the escape to make it 3-2 but Hendrickson had already built up his riding time to 1:27.

Hendrickson opened the final period with an escape and then turned that momentum into a takedown of his own to open up a 7-2 lead on Kerkvliet with riding time. Hendrickson was able to get the rideout and pick up the 8-2 decision and advance to his first ever NCAA final.

Consolation Round 4 results

125: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) def No. 11 Nicolar Rivera (WISC) by 7-3 decision

133: No. 8 Braeden Davis (PSU) def No. 11 Evan Frost (ISU) by 4-2 decision

157: No. 1 Tyler Kasak (PSU) def No. 14 Jude Swisher (PENN) by 5-4 decision

Consolation Round 5 Results

125: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) def No. 10 Stevo Poulin (UNCO) by 3-0 decision

133: No. 8 Braeden Davis (PSU) def No. 17 Jacob Van Dee (NEB) by 4-2 decision

157: No. 1 Tyler Kasak (PSU) def No. 12 Caleb Fish (OKST) by Fall (4:19)

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