Penn State wrestling puts depth on display, runs away with Black Knight Invitational

Penn State wrestling dominated the Black Knight Invitational Sunday in West Point, New York, the second event of the young 2024-25 season. The Nittany Lions owned the podium, winning nine out of ten individual titles, and flashed the program’s future with 18 of the team’s 22 wrestlers placing at the event.

Nine members of Penn State wrestling program win individual titles at 2024 Black Knight Invitational

Penn State wrestling returned from West Point with the top prize in every weight class except for 133 pounds, where Braeden Davis did not compete due to an injury suffered in the season opener against Drexel, and Aaron Nagao is dealing with an offseason injury.

Below are the results for the nine other weight classes. Matches against teammates do not count toward NCAA metrics.

125: Luke Lilledahl – 1st

No. 33 Luke Lilledahl finally hit the mat in the Blue and White and did not disappoint. The true freshman cruised to the 125-pound title, including a 19-4 tech fall in the Final over No. 21 Charlie Farmer of Army. He finished the tournament 2-0 because his match against teammate Kurt McHenry does not count towards his record.

141: Beau Bartlett – 1st

No. 3 Beau Bartlett survived with a  4-1 in sudden victory over Rutgers’ Joe Fongaro in the Quarterfinals. After the close match, the senior cruised and pinned No. 28 Todd Carter of Gardner Webb in the Final to finish 4-0 on the day.

149: Shayne Van Ness – 1st

© Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

No. 2 Shayne Van Ness logged his first official matches of the season in dominant fashion, going 4-0 on his way to the 149-pound title. Van Ness finished the tournament with two tech falls and a major. One of those tech falls was a 19-4 victory over Andrew Clark of Rutgers in the Final.

157: Tyler Kasak – 1st

No. 4 Tyler Kasak had a strong showing, picking up two tech falls and a major before defeating teammate Alex Facundo 5-2 in the Final to win the 157 bracket. Despite the loss, Facundo also had a dominant performance, picking up four tech falls on his way to the Final.

With the 157-pound starting spot still up in the air, this tournament is yet another data point for Cael Sanderson and the coaching staff to evaluate.

165: Mitchell Mesenbrink – 1st

No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler thanks to his dominant performance, finishing with four tech falls. Mesenbrink defeated Carter Baer (Binghamton) 18-3, Cam Adams (Michigan State) 18-1, No. 32 Tony White (Rutgers) 19-4, and No. 14 Gunner Filipowicz (Army) 17-2. The tournament showed just how far above Mesenbrink is from the average ranked wrestler in his weight class.

174: Levi Haines/Matt Lee – 1st

© Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

No. 2 Levi Haines shared the tournament title with Nittany Lion teammate Matt Lee as both made the Final and chose not to wrestle. Haines pinned his first two opponents before securing a tech fall in the Semifinals. Lee earned a tech fall in his first match before upsetting No. 31 Dalton Harkins of Army 5-4 to advance to the Final.

184: Carter Starocci/Zack Ryder – 1st

No. 1 Carter Starocci rolled through the tournament, picking up a 20-3 tech fall sandwiched between two pins on his way to the Final. True freshman Zack Ryder made his Penn State wrestling debut with a first-round pin before upsetting No. 21 Brian Soldano of Rutgers in the Quarterfinals. Ryder won another close match over Shane Cartegena-Walsh of Rutgers in the Semifinals to reach the Final, where the Nittany Lions again chose not to compete.

197: Josh Barr – 1st

No. 23 Josh Barr brought home the title at 197 pounds thanks to two pins and a major. He defeated teammate Lucas Cochran with a 10-1 major in the Final. Cochran went 3-0 with a tech and a major before falling to Barr. Similar to 157, the battle for the 197-pound spot is still ongoing. The dominant win by Josh Barr in this tournament should undoubtedly have an impact on Cael Sanderson’s decision.

285: Greg Kerkvliet/Cole Mirasola – 1st

© Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet picked up two first-period falls and a tech fall on his way to the Final. Cole Mirasola picked up a 19-4 tech fall win over Sam Sorenson of Army and a pin of Michigan State’s Max Vanadia. The two teammates again chose to split the title.

Nittany Lions overwhelmed the competition

Penn State wrestling was the far superior program participating in this tournament. The Nittany Lions arguably could have won every weight class if it weren’t for the injuries to Braeden Davis and Aaron Nagao.

While most of the wins won’t impact the already highly ranked top five wrestlers in the Penn State lineup, it will be interesting to see how the victories of some of the freshmen are evaluated. Luke Lilledahl and Josh Barr dominated their opponents and entered the weekend ranked No. 33 and No. 23, respectively.

Penn State not only flexed its depth with multiple all-Nittany Lion Finals, but also had good showings from wrestlers down the depth chart. Connor Mirasola finished third at 197 with an official 3-0 mark, including a pin and major. His only blemish was an 11-0 loss to teammate Josh Barr in the Semifinals. Mirasola upset No. 27 Remy Cotton of Michigan State in the 3rd place match with an 8-4 win.

Kurt McHenry took 3rd at 125 and officially finished with a 2-0 record. His unofficial loss was a 13-1 major decision against Luke Lilledahl. Timothy Levine and Kyison Garcia took 5th and 6th at 133 pounds.

Penn State wrestling will return to its dual schedule when the Nittany Lions travel to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to take on Lehigh on December 8.

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