Takeaways: Penn State wrestling dominates Michigan State for 50th straight dual win

Penn State wrestling took down Michigan State 35-0 for its 50^th straight dual win on Sunday. The Nittany Lions did not wrestle their full lineup, but it didn’t matter as the team improved to 6-0 (3-0 Big Ten) on the season. What did we learn from yet another dominant performance by Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions?

Haines pulls off an incredible escape to remain undefeated

No. 1 Levi Haines had his closest match of the season so far. The sophomore found himself trailing No. 21 Chase Saldate 3-1 after the first period. After a pair of escapes, Haines got a takedown in the third to take a short-lived lead, in which Saldate escaped to make it 5-5 and head to sudden victory. That is where things got interesting as neither wrestler could score in the two minutes of sudden victory.

The match went to a tiebreaker, and Saldate didn’t let Haines escape in the first minute. When it was Haines’s turn to try and ride out Saldate, he was called for locked hands, which looked to give the Spartan the win. But Penn State challenged the call, and it was reversed, sending the match to another sudden victory, this time for one minute.

Again, neither wrestler could get the job done, and it went to two 30-second tiebreaker periods. Haines was doing his best to keep Saldate down, but was called for stalling and trailed 6-5, starting on the bottom for the next 30 seconds. Haines tried to escape, but was forced to the edge of the mat with nine seconds left. Then in an incredible twist, the Nittany Lion wrestler got a reversal as the buzzer sounded to pull off the 7-6 win.

The victory showed both the resilience of Levi Haines but also the concerns that some fans have had this season. He just hasn’t looked as dominant as we saw during his freshman campaign. Whether it is needing to battle back against unranked opponents or struggling mightily with a wrestler ranked No. 21, something just seems off.

There is still time to get back on track before the NCAA Tournament, but if things don’t improve soon, I wouldn’t be surprised if Haines picked up a loss or two during the remaining Big Ten dual schedule.

Mesenbrink dominates another top-10 opponent

Mitchell Mesenbrink once again dominated another top opponent on Sunday, as he defeated No. 10 Caleb Fish by major decision 18-9. This came just two days after the freshman took down No. 7 Cameron Amine 11-1 on Friday night. Mesenbrink is quickly rising to be one of the best wrestlers at 165 this season and was No. 9 heading into the weekend.

There have already been rumblings on social media about a potential matchup with No. 1 Keegan O’Toole of Missouri in the NCAA Championships. Obviously, there is still a lot of time between now and then, but the two wrestlers are the only remaining undefeated wrestlers at 165. Mesenbrink has now defeated No. 13 Matthew Olguin (Oregon State), No. 23 Tyler Lillard (Indiana), No. 7 Cameron Amine (Michigan), and No. 10 Caleb Fish (Michigan State) in four consecutive matches.

Add in the fact that Olguin, Amine, and Fish were all defeated on the road to make the feat even more impressive. There is something about Mesenbrink’s style that I think excites fans. Even on Sunday, he went up 3-0 quickly and then got taken down and gave back points to fall behind 6-3. Some wrestlers would become more cautious after a near catastrophe. But not Mesenbrink. He continued to be aggressive and ended the match with four consecutive takedowns. It may be time to start talking about Mesenbrink’s dominance as we do with Starocci, Brooks, and Kerkvliet.

Bartlett shows patience in win

Beau Bartlett has been nothing if not consistent this season. He isn’t going to be flashy and aggressive like we see from Mesenbrink or Starocci, but he knows when to pick his spots and score. On Sunday, Bartlett found himself tied 1-1 with No. 33 Jordan Hamden of Michigan State heading into the third period.

Hamden took a high shot on Bartlett, which was countered with a takedown, taking the Spartan to his back for a three-point near fall. From there, Bartlett picked up some riding time and left with an 8-2 victory. The win showed just how patient the senior is. He didn’t get over anxious when his offensive attempts weren’t working. He just stayed the course and waited for his opponent to make a mistake.

There is one end goal for Bartlett this season, and that is to win the National Championship. After finishing third last season, there are really three major hurdles in his way to reach the top of the podium. Those are No. 3 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State), No. 1 Real Woods (Iowa), and No. 8 Brock Hardy (Nebraska). Woods and Hardy were two of the seniors’ losses last season, and both look to be in contention again.  Bartlett will get an opportunity to wrestle all three in the dual season and, most likely, the Big Ten Tournament before the NCAAs.

Nagao rebounds after Friday’s loss

Aaron Nagao suffered his second loss of the season on Friday when he was pinned in sudden victory by No. 6 Dylan Ragusin of Michigan. He bounced back on Sunday with a quick 18-3 tech fall victory over Andrew Hampton in 3:21. The win improves Nagao to 8-2 on the season with an 80% bonus percentage.

This was a great rebound win to get Nagao back on track and confident going forward. His two losses have come to the No. 1 and No. 6 wrestlers in the weight class. Neither were winnable matchups. Nagao will get an opportunity to wrestle a few more top-20 opponents down the stretch in dual season, and then hopefully get a rematch with Ragusin in the Big Ten Tournament.

Brooks makes it look easy

Stop me if you have heard this before, but No. 1 Aaron Brooks made it look easy in his 21-6 tech fall win over No. 29 Kael Wisler. The senior just continued to take down and let up Wisler until the 15-point differential was reached at the 4:00 mark. Brooks has been cruising this season. He is now 8-0 and has scored bonus points in all his wins.

There doesn’t seem to be much slowing Aaron Brooks down as he looks to add his name to the list of four-time NCAA Champions. The Big Ten is weaker at 197 this season, with just three other wrestlers in the top 15. Brooks will have to wrestle all three of No. 5 Jaxon Smith (Maryland), No. 9 John Poznanski (Rutgers), and No. 14 Zach Glazier (Iowa) during the dual season.

Poznanski and Glazier are both still undefeated, but are the two lowest out of the six remaining unbeatens at 197. Three wrestlers ranked behind Brooks are all still unbeaten, although matchups with any of them would have to take place within the NCAA Tournament. Until then, all Brooks can do is keep on winning.

Penn State wrestling crushes Michigan State without full lineup

It is that time of the year when sickness goes around, and it can impact even top-level athletes. This weekend, Carter Starocci and Tyler Kasak missed both the Friday and Sunday matches. Greg Kerkvliet missed the Michigan State match, although it hasn’t been said whether or not he was also not feeling well.

It didn’t matter for Penn State wrestling, who pulled off the 35-0 shutout with only seven of its 10 starters in the lineup. All three replacements, David Evans, Terrell Barraclough, and Lucas Cochran, picked up wins and kept the shutout intact. While the score may have been closer to the 40-point mark had it been a full lineup, it demonstrated just how deep and competitive the Penn State wrestling room is and why the Cael Sanderson dynasty is here to stay.

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