PREVIEW: Penn State wrestling faces first test at No. 23 Lehigh

No. 1 Penn State wrestling (1-0) will look to extend its dual win streak to 58 when it travels to eastern Pennsylvania to take on rival No. 23 Lehigh (1-1) on Sunday. The first real test of the 2024-25 season, what can we expect to see this weekend as Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions look to extend their win streak over a top-25 ranked in-state rival?

Penn State wrestling vs. Lehigh preview

The Nittany Lions enter with a 1-0 record after defeating Drexel 41-3 on November 17. Lehigh is 1-1 on the year following a 37-7 victory over Morgan State and a 21-12 loss to Pitt.

Penn State wrestling holds a 74-34-3 all-time record over Lehigh. The Nittany Lions are currently on a 13-dual win streak against the Mountain Hawks. Last year, Penn State defeated Lehigh 30-10 at Rec Hall, while the previous matchup in Bethlehem saw the Nittany Lions come away with a 24-12 victory.

Cael Sanderson will enter the dual with all 10 of his starting wrestlers ranked. The only two wrestlers outside the top-10 of their respective weight classes are a pair of freshmen: No. 16 Luke Lilledahl (125) and No. 23 Josh Barr (197). The entire lineup is a combined 35-0 through the Drexel dual and Black Knight Invitational. That doesn’t include two wrestlers currently in competition for starting spots, Alex Facundo (5-0) and Lucas Cochran (4-0), who are also undefeated.

Lehigh will enter the dual with six ranked wrestlers, including a trio of seniors in the top 10 of their weight classes. To pull an upset, the Mountain Hawks will need production from No. 1 Ryan Crookham (133), No. 6 Michael Beard (197), and No. 10 Owen Trephan (285).

Match to watch

© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

197: No. 23 Josh Barr 3-0 (PSU) vs No. 6 Michael Beard 9-0 (LEH)

Josh Barr will face his biggest test of the young season when he takes on former Nittany Lion Michael Beard at the PPL Center on Sunday. Beard is a two-time All-American, once at Penn State and once at Lehigh. He is already off to a 9-0 start and defeated No. 15 Mac Stout of Pittsburgh in his last match. He has already defeated No. 13 Zac Braunagel (Illinois) and No. 10 Luke Geog (Ohio State) this fall.

On the other hand, Barr is a bit more of a wildcard. He has four wins, but two are against teammates Lucas Cochran and Connor Mirasola. The Penn State wrestling room is one of the most competitive in the country, so those wins might carry more weight than people think. Cochran ranks No. 21 and Mirasola ranks No. 31 currently on WrestleStat. Yet, nothing thus far compares to the sixth-year Beard, who has a 91-20 career record with a 62.5% bonus percentage.

Barr has the talent—he ranked No. 8 overall in his recruiting class two years ago. It is just a matter of whether or not he has developed enough to compete at the All-American level in the weight class. If he can, Penn State wrestling could be well situated to have All-Americans in all 10 weight classes this season.

Projected lineups:

125: No. 16 Luke Lilledahl 3-0 (PSU) vs No. 15 Sheldon Seymour 6-1 (LEH)

133: No. 10 Braeden Davis 1-0 (PSU) vs No. 1 Ryan Crookham 1-0/Matty Lopes 3-0 (LEH)

141: No. 3 Beau Bartlett 4-0 (PSU) vs No. 22 Malyke Hines 2-2 (LEH)

149: No. 2 Shayne Van Ness 4-0 (PSU) vs No. 29 Kelvin Griffin 4-2 (LEH)

157: No. 4 Tyler Kasak 3-0/Alex Facundo 5-0 (PSU) vs Logan Rozynski 4-1 (LEH)

165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink 5-0 (PSU) vs Thayne Lawrence 5-4 (LEH)

174: No. 2 Levi Haines 4-0 (PSU) vs Rylan Rogers 4-2 (LEH) 

184: No. 1 Carter Starocci 4-0 (PSU) vs Jack Wilt 3-1 (LEH)

197: No. 23 Josh Barr 3-0/Lucas Cochran 4-0 (PSU) vs No. 6 Michael Beard 9-0 (LEH)

285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet 4-0 (PSU) vs No. 10 Owen Trephan 0-0/Calvin Lachman 2-3 (LEH)

Penn State vs. Lehigh predictions:

125: No. 16 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) by decision

133: No. 1 Ryan Crookham (LEH) by major 

141: No. 3 Beau Bartlett (PSU) by major

149: No. 2 Shayne Vane Ness (PSU) by tech fall

157: No. 5 Tyler Kasak/Alex Facundo (PSU) by major

165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) by tech fall

174: No. 2 Levi Haines (PSU) by tech fall

184: No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) by tech fall

197: No. 23 Josh Barr (PSU) by decision

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) by major

Final Score: Penn State  38 – Lehigh 4

This will be a dual where Penn State wrestling can show just how dominant the program could be this season. While away from Rec Hall, plenty of Nittany Lions fans will be present at Allentown’s PPL Center. If Lehigh wants to make this dual competitive, the Mountain Hawks will need to win at 133 and 197 and maybe pull off an upset or two.

I don’t see that happening Sunday, as the depth of this Penn State lineup will simply be too much. The only two wrestlers not ranked in the top 10 are Luke Lilledahl and Josh Barr, both of whom could make a statement in this dual. I think both pull off upset wins over higher-ranked opponents that jump them inside the top 10 come next week.

Lilledahl would be the less surprising of the two upsets, as he is only ranked one spot behind Lehigh’s Sheldon Seymour. However, Josh Barr potentially beating Michael Beard would send shockwaves through the 197-pound weight class. Wins from both Nittany Lions could turn this dual from a solid victory to an absolute blowout.

The only match I see Lehigh winning is at 133 pounds, where there are still questions surrounding the health of Braeden Davis. If he does wrestle, taking on National Championship-favorite Ryan Crookham will not be easy. He certainly would have a chance to win, but I don’t know if it happens at this point in the season.

Penn State wrestling will have an opportunity to shut out Lehigh and exceed the 40-point threshold. A conservative projection would be Penn State winning by about a 27-10 score. But if everything goes right for Cael Sanderson’s squad and the Nittany Lions get some unexpected pins, we could see the final up towards a 48-0 win. Lehigh will undoubtedly be more competitive than the latter. Still, if it does get ugly, it may be time to start the conversation about whether or not Penn State can break more records at the NCAA Championships in March.

How to watch?

Date: December 8, 2024

Time: 2:00 p.m. ET

TV: FloWrestling

Location: PPL Center

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