Penn State wrestling flashes young talent at Mat-Town 2

Penn State wrestling took care of Maryland with an easy 42-6 win on Sunday. However, not all of the Nittany Lions made the trip to College Park, as a few key members of the team headed to Lock Haven for the Mat-Town 2 Tournament. Several promising young contributors to the Penn State wrestling team, including Tyler Kasak, David Evans, Lucas Cochran, and Josh Barr, experienced much success in Lock Haven over the weekend. What did we learn from the young Nittany Lion wrestlers who participated?

Decision time at 149 for Penn State

Going in, it was thought that the Mat-Town 2 Tournament could be the final test to decide who gets the starting role at 149 for the rest of the season. No. 12 Tyler Kasak (10-1) ended up defeating teammate David Evans (12-3) by a 4-2 decision in the tournament final. Kasak finished 4-0 with a pin and major in the tournament. David Evans went 3-1 with a tech fall and a major.

Both wrestlers have been close this year, but neither seems to have taken control of the starting spot. The question remains on whether head coach Cael Sanderson decides to redshirt Kasak because of how close he and Evans are in skill. Both have not used their redshirt yet this season, but based on recruiting rankings, the true freshman Kasak does have more upside in the long term.

Josh Barr continues to dominate

True freshman Josh Barr had a dominant performance this weekend, as he finished 3-0 with two technical falls to win the title at 184 pounds. Barr is now 11-0 on the season, with a bonus percentage of 63.64%.

Barr is redshirting this season behind graduated transfer Bernie Truax in the depth chart. But after Truax moves on, it looks like Cael Sanderson has his next great wrestler at 184 pounds in Josh Barr.

Lucas Cochran wins 197

Sophomore Lucas Cochran went 2-0 with a pair of pins to take first at 197 pounds. Cochran is now 6-2 on the season and 25-7 for his career.

Replacing potential four-time national champion Aaron Brooks will be a challenge next year, but Cochran is trending toward being the guy when the weight is up for grabs.

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