Takeaways: Penn State wrestling rolls No. 18 Oregon State on the road

Penn State wrestling put together one of the most dominant performances on the season with a 36-3 win over No. 18 Oregon State on Friday evening. The Nittany Lions pulled off multiple upsets, including great performances by a number of freshmen. Here are some key takeaways from the win.

Finally, Penn State may have an answer at 125

Cael Sanderson may finally have an answer at 125, as Braeden Davis pulled off the upset decision over No. 15 Brandon Kaylor of Oregon State, 11-6. The last few years have been tough for the Nittany Lions at 125, with many duals often starting with a 3, 4, 5, or 6-point deficit. Add on the fact that Penn State doesn’t usually qualify anyone at 125 for the NCAA Tournament, and it essentially has been a lost weight class.

Davis was one of the top recruits in the country out of high school, and the true freshman is showing why early in the season. The 125-pounder is 9-0 on the season and now has a quality win over a top-15 opponent.

There is still a long way to go to see whether Davis will have a shot to qualify and compete in the NCAA Tournament, as we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. However, if Levi Haines taught us anything last season, it is that Cael Sanderson can have these guys developed quickly, and they can go from being inexperienced to All-American in one season.

Kasak shocks at 149

When Shayne Van Ness went down with a season-ending injury, it appeared Penn State wrestling was going to lose its scoring from the 149 weight class. Tyler Kasak changed that on Friday night, with a shocking 4-1 upset decision over No. 11 Nash Singleton of Oregon State. Kasak is another true freshman making waves for Penn State early this season, and is off to a 5-1 start.

As already mentioned with Davis, it is still too early to tell what kind of production Penn State wrestling will get out of Kasak. This is just one match, but he could be a contributor going forward that could help the team in both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament.

Haines survives scare at 157

No. 1 Levi Haines survived a scare on Friday night to unranked Isaiah Crosby of Oregon State. Crosby jumped out to a 6-2 lead after the 1^st period and remained up 6-3 heading into the 3^rd. Haines finally was able to get his offense going and ended up squeaking out a 10-8 victory. It was certainly not something anyone expected, but it could be the result of the long layoff in between matches.

Haines improves to 6-0 on the season and will remain a contender for a national title at 157. Whether this match drops him out of the No. 1 spot remains to be seen, but it will be a teaching moment for the young wrestler at the very least.

Mesenbrink pulls off tech fall upset at 165

No. 12 Mitchell Mesenbrink has been impressive this season, and put together one of his most complete performances to date with a 17-2 tech fall victory over No. 10 Matthew Olguin of Oregon State. The redshirt freshmen picked up the technical fall in the 2^nd period at the 3:44 mark of the match. Mesenbrink improves to 10-0 on the season and continues to inch up towards the top 10 with each win.

With all the national title contenders and top-ranked wrestlers around him in the lineup, it is easy to overlook the rising freshman. Mesenbrink currently has earned bonus points in 8 out of his 10 wins and continues to have a dominant start to the season.

Don’t be surprised if he is in the top 10 of the updated rankings at 165, and if he continues to improve, he may make a push for All-American status this season.

Truax upset at 184

No. 2 Bernie Truax took his 1^st official defeat of the season when he lost 5-2 via decision to No. 6 Trey Munoz. It drops the graduate senior to 5-1 on the season and puts some doubt into whether he is a true contender at 184. Truax had previously lost an unofficial match in the NWCA classic to No. 1 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa 7-5 in Rec Hall. That match didn’t count against his final record, but it certainly is something to factor in.

One loss doesn’t define a season; plenty of Penn State wrestlers have lost multiple times during the regular season, and even in the Big Ten Tournament, but have gone on to win national titles. It is something to monitor going forward, though, as the difficulty of the Big Ten schedule ramps up and Truax continues to face top competition.

Penn State wrestling finds a way to impress once again

Penn State wrestling somehow shocked me yet again this season, pulling off 3 upsets and dominating this match from start to finish. I predicted a 28-10 result, with the Beavers winning a few matches and leaning on the home crowd. The Nittany Lions were dominant from the very beginning and were close to completely shutting out the No. 16 team in the country.

I think what we learned is that Penn State truly has the potential to send a representative from all 10 weight classes to the NCAA Tournament. This hasn’t been a given in recent years with the struggles at 125. On top of that, Penn State has a long list of guys who can win the national championship and, at a minimum, finish as All-Americans. While many thought breaking the NCAA Championship points record was out of reach following the Shayne Van Ness announcement, the emergence of Davis and Kasak could put that possibility back on the table.

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