Penn State wrestling continued its dominance in the Big Ten Championships from the morning and afternoon straight into the evening session on Saturday. After getting nine of 10 wrestlers to the semifinal round earlier in the day, the Nittany Lions took care of business yet again, sending a program record seven to the finals. With their success in College Park on Saturday, Cael Sanderson and Penn State are in the driver’s seat to lock up a second consecutive conference tournament championship on Sunday.
Penn State wrestling sends record-breaking number of wrestlers to finals of Big Ten Championships
After a dominant quarterfinal round on Saturday afternoon, Penn State wrestling continued the momentum with a record-breaking semifinal performance Saturday night.
The Nittany Lions advanced nine competitors to Saturday’s semifinal round, missing a perfect sweep after star wrestler Carter Starocci was forced to injury default out of his quarterfinal match against Andrew Sparks. Of those nine, a program-record seven will wrestle for individual conference titles in tomorrow’s final round.
Team standings after the Big Ten Championships semifinal round:
No. 1: Penn State — 136
No. 2: Michigan — 105.5
No. 3: Nebraska — 89
No. 4: Iowa — 88.5
No. 5: Ohio State — 78.5
Big Ten Championships semifinal recap:
125: No. 6 Braeden Davis (PSU) def No. 7 Michael DeAugustino (MICH) by 5-2 decision
Both wrestlers were great defensively throughout the match. After a scoreless first period, both Braeden Davis and Michael DeAugustino picked up a quick escape to send it to sudden victory 1-1. After no scoring in sudden victory, DeAugustino started down and picked up an escape. After Davis matched the escape in similar time, the riding time was reset to 0:00, and the match continued with yet another sudden victory.
After an inside trip attempt by DeAgustino, Davis flipped and took the Michigan wrestler to the mat to get the takedown and win the match. It was an impressive win for the true freshman, who remained calm and patient the entire match, waited for his best opportunity, and converted.
Davis will now face No. 4 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) in the finals.
133: No. 1 Dylan Ragusin (MICH) def No. 5 Aaron Nagao (PSU) by 6-3 decision
Dylan Ragusin got the early first-period takedown and picked up over a minute of riding time in the process. Aaron Nagao was able to get a reversal towards the end of the period but still trailed 4-2. Nagao opened the second period with a quick escape to cut the lead to 4-3. Ragusin started on the bottom to start the third and Nagao wasn’t able to get the riding time under 60 seconds before the escape.
Nagao was a second too late to send the match to sudden victory, as the whistle sounded right before he was able to secure a takedown. It was a tough match, but one that Nagao was competitive the entire way.
Nagao will now head to the consolation bracket and look for a top three finish.
141: No. 1 Beau Bartlett (PSU) def No. 5 Sergio Lemley (MICH) by 5-4 decision
After a scoreless first period, Beau Bartlett picked up the escape and then a takedown to jump out to a 4-0 lead after two periods. Sergio Lemley was able to pick up a quick escape and then a takedown of Bartlett with under a minute to go to tie the match up at 4-4. Bartlett then got the escape and held off Lemley for the final 30 seconds of the period and advance.
It was a classic Beau Bartlett match. The score was close, but the Nittany Lion’s patience and defensive nature ultimately helped him pull out the win.
Bartlett will face Jesse Mendez (OSU) in the finals.
149: No. 1 Ridge Lovett (NEB) def No. 4 Tyler Kasak (PSU) by 4-0 decision
Neither wrestler was able to get any offense going in the first period. Ridge Lovett picked up a quick escape to start the second period and took a 1-0 lead heading into the third. Kasak then chose to go neutral to start the period, and to avoid trying to escape Lovett, who is one of the best in the country on top.
It seemed like Lovett was wearing down Kasak the entire third period. He eventually picked up the takedown and rode out to win 4-0. It was a hard-fought loss for the Penn State true freshman, who will now head to the consolation bracket and try to place third in the Big Ten Championships.
157: No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) def No. 4 Jared Franek (IOWA) by 5-0 decision
Levi Haines picked up an escape and then a late second-period takedown to take a 4-0 lead into the final period. Haines then showed his dominance in the top position and never let Jared Franek have a chance to score with a third-period ride-out. The Nittany Lion sophomore ended up with 2:19 of riding time and didn’t seem to sweat at all the entire match, even flashing a smile to the camera afterward.
Haines will next take on No. 7 Will Lewan (MICH) in the finals.
165: No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) def No. 3 Michael Caliendo (IOWA) by 23-7 tech fall decision
Mitchell Mesenbrink came out aggressive early and quickly was on the board with a takedown just 30 seconds in to take a 3-0 lead. The Penn State redshirt freshman continued to attack and found himself up 9-3 after the first period. A few more takedowns from Mesenbrink extended the score to 16-6.
But Mesenbrink didn’t stop attacking there, and finished with a dominant 23-7 tech fall win. There isn’t much else to say at this point, as the freshman continues to establish himself as a legitimate national title contender at 165 pounds.
The victory sets up a highly anticipated match with No. 1 Dean Hamiti (WISC) in the Big Ten finals.
184: No. 3 Bernie Truax (PSU) def No. 2 Lenny Pinto (NEB) by 4-2 decision
After a scoreless first period, both wrestlers exchanged escapes before Bernie Truax picked up the first takedown of the match with 1:12 remaining to take a 4-1 lead. Lenny Pinto picked up the quick escape but was unable to get the takedown he needed, thanks, in part, to great strength and defense by Truax.
The win avenged a loss that Truax picked up against Pinto at the end of February. Truax has been close in all of his top-ranked matches this season, and he appears to be getting hot at the right time with the upset over Pinto.
He will next take on No. 1 Isaiah Salazar (MINN) in the finals.
197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) def No. 5 Silas Allred (NEB) by 14-2 major decision
Aaron Brooks dominated from the opening whistle with a takedown just 10 seconds in and never looked back. The Penn State senior appeared to have picked up the pin in the second period, holding Silas Allred’s back to the mat for a solid 30+ seconds, but didn’t get the call. Instead, he took the near-fall points and a 10-1 lead into the third period.
Aaron Brooks finished it off with a 14-2 major decision and will look to win his fourth Big Ten title Sunday. He will face No. 3 Zach Glazier (IOWA) in the finals.
285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) def No. 4 Yaraslau Slavikouski (RUT) by 9-0 decision
Greg Kerkvliet has been the undisputed No. 1 wrestler in the country at heavyweight this season, and that didn’t change on Saturday night. Kerkvliet picked up an early first-period takedown to take a 3-0 lead and then rode out Yaraslau Slavikouski for the rest of the period. With the help of a stall call, Kerkvliet took a 4-0 lead into the second period.
The Nittany Lion heavyweight cruised to a 9-0 major decision and will remain undefeated in his advance to the final round. His opponent will be No. 2 Nick Feldman (OSU) to conclude the Big Ten Championships on Sunday night.
Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions look to wrap up dominant Big Ten Championships performance
Cael Sanderson and Penn State wrestling will finish the Big Ten Championships with the first, third, and fifth-place matches starting Sunday at 4:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. Consolation semifinals and seventh-place duals begin at noon on BTN+.
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