Penn State Wrestling: True freshmen duo vault into national rankings for first time

Penn State wrestling is coming off a dominant 46-0 win over Indiana last Sunday at Rec Hall. Several young wrestlers were showcased once again, as Cael Sanderson continues to highlight their improvement and the depth of the Nittany Lions‘ lineup. Now, two Penn State true freshmen, Braeden Davis and Tyler Kasak, have entered the national rankings at their respective weight classes for the first time this season.

Braeden Davis finally solves the 125 problem for Penn State

Braeden Davis has finally entered the InterMat Rankings at No. 14 after a 10-0 start to the season. The true freshman looks to finally be the answer to the 125-pound woes in recent years under Cael Sanderson. Long gone are the days of going down five or six points after the first match in a dual. The Nittany Lions have a rising star in Davis who will get plenty of opportunities in Big Ten duals to move up in the rankings.

The 125-pound weight class has truly been wide open this season. No wrestler other than Braeden Davis is still undefeated in the InterMat top 33. While the freshman has already taken down No. 16 Brandon Kaylor of Oregon State, the rest of the schedule will give fans a better idea of just how much the young wrestler has progressed.

Future opponents for Davis will include No. 5 Michael DeAugustino (Michigan), No. 1 Drake Ayala (Iowa), No. 13 Dean Peterson (Rutgers), and No. 7 Caleb Smith (Nebraska).

Tyler Kasak fulfilling lofty expectations at 149

Tyler Kasak has been another youthful bright spot for Penn State wrestling this season, and now enters the InterMat rankings at No. 12. The true freshman is 6-1 on the year, with his only loss coming to teammate Beau Bartlett at 141 pounds in the Black Knight Invite. Kasak has now defeated ranked wrestlers in consecutive weeks with over No. 15 Nash Singleton (Oregon State) and No. 14 Graham Rooks (Indiana).

This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to wrestling fans, as Kasak was a highly-ranked prospect for the 2023 class. While he may not have wrestled a high quantity of matches so far, the quality has been all Cael Sanderson and Penn State could ask for.

Like Davis, the tough part of the dual schedule will also be coming for Kasak. His future opponents will include No. 6 Austin Gomez (Michigan), No. 9 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State), No. 11 Caleb Rathjen (Iowa), and No. 1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska).

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