Penn State wrestling: Second true freshman vaults into top 10 of national rankings

Penn State wrestling is cruising through the regular season, now 8-0 heading into this weekend’s highly anticipated dual against No. 3 Iowa. A key to the Nittany Lions‘ dominance this year has been a trio of freshmen wrestlers who have exceeded expectations early in their careers. This week, Tyler Kasak saw his early season success pay off in the polls, as he became the second Nittany Lion true freshman to rank inside the top 10 of his weight class.

True freshman Tyler Kasak enters the top 10 of national rankings

Tyler Kasak has been climbing in the InterMat Rankings after replacing the injured Shayne Van Ness earlier this season. While the true freshman hasn’t officially been declared the starter, his success on the mat has propelled him up to No. 10 in the latest national rankings at 149 pounds.

Kasak holds an 11-1 record on the season with a 41.67% bonus percentage. His only loss of the season came at 141 pounds to teammate Beau Bartlett in the Black Knight Invite.

The true freshman will get another opportunity on Friday to wrestle against a ranked opponent when he takes on No. 12 Caleb Rathjen of Iowa. Carver-Hawkeye Arena is one of the hardest places to wrestle and can cause veterans to make mistakes. Seeing how Tyler Kasak performs in this match could go a long way toward determining if he will be Cael Sanderson’s starter for the rest of the season, as well as his ability to contend at the national level.

Penn State wrestling has top 10 wrestlers in every weight class

With Tyler Kasak moving to No. 10, Penn State now has a wrestler in the top 10 at all ten weight classes.  Five Nittany Lion wrestlers are now ranked No. 1, with Beau Bartlett (141), Levi Haines (157), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (197), and Greg Kerkvliet (285) all taking the top spot.

Fellow true freshman Braeden Davis is now up to No. 2 at 125 pounds. Redshirt freshman Mitchell Mesenbrink remained steady at No. 7 at 165 pounds. Aaron Nagao (133) and Bernie Truax (184) enter this week ranked No. 6 by InterMat.

No. 1 Penn State wrestling will travel to take on No. 3/6 Iowa in Carver-Hawkeye at 9 pm ET this Friday.

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