No. 1 Penn State Wrestling put on one of the most dominant performances ever at the 2024 Big Ten Wrestling Championships.
After advancing a team-record seven guys to the finals, the Nittany Lions kept the hammer down in the finals and the consolation bracket. Of the nine guys in action on Sunday, two grapplers took home third place (Aaron Nagao and Tyler Kasak), two finished runner-up (Beau Bartlett and Bernie Truax), and five brought home individual titles (Braeden Davis, Levi Haines, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Aaron Brooks, and Greg Kerkvliet).
Here are the final team standings:
1. Penn State 170.5
2. Michigan 123.5
3. Nebraska 118.0
4. Iowa 110.5
And here’s how the wrestling unfolded for both Session III and Session IV of the 2024 Big Ten Championships.
Now onto the action!
Session III – Consolation Matches
133
No. 5 Aaron Nagao major dec. over (PSU) No. 7 Braxton Brown (MD) 9-5
149
No. 4 Tyler Kasak (PSU) dec. over No. 3 Caleb Rathjen (IOWA) 8-1
Session IV – Third Place Matches
133
No. 5 Aaron Nagao (PSU) fall over No. 4 Jacob Van Dee (NEB) 1:52
149
No. 4 Tyler Kasak (PSU) fall over No. 6 Ethen Miller (MD)
Summary
If there were any concerns regarding an underperformance from Aaron Nagao or nervous jitters from a true freshman under the bright lights of postseason collegiate wrestling, then those were put to bed completely.
Granted, both of those concerns were probably manufactured inside of my own brain, but I digress.
Third place finishes from both Nagao and Kasak are a huge statement on how good these young men are and it proves they have what it takes to make a deep run in the 2024 NCAA’s in Kansas City.
Session IV – Finals Matches
125
No. 6 Braeden Davis (PSU) dec. over No. 4 Patrick McKee (MINN) 8-1
141
No. 2 Jesse Mendez (OSU) dec. over No. 1 Beau Bartlett (PSU) 4-1
157
No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) dec. over No. 2 Will Lewan (MICH) 4-1 SV
165
No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) dec. over No. 1 Dean Hamiti (WIS) 13-11
184
No. 1 Isaiah Salazar (MINN) dec. over No. 3 Bernie Truax (PSU) 8-1 SV
197
No. 1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) tech. fall over No. 3 Zach Glazier (IOWA) 19-3
285
No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) dec. over No. 2 Nick Feldman (OSU) 9-3
Summary
To piggy back on what I said earlier about Aaron Nagao, you can apply the same sentiment to Braeden Davis as he gutted his way to the finals with two razor close wins in the quarterfinals and then the semifinals.
And in the finals Davis was about as impressive as a true freshman can possibly be and he looked way more like the guy who was turning heads back in early January. Any doubts about him peaking too early and underperforming in the Big Ten’s can be balled up, thrown out the window, and then blasted by Rick Dalton and his flamethrower.
In the 141 finals both Bartlett and Mendez were locked up in yet another tight one. This match looked like it was going to play out exactly like their bout back in early February with Bartlett snagging the winning takedown in sudden victory.
However Mendez didn’t want to take it to sudden victory a second time. With short time left in the third period, Jesse landed the deciding takedown and there simply wasn’t enough time for Beau to counter.
But hey, that’s the great thing about the Big Ten Championships, you can gain valuable experience and knowledge which can be used when it really matters. If Mendez and Bartlett square off in the upcoming NCAA’s then I would bet my golf clubs that the result will be different.
At 157 Levi Haines proved yet again who’s the best at that weight in the Big Ten. However it wasn’t a walk in the park for him as the Human Stall Machine know as Will Lewan was his counterpart in the finals.
Not surprisingly the match was tied 1-1 going into sudden victory and it wasn’t surprising which grappler landed the winning takedown. Levi Haines is now a two-time Big Ten Champion and it looks like his NCAA title train is rolling full steam into the station in two weeks.
The finals at 165 represented one of, if not THE most anticipated conference final this year.
And when the dust settled between Mitchell Mesenbrink and Dean Hamiti it 100% lived up to the billing.
Mesenbrink was trailing 11-6 following a reversal by Hamiti early in the third period. And this came on the heels of Mesenbrink finally hitting home with his first takedown late in the second period. It looked like Mitchell had momentum on his side … well until Hamiti’s reversal.
Things looked bleak.
As Penn State fans have seen all year with Mesenbrink, he’s a fighter and he’s going to give all out effort until the final whistle blows in every match. And nothing proved this more than how the final minute and 30 seconds unfolded in the 165 finals.
Mitchell broke free of Hamiti with 1:28 left in the third period and he immediately went to work to grab his second takedown. While riding Hamiti, Mesenbrink slammed him down with a mat return. And in the process it put Dean in a really bad position. Mitchell quickly recognized this and nearly pinned Hamiti, but he still got three swipes.
Mesenbrink’s escape, takedown, and three near fall point sequence moved the match from him being down 11-6 to him being up 13-11. Which is where the match ultimately finished and Mitchell Mesenbrink walks out of College Park as a Big Ten Champion!
Bernie Truax exceeded expectations a bit just by avenging a previous loss to Lenny Pinto to land himself in the finals. And there he gave Isaiah Salazar a heck of a fight for the first eight minutes of the match. But with just over a minute remaining in sudden victory Salazar took Truax to the mat and grabbed an additional four near fall points in the process.
Finishing runner-up at the Big Ten’s is a huge accomplishment and it should go a long way with Bernie’s confidence going into the NCAA’s.
Prior to Aaron Brooks’ finals matchup against Zach Glazier, do you know how many of his 16 matches didn’t end with bonus points?
It was one and it was against Glazier back in early February.
And if there were any questions flying around that Glazier can actually compete with Brooks, then those were blown up with several sticks of TNT. Aaron Brooks completely dismantled Glazier in the second bout of the season and the 19-3 technical fall by Brooks was the proverbial cherry on top of his fourth Big Ten title.
In the final matchup of the evening, three-time All-American Greg Kerkvliet was trying to wrap up his first ever Big Ten title. Which is hard to comprehend considering how good he’s been over the past several years. But that’s what happens when you wrestle in the same weight class as Gable Steveson and Mason Parris.
Other than Nick Feldman landing the initial takedown, the match pretty much went the way Penn State Wrestling fans assumed it would. Kerk Kong used his quickness to get his opponent to the mat and then he grinded them into the Resilite until their soul was completely crushed.
And just like that, you have “Greg Kerkvliet – Big Ten Champion”!
A note to our readers; If you make a purchase through one of our affiliate links, we may receive a commission
Education: Penn State University
Location: State College, PA
Even though he had no prior journalism experience, Chris has now covered Penn State Wrestling and Penn State Football for the past three years, including as the Penn State Wrestling Beat Writer for VictoryBellRings.com, part of the FanSided network.
And it's clear he also likes constant torture as he's been a PSU Basketball fan for way too long.
Several years back, Chris made the seamless transition from PGA Professional to computer programmer and thoroughly enjoys following and writing about all things related to Penn State sports during his spare time.
