Penn State Wrestling's Shayne Van Ness defeats Chance Lamer 12-5 in Penn State's dual meet against Nebraska (1/30/2026). Credit - Lloyd McCully
Penn State Wrestling completely slapped around the previously unbeaten Ohio State Buckeyes 36-5 last Friday night.
Hey, remember when FloWrestling had Ohio State as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation early this year? That was a fun time in December, right?
Because if there was any doubt about who the best wrestling team in the country was, then the Nittany Lions certainly shut down that conversation.
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Anyway, moving on.
So now that the dust has finally settled on the dual meet, let’s slap a grade on some of the matches and stamp “MVP” on the singlet of the most deserving Penn State wrestler.
Match Grades for Penn State Wrestling
No. 1 Jesse Mendez (OSU) tech. fall over No. 12 Braeden Davis (PSU) 18-2
Credit – Lloyd McCully
You probably think I’m starting off grading this match because it was a loss.
Nope.
The reason I’m starting with this one is two-fold.
Firstly is the fact that there simply aren’t many guys in the country wrestling at the level that Jesse Mendez currently is. Which is mind blowing considering the guy is already a two-time NCAA champion.
Mendez is now a perfect 19-0 on the year. And of those 19 matches, he’s won bonus points in all but two.
His two decision wins came against No. 3 Anthony Echemendia (5-1) and No. 4 Brock Hardy (4-1). So yeah, to say Mendez is “firing on all cylinders” is a massive understatement.
Moreover I think this also puts into better perspective how good Beau Bartlett was. Yes, he did ultimately have a losing record against Mendez, but Beau is the only guy to beat him three times in his collegiate career.
The second reason this match leads the article is what Braeden Davis has had to deal with this year. Because it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing.
Collision course with adversity
Davis started out the year with the expectation of taking a redshirt and letting Aaron Nagao man the ship at 141. However that was short lived as Nagao ended up injuring the same shoulder that sidelined him last year.
So the coaching staff got him entered into the Bobby Kaufman Open and Southern Scuffle. Davis cruised to the title in the BKO, however he was not allowed entry into the Scuffle unattached.
And at this point Penn State Wrestling was heading into the B1G portion of the schedule. So Braeden was thrown directly into the fire, up a weight class from the prior season, in the best wrestling conference in the nation.
Conversely, Davis started off really strong by going 4-1 leading into the Nebraska dual meet. His only loss was a razor close 3-2 loss to No. 11 Nasir Bailey.
But prior to the Cornhusker dual, Braeden thwarted a potentially dangerous apartment fire by jumping into action and throwing the burning object outside. He suffered burns and smoke inhalation in the process.
It’s amazing he even suited up for his match against Brock Hardy. And while he did get caught late in the match, he wrestled incredibly well prior to that.
Then Davis missed the Michigan dual due to a “skin issue”. So that wasn’t great either.
For this reason it can’t exactly be a surprise that he lost to Mendez. Regardless of the score.
But here’s my main point, Braeden Davis will take the mat when the coaching staff asks him to. And every single time, win or lose, he will wrestle his tail off.
So I’m giving Braeden a pass on this match.
Match Grade: B+
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No. 1 Rocco Welsh (PSU) dec. over No. 8 Dylan Fishback (OSU) 7-6
Credit – Lloyd McCully
From the very start, this match did not at all go in Rocco Welsh’s way.
Just after the first period, Welsh was down 3-0 and Fishback already piled up one minute and 32 seconds of riding time. And following a quick escape by Dylan in the second, Rocco was down 4-0 and really up against it.
But did Welsh panic?
Not one bit.
Despite the deficit and being up against the clock, Rocco just kept wrestling.
Following an escape 25 seconds into the final period, Welsh went to work and quickly landed a takedown with a minute remaining.
Then he cut Fishback and continued mounting his attack. However Dylan was trying his best to not do anything as he held a 6-4 advantage (includes the riding time point).
Nonetheless, Rocco snapped down hard on Fishback near the right side of the mat. He then circled to his left and then countered to his right. The lead official raised his hand with three fingers extended and the Bryce Jordan Center crowd erupted.
Match Grade: A++
No. 1 Josh Barr (PSU) major dec. over No. 10 Luke Geog (OSU) 11-2
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Going into Friday night, there was only one wrestler more dominant on the year than Josh Barr. And that guy is his teammate, Mitchell Mesenbrink.
But even though Barr was facing a tough, top-10 opponent that night, he continued to do what he’s done all year.
Which is completely dictate the pace of the match by applying relentless pressure on his opponent.
Barr landed takedowns in each of the three periods as he flashed both his super quick offense and his amazing defense and scrambling abilities. It was an absolute masterclass.
And when the clock hit triple zero’s in this match, it was Barr’s hand raised for the 15th time this season following the 11-2 major decision.
Furthermore, in his 15 matches this year, Josh has landed a total of 43 takedowns. Would you like to guess how many takedowns he’s surrendered?
One.
Match Grade: A+
No. 12 Cole Mirasola (PSU) dec. over No. 3 Nick Feldman (OHST) 4-1
Credit – Lloyd McCully
In spite of the fact that Cole Mirasola has dropped four matches so far this year, he has be oh-so-close in every single one. Just look at the finals in these matches.
7-2 loss to No. 6 Nathan Taylor (LEH)
10-4 loss to No. 11 Christian Carroll (WYO)
2-1 loss to No. 4 AJ Ferrari (NEB)
5-1 loss to No. 5 Taye Ghadiali (MICH)
It wasn’t a matter of “if” but “when” he’d get over the hump and land a whale on the mat.
Well that happened Friday night in front of the record crowd of 16,006 in the BJC.
Did Cole actually win this match with a takedown in the third period? Yep, you better believe he did. Because I’ve rewatched this match several times and I still have no clue what the officials were looking at. That was three points.
Nonetheless, Cole only needed 12 seconds in sudden victory to land the winning takedown.
And after the last time I rewatched this match, the only thought I had in my mind was “Peaking at the right time”.
Match Grade: A+++
MVP(s) for Penn State Wrestling vs. Ohio State
Luke Lilledahl
Credit – Lloyd McCully
I mean, come on. How on earth could I pick only one Nittany Lion.
What both Luke Lilledahl and Marcus Blaze did to start out the dual meet set the entire tone for the rest of the night.
They got the Penn State Wrestling crowd absolutely GOING after their matches.
Marcus Blaze
Credit – Lloyd McCully
And regardless of how many Penn State Wrestling duals I watch, Cael Sanderson and his coaching staff continue to amaze. It doesn’t matter the moment. Or how much pressure is on the line. Each and every single guy in that room just goes out and competes.
There’s no panic. Just ice in all of their veins.
And once again it was proven last Friday.
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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.
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