Penn State Wrestling: The Future at 197 Pounds May Already Be Here
While clutching the 2024 Dan Hodge Trophy, four-time NCAA Champion Aaron Brooks rode off into the sunset after cementing his legacy as one of the best ever in Penn State Wrestling history.
And his departure from the program left a giant hole in the starting lineup for the 197 spot.
Typically one of the features of a Cael Sanderson-led wrestling program is an absolute hammer at 197. Between the aforementioned Aaron Brooks, the Nittany Lions have also seen the likes of Phil Davis and Quentin Wright climb to the top of the mountain at 197 pounds.
Then when you sprinkle in three-time All-American Morgan McIntosh and three-time NCAA Champion Bo Nickal into the mix, it makes for an impressive group of wrestlers. And this group is just the best of the best of the past 20 years.
So the question that came up this season: Who would be the Nittany Lion starter for the vacant 197 slot?
List of candidates at 197 pounds
Lucas Cochran
Luckily for Penn State, they had several super competitive guys to choose from.
The first grappler, and most experienced, to look at was Lucas Cochran.
Going into this season Cochran competed in 33 totals matches and held a respectable record of 26-7. Furthermore, he was thrust into action in four dual meets between his redshirt freshman and sophomore campaigns. In those four matches he was 3-1 with the lone loss coming against former Nittany Lion Michael Beard (Lehigh).
Lastly, it was Cochran who took the mat in Penn State’s 41-3 shellacking of Drexel in their opening dual of this season. Lucas’ 18-1 technical fall was every bit as impressive as the “tech fall fest” put on by Mitchell Mesenbrink, Levi Haines, and Carter Starocci.
So at this point, it seemed pretty safe who the starter would be. But there were still two additional guys to look at.
Josh Barr
Going into his redshirt freshman year, Josh Barr (No. 8 recruit in the 2023 class) held a career record of 14-0. His already impressive resume included titles at the 2023 Journeymen Classic, 2023 Black Knight Invite, 2024 Mat-Town Open II, and 2024 Edinboro Open.
Additionally, Barr was thrown into the starting lineup when the Nittany Lions took on Indiana back in January. Taking advantage of the situation, Josh handled IU’s Roman Rogotzke with ease by winning the 13-4 major decision.
Had Carter Starocci not come back for one final run at five NCAA titles, then I thought the battle for the starting 184 spots would have been super intriguing. And I’m guessing Barr would have been in the mix.
But as it stands, Starocci is locking down the 184 spot. And when I saw Barr was bumping up to 197, I knew he could compete for the position, however I didn’t think he would be the guy. Because asking him to go from 184 to 197 is a tall task.
Connor Mirasola
While still in high school just last year, Connor Mirasola (No. 9 recruit in the 2024 class) was most likely the biggest longshot to be the 197 starter. But when you’ve seen what the Penn State coaching staff has done with guys like Levi Haines and Tyler Kasak, you couldn’t just rule it out.
Connor won four straight Wisconsin state titles and also competed in the US Olympic Trials and the Senior Nationals. And in the 2024 U24 Worlds, he came in a tie for fifth place overall. A mere one win away from a bronze medal.
So the dude can wrestle.
But does that mean he could come into the Nittany Lion wrestling room as a true freshman and immediately make an impact?
Penn State Wrestling fans would soon find out a bunch of answers.
2024 Black Knight Invite
Rounds 1 & 2
Lucas Cochran
W – fall (3:58) over Mason Rebulk (Bloomsburg)
W – 15-0 tech. fall over Chris Murphy (Army)
Josh Barr
W – fall (2:26) over Jack Bernik (Columbia)
W – fall (2:53) over Josh McCutchen (Gardner-Webb)
Connor Mirasola
W – 15-6 major dec. over Reid Schroeder (Army)
W – fall (5:33) over Kael Wisler (Michigan State)
So, yeah, all three guys had the pedal to the metal from the get-go. And with Cochran getting the No. 1 seed and Barr having the No. 2 seed in the bracket, it meant they couldn’t possibly face until the finals.
But Connor had the No. 6 seed, so this meant his semifinal match was against none other than Josh Barr.
Semifinals
Lucas Cochran
W – 11-1 major dec. over Remy Cotton (Michigan State)
Cochran cruised into the finals with his third straight bonus point win of the tournament.
Josh Barr vs. Connor Mirasola
Barr (PSU) 11-0 major dec. over Mirasola (PSU)
Raise your hand if you had this match as a shutout? Because I sure as heck didn’t.
All I can say is that Josh Barr looked impressive. He was good on his feet, he was strong on top position, and he only let Mirasola ride him for three seconds the entire match.
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197 Finals
The first period of this match pretty much went as expected. Outside of a couple of committed shots from both guys, the first period ended 0-0.
However, something that was not expected at all was for Barr to ride Cochran for two full minutes in the second period. Remember Lucas Cochran is a guy who’s been around the block in collegiate wrestling.
Furthermore, Cochran does have a win against a former All-American under his belt. And might I add, this is a win against a heavyweight All-American.
Yep, Lucas Cochran defeated Rutger’s Yaraslau Slavikouski last year in a one-sided 8-3 decision. It’s also worth noting that Cochran beat another 285-pounder last year when he housed Michigan State’s Josh Terrill 5-0.
So this is a guy who is both experienced and, he’s strong.
And when Barr gave him a tough ride in the second, I knew something special was about to happen in the third period.
Which is exactly what happened.
Josh reversed Lucas 30 seconds into the final period. He then snagged a quick takedown and was able to get four swipes as he had Cochran’s back in danger.
The final seconds ticked away and it was Josh Barr’s, not Lucas Cochran’s, hand who was raised at the center of the mat. The 10-1 major decision gave Barr the title at 197 and it almost assuredly gives him the starting spot for Penn State Wrestling at 197 pounds.
Let me say this, I know it’s early in the season, but if Josh Barr looks like THAT for the rest of the season? I’m telling you right now, he could be a special, special wrestler. The torch may have already been passed. And the guy who’s currently holding it goes by the name of Josh Barr.
MORE: Inside how 157 is Shaping Up for Nittany Lion Wrestling
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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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