Penn State Wrestling vs. Nebraska: Nittany Lions roll to a 31-7 win over Nebraska | FULL RESULTS
Penn State Wrestling passed their first real test of the season as they took down No. 6 Nebraska 31-7 Friday night.
And by “passed”, obviously I mean they got straight A’s across the board. Because when you face a lineup that has ranked guys from top to bottom, it’s never an easy to task to come out with the win. Let alone win eight of 10 matches.
But this is the Nittany Lion Wrestling team we’re talking about.
At this stage in Cael Sanderson’s tenure I’m not really surprised by much at all. Which is a huge compliment in the incredibly difficult sport of wrestling.
Tyler Kasak could hit a “Medium Wang” and then follow it up with a “Pierce Potatoes” and I wouldn’t bat an eye.
But I digress.
Now onto the dual meet!
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Penn State Wrestling vs. Nebraska FULL RESULTS
174-125
The dual started out at 174 where Levi Haines gritted his way to a 9-2 decision to give the Nittany Lions the early 3-0 lead over Nebraska. Both Haines and Pinto had plenty of opportunities, however it was Levi’s tough defense and insane strength that led him to the win.
Next up at 184, Carter Starocci kept the Cornhusker crowd sitting on their hands. He hit home on a takedown in each of the three periods and cruised to the 11-2 major decision.
Josh Barr continued to apply pressure on Nebraska as he completely wore out his opponent. Barr piled up takedown after takedown in the final period to win the 19-4 technical fall.
And even though he was fighting off some sickness from earlier in the week, Greg Kerkvliet still piled up Penn State’s third straight bonus point win of the night with a 20-2 technical fall.
Kerk Kong, outside of giving up a reversal, was simply overwhelming.
Next up at 125 was one of the most anticipated matches of the night.
Following a scoreless first period, Smith broke free for the escape in the second period. Even though he was down 0-1, Luke Lilledahl continued to keep up the pressure on Smith. Firing shot after shot, Luke was certainly the more aggressive wrestler.
Lilledahl worked the escape from bottom position in the third period and he finally hit home with a takedown with only 15 seconds to go in the match. His takedown gave him the 4-2 decision victory and the Nittany Lions were out to a 20-0 lead going into the intermission.
133-165
Coming out of the break, Braeden Davis was in a world of hurt after an early shot. Davis appeared to be in the driver’s seat but Jacob Van Dee worked his way to a takedown and he had Davis’ back to the mat.
After four swipes it was Van Dee out to the 7-0 lead.
From that point on it was a back-and-forth match, however Braeden could not overcome several missteps. Davis ultimately dropped his second match of the season with the 14-7 decision loss.
Nebraska was finally on the board as Penn State led the dual 20-3 with four matches to go on the night.
Next up at 141, it was another back-and-forth match.
Beau Bartlett pulled a rabbit from his hat with a late third period reversal after he was down 7-6. You could make a pretty good argument that he should have had two swipes as Hardy’s back was exposed, however Nebraska threw their challenge bricks asking for an escape.
The officiating crew confirmed the call and it was Beau Bartlett who took the 8-7 decision win.
Next up at 149, it was all Ridge Lovett. Shayne Van Ness appeared to be hitting a different gear this season, but that was before this matchup.
Van Ness was in trouble all match and it looked like Lovett was always a step ahead. Following the 10-2 major decision loss, the Nittany Lions held onto a 23-7 lead.
Tyler Kasak and Mitchell Mesenbrink both settled the ship as they each won a decision and a technical fall respectively. The two wins propelled Penn State Wrestling to the 31-7 win on the night.
No. 1 Penn State 31 No. 6 Nebraska 7
174 – No. 2 Levi Haines (PSU) dec. over No. 15 Lenny Pinto (NEB) 9-2, PSU 3 NEB 0
184 – No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) major dec. over No. 7 Silas Allred (NEB) 11-2, PSU 7 NEB 0
197 – No. 4 Josh Barr (PSU) tech. fall over No. 22 Camden McDanel (NEB) 19-4, PSU 12 NEB 0
285 – No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) tech. fall over No. 24 Harley Andrews (NEB) 20-2, PSU 17 NEB 0
125 – No. 12 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) dec. over No. 6 Caleb Smith (NEB) 4-2, PSU 20 NEB 0
133 – No. 16 Jacob Van Dee (NEB) dec. over No. 5 Braeden Davis (PSU) 14-7, PSU 20 NEB 3
141 – No. 3 Beau Bartlett (PSU) dec. over No. 6 Brock Hardy (NEB) 8-7, PSU 23 NEB 3
149 – No. 4 Ridge Lovett (NEB) major dec. over No. 2 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) 10-2, PSU 23 NEB 7
157 – No. 3 Tyler Kasak (PSU) dec. over No. 5 Antrell Taylor (NEB) 9-3, PSU 26 NEB 7
165 – No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) tech. fall over No. 7 Bubba Wilson (NEB) 20-3, PSU 31 NEB 7
3 New Names Developing in Penn State Defensive Coordinator Search
Penn State Coach Cael Sanderson (Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports)
Notes, What’s Next for Penn State Wrestling
Penn State Wrestling improves to 8-0 on the season and they extend their dual meet unbeaten streak to 64 straight.
Additionally, the Nittany Lions are 2-0 in the early stages of the B1G regular season.
Cael Sanderson’s Penn State career win-odometer clicks up another notch to 211-16-2.
Penn State Wrestling hits the road once again next Friday as they travel to Piscataway, N.J. to take on No. 13 Rutgers. Action starts at 8:00 pm EST and will air nationally on the B1G Network.
More Penn State Wrestling News from NittanyCentral:
- Nittany Lion Wrestling’s Domination by The Numbers
- Ranking the Top-5 Meets of Pen State’s Cael Sanderson Era
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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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