Penn State Wrestling sports not one, but two true freshman in their starting lineup that the nation has started to take notice in.
Shayne Van Ness was off to an incredibly hot start this season.
The All-American sophomore won his bracket at the 2023 Journeymen Collegiate Classic by going a perfect 3-0, which included pinning each guy in the process.
If you added up the total time Van Ness spent on the mat in those three matches, it didn’t even come to seven minutes.
But, as everyone knows, Shayne’s 2023-2024 season ended in early December as Cael Sanderson announced Van Ness would miss the rest of the year due to an injury. Even for a roster as loaded as Penn State‘s, it’s never easy losing an All-American in your starting lineup.
The good news for the Nittany Lions was that they had already seen three possible Van Ness succession candidates on the mat with a handful of matches under their belts.
Connor Pierce went a combined 3-3 in his six matches between the Journeymen Classic and Black Knight Invitational. Meanwhile, David Evans was turning some heads with a third place finish in the Journeymen Classic and added a win over a ranked grappler (No. 12 CJ Composoto – Penn) in the process.
Then in the Black Knight Invite, Evans marched his way to the quarterfinals at 141 where he stood across the mat from his teammate, Tyler Kasak. The match was about as evenly wrestled as humanly possible, but in the end Kasak prevailed 3-2 in TB-2.
Tyler Kasak’s Inspiring Penn State Wrestling Journey
Tyler did not make the trip to the Journeymen, so his action in the Black Knight Invite was the first the Nittany Lion faithful had seen from him.
But, it was easy to see why the coaching staff wanted him out of high school. After slipping past Evans, Kasak then won a major decision over his foe in the semifinals and he punched his ticket to the finals where it was another Nittany Lion (Tyler Kasak) vs. Nittany Lion (Beau Bartlett) finals.
I know Beau has looked a little sluggish lately, but at the start of the season he was a bonus points monster. Before meeting Kasak in the finals, Barlett had racked up six wins with four of them coming by way of fall and a lone major decision.
So, he was wrestling at a good level.
However, in the finals at the Black Knight Invite, Kasak gave him fits. The score was knotted at 1-1 going into the final period, but Beau was able to land the deciding takedown and he ended up the champion following the 4-1 decision. So between Pierce, Evans, and Kasak, you had two guys who looked like they could be competitive to fill in for Van Ness, but they would have to move up a weight class. And Penn State fans saw first-hand just how difficult this was as Beau Bartlett had to move up to 149 his first two years on the mat. For a guy as talented as Bartlett, it was a struggle at times.
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Penn State Wrestling Freshman Tyler Kasak Separates Himself
Sanderson and crew ultimately gave Tyler Kasak the start in the Lehigh dual. And, Kasak did what he was sent out to do with a 7-5 decision win over a decent, but not ranked, opponent.
David Evans next got the nod to start in the Hofstra beat down, and he was nothing short of impressive with a 19-4 technical fall.
So, who would the coaching staff go with in the tricky Oregon State dual meet on January 5th? My money would have been on Evans, but that only perpetuated my incredible betting history.
And by “incredible” I mean incredibly horrific betting history. Because I would have been wrong as it was Kasak who was out on the mat to face No. 11 Nash Singleton for the Beavers.
I have a feeling it was that match and that result (4-1 decision for Tyler) against a ranked opponent that Kasak started to gain some confidence. The upset win was the second on the night for Penn State Wrestling, and Kasak was the second true freshman to pull off the feat.
Three matches before, the other true freshman phenom, Braeden Davis, pummeled No. 15 Brandon Kaylor to the tune of 11-6. Leading into the Nittany Lions’ Big Ten opener against No. 29 Indiana, most Penn State Wrestling fans figured the match at 149 would be a tough one. Myself included.
Tyler Kasak Dominates As Underdog
No. 14 Graham Rooks is a sixth-year senior who has qualified for the NCAA Championships on three occasions with a round of 12 finish last year and he’s been on the mat for a total of 135 collegiate matches.
Do you remember what Shayne Van Ness had to do in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Championships just to get past Rooks? Yeah, the dude can wrestle and he has loads of experience.
This past Sunday in Rec Hall at roughly 1:25pm it was Tyler Kasak who was sent out to face No. 14 Rooks. I’ll be honest, I thought Graham would easily handle Tyler.
Well, thankfully for Nittany Lion nation, I’m wrong way more than I’m right. What transpired on the mat was simply amazing. Kasak got to his offense quickly and he nearly pinned Rooks in the first minute of the match.
After landing the initial takedown, Tyler turned Graham and although he couldn’t get both shoulders to the mat, he was able to get four swipes. Tyler was in full control as he had Rooks in a rough spot.
He was able to turn Graham again to get four more swipes and as the horn sounded to end the first period, Kasak had flown out to a 11-0 lead. Rooks elected for neutral to start the second period as he was pretty much on his stomach and back for the majority of the first period.
Around midway through the second period, Kasak secured his second takedown of the match. And the true freshman demonstrated he was strong on top position by keeping Rooks in control for the remainder of the period. The score was 14-0 in favor of Kasak and he had built up almost three minutes of riding time.
Again, this was a true freshman bumping up a weight class going up against a sixth year senior. Kasak was on bottom to start the third and Rooks proved to everyone in Rec Hall that he still had some fight in him. Graham used every ounce of his energy to give Tyler a strong ride and it looked like he would keep Kasak on the bottom for the duration of the period.
But, just as things looked like they were a certainty, the freshman surprised everyone yet again. With only a single second left in the match Kasak broke free of Rooks’ grasp, the official awarded the escape, and the match ended with Tyler Kasak winning against No. 14 Graham Rooks with a shocking 15-0 technical fall. Look, is Graham Rooks as good as Austin Gomez or Ridge Lovett or Dylan De’Emilio? No, probably not. And I get it, Tyler Kasak will potentially face a ridiculous gauntlet at 149 pounds in the Big Ten. In the remaining regular season dual meets, Kasak could face No. 12 Caleb Rathjen (Iowa), No. 8 Austin Gomez (Michigan), No. 5 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State), No. 17 Ethen Miller (Maryland), and No. 1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska).
So, it’s not going to be an easy road. But it looks like a switch has been flipped for Kasak. He’s looked more and more comfortable on the mat every time he suits up. And there’s a reason Sanderson has been as successful as anyone in sports. It’s because he’s a phenomenal coach and he can spot talent. And at this point it’s hard to argue that Tyler Kasak isn’t destined for some great things.
The guy is the real deal and just like with Braeden Davis, the rest of the country better be on the lookout for these two at 125 and 149 going forward.
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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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