Messenbrink

PHILADELPHIA — Perfect. There’s no other way to describe Penn State’s first two sessions of the 2025 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships on Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Nittany Lions wrestled 20 matches, 10 first-round and 10 second-round, and won them all, giving them an unheard of 10 quarterfinalists. That was more than enough to build a comfortable lead in the team race. Penn State stands in first place with 39.5 points. Nebraska is second with 28, Oklahoma State third with 27 and Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio State are tied for fourth with 18 each.

“Yeah, good day,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “Obviously, a lot of tough matches and just being ready to go. It’s the national tournament. You’ve got to say focused and ready. I thought our kids wrestled well and (against) some tough kids. Day 2 is always the fun day, so that’s the one you look forward to.”

Luke Lilledahl (125), Braeden Davis (133), Beau Bartlett (141), Shayne Van Ness (149), Tyler Kasak (157) and Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), Carter Starocci (184), Josh Barr (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) will wrestle in the quarterfinal round at noon today.

“(We had) a couple close matches there, but I think the guys scored points. If you want to win the national tournament, you’ve got to score points. So, it’s good to see our guys out there and scoring points,” Sanderson said.

Of the Nittany Lions’ 20 wins, 13 produced 19.5 bonus points.

“Yeah, it feels great. Obviously, we love PA and we’ve got a great representation out there,” Sanderson said. “There are a lot of Penn Staters scattered around. We’re happy they’re here. We’ve just got to do what we do and score some points. I’m really happy with these guys and excited about what we can do tomorrow.”

Lilledahl, the No. 1 seed, looked sharp in his Round of 32 win. He posted a 19-4 technical fall in 4:25. That set up a Round of 16 bout with Blake West or Northern Illinois. Lilledahl scored takedowns in the first two periods before ratcheting up his offense in the third to roll to a 19-3 technical fall in6:53. He meets Lehigh’s Sheldon Seymour in today’s quarterfinals. Lilledahl edged Seymour 4-1 in the early December dual meet.

Davis gave up the initial takedown to Bucknell’s Kurt Phipps, but a productive third period allowed him to post a 12-4 major decision. Davis then met Maryland’s Braxton Brown, who Davis defeated 9-8 in the Big Ten Championships, in the Round of 16. Davis did it again, using a first-period takedown and two escapes to escape with a 5-3 win. He faces Illinois top seed Lucas Byrd in the quarterfinals. Byrd owns a 7-1 win over Davis.

Bartlett took down West Virginia’s Jordan Titus midway through the first period and made that stand up for a 4-2 decision. Then, in the Round of 16, Bartlett met Julian Tagg of South Dakota State. Trailing 1-0 in the second period, Bartlett looked like he would go down 4-0 as Tagg was in deep on a double. Bartlett hit an acrobatic roll to counter and emerged on top for a takedown of his own. He rode Tagg the rest of the period and that additional point set the final at 4-1. Bartlett will face Penn’s CJ Composto in the quarterfinals.

Van Ness established his dominance early against Wyoming’s Gabe Willochell, scoring two first-period takeodowns before turning the Cowboy and pinning him in 4:12. Next up for the Nittany Lion was Rutgers’ Andrew Clark, who Van Ness had beaten twice this season, by a 19-4 technical fall and a 12-1 major decision. Van Ness amassed 4:11 in riding time and three takedowns in rolling to an 11-1 major decision over Clark to earn a quarterfinal bout with North Carolina’s Lachlan McNeil.

Kasak wasted little time in dispatching Northern Illinois’ Landen Johnson, pinning him in 1:38. In the Round of 16, he met Iowa State’s Cody Chittum. Kasak notched takedowns in the first and second periods and added a reversal for an 8-3 decision. In the quarterfinals, Kasak is paired with Purdue’s Joey Blaze, the brother of Kasak’s future teammate, blue-chip recruit Marcus Blaze.

Mesenbrink, as usual, was constant motion and offense. He blitzed Central Michigan’s Chandler Amaker 16-0 in 3:32. Then, against Hofstra’s Kyle Mosher, he was at it again. He scored relentlessly against Mosher, piling up a 22-6 technical fall in 4:16. In the quarterfinals, Mesenbrink will meet Oklahoma State’s Cam Amine.

Against Maryland’s Brandon John in the first round, Haines dominated from the start, eventually scoring a fall in 2:46. Next up for the Nittany Lion was Oklahoma’s Gaven Sax. Sax proved hard to score on for Haines, but he was able to convert one takedown and add an escape for a 4-0 decision. Haines meets Navy’s Danny Wask in the quarterfinals.

Starocci was his usual dominant self in an 18-2 technical fall in 6:19 over Lehigh’s Caden Rogers. That was the four-time NCAA champion’s 100th career win. Then, against Rutgers’ Shane Cartagena-Walsh, who Starocci teched 17-2 in the dual, Starocci was stifling. The Nittany Lion cruised to a 15-0 technical fall in 4:23. Starocci meets Maryland’s Jaxon Smith, perhaps the hottest wrestler in the tournament in the quarterfinals. Smith has recorded two first-period falls. Starocci owns two wins over Smith this year, 20-3 and 12-2.

Barr, who sported a black wrap around his left thigh, didn’t look hampered in his 9-1 first-round win over Lock Haven’s Tucker Hogan. That set up a match against Oregon State’s Trey Munoz in the second round. Tied 2-2 after regulation, Barr and Munoz battled in the sudden victory period. Barr got in on a single and Munoz countered and countered before Barr finally shot his arm through into a double-leg position and got the takedown for the 5-2 overtime win. Barr will have a rematch with Lehigh’s Michael Beard, the former Nittany Lion, in the quarterfinals. Barr majored Beard 11-3 in the dual meet.

Kerkvliet had a knee brace on his left knee, which was new since Big Tens. It didn’t slow him down in his 15-0 technical fall in 5:31 over Wyoming’s Sam Mitchell. That set up a second-round matchup with former Ohio State wrestler and current Lock Haven Bald Eagle Gavin Hoffman. Kerkvliet made one takedown and 5:01 in riding time advantage work for a 4-0 decision. Kerkvliet will also have a rematch, against Michigan’s Josh Heindselman. Kerkvliet owns 6-0 and 9-1 wins over the Wolverine this