Nittany Lions wrestling team don’t miss a beat in getting dominating win
College wrestling
Trending
UNIVERSITY PARK -- In 1979, the Whispers charted a Top 40 R&B hit with the song "And the Beat Goes On."
After its performance Friday night in the season opener at the Bryce Jordan Center, the No. 1 Penn State wrestling team could adopt that hit as its theme song.
Even with three backups in the lineup and three wrestlers making their dual meet debut, the Nittany Lions blanked No. 18 Oklahoma 45-0 for their 72nd consecutive dual meet win.
Penn State piled up five technical falls, a pin, two major decisions and two decisions while amassing a 35-1 advantage in takedowns. To be fair, Oklahoma was without the services of six starters, which is never a winning strategy against the Nittany Lions.
"I think our guys wrestled well. (It was) the first match of the year, first folkstyle match of the year for a lot of these guys, first match in a long time," coach Cael Sanderson said.
"So, yeah, I thought they did well. You know, Oklahoma didn't have some of their guys in the lineup. But our guys wrestled hard and scored a bunch of points. We'll just keep getting better, and our shape will just continue to improve also. But, good first match."
The dual started at 197 pounds and backup Connor Mirasola got the dual and the season off to a promising start with a dominating win, subbing for top-ranked and defending NCAA runner-up Josh Barr, who is nursing a rib injury sustained at the U23 World Championships.
The redshirt freshman converted four takedowns against No. 8 D.J. Parker and added a point for riding time for a 13-3 major decision to get the Nittany Lions rolling.
"You know, it was his first time out there and, and being the first match of the duel, you know, it's probably a different feel for him. But I thought he, he did a nice job and went and scored his points and wrestled tough," Sanderson said.
No. 11 Cole Mirasola, Connor's twin, pushed Penn State's lead to 7-0 with a steady, workmanlike 5-2 win over No. 24 Juan Mora at 285 pounds. Mirasola scored on a nifty counter takedown in the first and added an escape and riding time point for the win.
"Lightning" Luke Lilledahl lived up to his nickname, scoring on a slick takedown in the final seconds of his 125-pound bout to secure a 14-4 major decision over Conrad Hendriksen. Lilledahl tallied four takedowns in his win.
Blue-chip recruit Marcus Blaze made his Nittany Lion debut at 133 pounds and his strong potential was on full display. Blaze expanded a 3-1 lead after one period to 14-3 after two with an escape, three takedowns and a penalty point. Blaze tilted Tyson Charmoli for four in the third to end the match in 5:13 by an 18-3 score.
"I think it's just like a dream come true. I think when you're a little kid, you dream of moments like that, just to wrestle in front of a big crowd. So, it was just super fun. And I love the energy that the Penn State fans bring," Blaze said.
No. 11 Aaron Nagao returned to competition after two injury filled years and turned in a rollicking. 9-5 win over Alex Braun at 141. Nagao used a first-period takedown, two reversals and 3:06 in riding time with a stifling leg ride to earn the win.
"It was a fun match, back and forth, scrambling, and I thought he did a great job, looking fast and strong," Sanderson said. "It's the first time he's wrestled in a long time, probably a year and a half, and he looked great."
Penn State led 19-0 at the break with a host of hammers on deck in the second half of the lineup.
Top-ranked 149-pounder Shayne Van Ness appeared to be in midseason form. He dominated Layton Schneider 20-1 in just 5:29. Van Ness scored three decisive takedowns, turned the Sooner twice for four points each and accumulated nearly four minutes of riding time.
Joe Sealey increased Penn State's advantage to 29-0 with a dominating 19-4 technical fall in 5:47 over Sooner backup Landyn Sommer. Sealey, subbing in for expected starter P.J. Duke, accumulated six takedowns in the rout.
Sanderson said the plan for Duke's much-anticipated debut in a Penn State singlet would be in the Army Black Knight Invitational on Nov. 23 at West Point, New York.
Defending NCAA champion and top-ranked Mitchell Mesenbrink added yet another technical fall to the Nittany Lions' tally and it took him just 2:45 to do it. Mesenbrink scored five takedowns on Owen Eck and added a four-point turn for the domination.
At 174, just seconds into the match, top-ranked Levi Haines sprawled and hit his chin on his opponent's head. It left him on a knee and looking stunned. He went into concussion protocol but a few minutes later he sprinted back to the mat and proceeded to look just fine. Haines scored a takedown and turned No. 33 Carter Schubert for a quick 7-0 lead. He then hooked up a bow and arrow in the second period and decked the Sooner in 4:15.
With Penn State leading 40-0 and one match remaining, Ohio State transfer Rocco Welsh, the second-ranked sophomore made his debut for the Nittany Lions. Paired with backup Anders Thompson, Welsh added yet another technical fall, as he used six takedowns to help fashion a 19-4 win in 5:28 to close out the dual.
"It's been a pretty crazy journey. Coming out of high school. I don't know if I saw myself here, but I'm just really grateful where it's brought me. Grateful to be here at Penn State," Welsh said. "And there's no nowhere like Penn State, wrestling in this; it's one of a kind. You know, my freshman year, I wrestled a lot of different places, but this was definitely the craziest place. So, I'm just grateful to be here."
197: Mirasola, PSU, maj. dec. No. 8 Parker, 13-3. 285: No. 11 Mirasola, PSU, dec. No. 24 Mora, 5-2. 125: No. 3 Lilledahl, PSU, maj. dec. Hendriksen, 14-4. 133: Blaze, PSU, won by tech. fall over Charmoli, 18-3 (5:13). 141: No. 11 Nagao, PSU, dec. Braun, 9-5.
149: No. 1 Van Ness, PSU, won by tech. fall over Schneider, 20-1 (5:29). 157: Sealey, PSU, won by tech. fall over Sommer, 19-4 (5:47). 165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, won by tech. fall over Owen Eck, 19-4 (2:45). 174: No. 1 Haines, PSU, pinned No. 33 Schubert, 4:14. 184: No. 2 Welsh, PSU, won by tech. fall over Thompson, 19-4 (5:28).
Attendance: 8,003.
Takedowns: Oklahoma 1; Penn State 35.
Records: Oklahoma 0-1; Penn State 1-0.
Next match: Penn State at Army Black Knight Invitational, 10 a.m. Nov. 23.