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UNIVERSITY PARK -- Penn State wrestling christened its 119th varsity season and the 18th year of the Cael Sanderson era in style on Thursday night, as the Nittany Lions utilized eight bonus-point victories and nine wins overall to record a 42-3 win over the Bloomsburg Huskies inside a sold-out Rec Hall.
Penn State's showing on opening night was headlined by the debut of Masanosuke Ono, who logged a 20-9 major decision in his first collegiate outing against Bloomsburg's Austin Pollard. Ono had six takedowns.
PSU also managed a first-period pin on Thursday night, with 149-pound fifth-year Shayne Van Ness, the weight's No. 4 wrestler per InterMat, doing the honors.
In addition to Ono and Van Ness' performances, the Nittany Lions saw technical fall victories come from junior top-ranked 125-pounder Luke Lilledahl, sophomore No. 1 165-pounder PJ Duke, fifth-year No. 1 174-pounder Mitchell Mesenbrink, senior second-ranked 184-pounder Rocco Welsh and senior top-ranked 197-pounder Josh Barr.
Action got started at 125 pounds, where Lilledahl squared off against Justin Jones. The third-year Penn Stater earned a 19-4 second-period technical fall at the 4:09 mark.
Junior 141-pounder Hayden Cunningham earned the start in the third bout but ultimately dropped a tough 8-1 decision to Bloomsburg's Scott Johnson.
The Nittany Lions bounced right back in the battle at 149 pounds, with Van Ness blasting ahead for an easy takedown at the edge of the mat against Husky Jay Chase. Little time passed before it was clear Van Ness was working on a pin combo, and the Somerville, New Jersey, native succeeded in sticking Chase's shoulders to the mat a mere 1:26 into the match. Van Ness earns credit for the Nittany Lions' first pin of the 2026-27 campaign, booking the 23rd win by fall in his collegiate career. Kasak made his return to Rec Hall at 157 pounds on Thursday evening, dominating Michael Turi in what finished as an 8-1 decision. The Doylestown, Pennsylvania, native had a pair of takedowns in the match in addition to a full second-period ride-out, finishing the match with an eye-popping 2:40 in riding time. Penn State led Thursday's dual by an 18-3 score at the intermission.
Penn State snapped into action as the second half got underway, with Duke making his 165-pound debut against Bloomsburg's Morgan Schwarz. A trio of first-period takedowns gave Duke a 9-2 lead through three minutes, and the Penn Stater ultimately finished with seven takedowns to his credit while allowing none en route to a decisive 21-3 technical fall at the 5:50 mark. Another Penn Stater got a fresh start at a new weight class moments later, as Mesenbrink took the mat against Mohamed Abdelhady. Mesenbrink looked like his vintage self in the win, racking up six takedowns, a reversal and stalling point to log a 21-4 tech five minutes and nine seconds into the match. PSU mathematically clinched the dual victory following the evening's seventh bout, leading by a 28-3 differential as a team.
Thursday's action moved ahead at a blistering pace as the match at 184 pounds got underway, with Welsh facing Gavin Hannah of Bloomsburg. The Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, native registered five takedowns, a three-point near fall and an escape to take a 19-3 second-period technical fall win at the 4:29 mark. The evening's penultimate match got started at 197, as Barr battled Wyatt Bush. Penn State's senior put on a masterclass of mat wrestling in what finished as a 15-0 tech at 4:29, with Barr logging a takedown and four-near fall in the first followed by an escape, takedown and an additional four-near fall in the second to close the book on his battle with Bush. The final match of the night at heavyweight featured Mirasola bumping up to a new weight class, the third Nittany Lion of the night to do so. The Jackson, Wisconsin, native blasted ahead for an early first-period takedown, ultimately racking up four in a 13-4 major decision that closed out Penn State's 42-3 win on opening night in Happy Valley.
The Blue & White recorded a stellar showing overall, winning nine of the evening's 10 bouts including eight victories in bonus-point fashion. Penn State managed to outscore their in-state challengers by a 137-39 margin in bout scoring, riding a 39-3 edge in the takedown battle to accomplish that feat.
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Penn State is at Oklahoma Sunday at 8 p.m.
125 -- Lilledahl (PSU) tech fall over Jones, 19-4, 4:09 133 -- Ono (PSU) major dec. Pollard, 20-9 141 -- Johnson (B) dec. Cunningham 8-1 149 -- Van Ness (PSU) pinned Chase 1:26 157 — Kasak (PSU) dec. Turi, 8-1.
165 -- Duke (PSU) tech fall over Schwarz 21-6, 5:50. 174 -- Mesenbrink (PSU) tech fall over Abdelhady 21-4, 5:09 184 Welsh (PSU) tech fall over Hannah 19-3, 4:29. 197 -- Barr (PSU) tech fall over Bush 15-0, 4:23 285 -- Mirasola (PSU) major dec. Rebuck 13-4.
Attendance: 6,378