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By Andy Elder
For the Mirror
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- As much history as the Penn State wrestling team has made, it set a new standard Saturday after the second day of the 2024 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships at the T-Mobile Center.
Penn State has already set a team record for points in an NCAA championship with 148, bettering the previous mark of 146.5 in 2017, clinching its 11th championship in the past 13 years and the 12th in program history. Penn State still has a mathematical chance of breaking the all-time scoring mark of 170 that Iowa set in 1997.
Six Nittany Lions will wrestle for championships tonight and two others are still alive for third-place finishes. All eight are All-Americans.
Beau Bartlett (141 pounds), Levi Haines (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) are into the finals. Tyler Kasak (149) and Bernie Truax (184) will wrestle in consolation semifinal matches this morning.
Braeden Davis (125) and Aaron Nagao (133) both fell one win short of All-America status and have been eliminated.
"We obviously want to win as a team but our goal is to see our kids be happy and reach their goals. That's why we do what we do," PSU coach Cael Sanderson said. "
After losing in the semifinals a year ago on his way to a third-place finish, Bartlett earned his first trip to the finals with two wins on Friday. He started with a pin in 6:48 over Vance Vombaur of Minnesota, the surprise quarterfinalist as the No. 26 seed. Bartlett led 4-1 in the third when he locked up a tight near cradle to get the fall.
Then, in the semifinals, he won another showdown with North Carolina's Lachlan McNeil, who he defeated 4-1 in last year's third-place bout. This year, the first period ended scoreless and McNeil escaped to lead 1-0 heading into the third. Bartlett reversed the Tar Heel, tilted him for two more and earned a riding time point for 1:39 in advantage for a 5-1 decision.
Bartlett faces a rubber match against Ohio State's Jesse Mendez in the finals in a battle of Nos. 1 and 2 seeds. Bartlett beat Mendez 4-1 in sudden victory in the dual meet. Mendez returned the favor 4-1 in the Big Ten final.
"That's a lot of fun" Bartlett said. "I know that's a cliche, but man I don't think I've ever gotten a turn in a high level college match. Not really. I haven't shown to be good on top but I got a turn today. So, things I've been working on all year, my whole life, they're clicking."
Haines earned a second straight trip to the finals with a pair of wins on Friday. He started with an 8-0 major decision over Nebraska's Peyton Robb. That set up a much-anticipated showdown with Virginia Tech's Bryce Andonian. Haines pinned him in the quarterfinals last year, but that belied the back-and-forth nature of that bout.
This time, both wrestlers started cautiously. There was no scoring in the first and just an Andonian escape in the second. In the third, Haines escaped to tie the match but Andonian struck with a double for a 4-1 lead. Haines escaped and scored a takedown of his own to take a 5-4 lead, but Andonian quickly escaped to send the match to overtime. Haines took Andonian down to his back in overtime and pinned him in 6:49.
Haines will face Arizona State's Jacori Teemer in the final.
"I'm super excited. I've never gotten to wrestle Jacori Teemer before so I look forward to it. He's a tough competitor and it doesn't matter if it's the national finals or if we were wrestling at some random location on some random day. I just really love to compete and I'm excited to be able to go do that tomorrow."
Mesenbrink notched a third win over Iowa's Michael Caliendo to earn his finals berth. The Hawkeye scored the first takedown but Mesenbrink kept shooting and scoring, piling up five takedowns in a 17-9 win. He had defeated Michigan's Cam Amine 6-1 in the quarterfinals.
Mesenbrink will meet Iowa State's David Carr, a champion in 2021, in the final. Carr beat two-time defending champion Keegan O'Toole of Missouri in the other semifinal. O'Toole and Mesenbrink were teammates at Arrowhead High School in Hartland, Wisconsin.
Starocci took out two former NCAA champions to reach the finals, all while wearing a bulky brace on his right knee. In the quarterfinals, he wrestled a measured tactical match to blank No. 1 seed Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech 4-0. Then, in the semifinals against Michigan's Shane Griffith, Carter rode the Wolverine the entire second period, escaped to start the third and allowed no further scoring in a 2-0 win. Starocci will meet Ohio State's Rocco Welsh in the final.
"It's definitely an adjustment, for sure," Carter said of wrestling with the brace. "At the end of the day it's who wants it more."
Brooks was dominant in making his fourth final and earning his fifth All-America status. He pinned Oklahoma's Stephen Buchanan in the semifinals before methodically dismantling Missouri's Rocky Elam in the semifinals, scoring five takedowns in a 17-2 technical fall in 5:45.
Brooks faces a familiar foe in the final, North Carolina State's Trent Hidlay. Brooks defeated him 3-2 in the 2021 finals, 6-4 in sudden victory in the 2022 semifinals and 6-3 in the 2023 semifinals.
Kerkvliet didn't look like himself in the semifinals against Ohio State's Nick Feldman. He made an escape hold up for a 1-0 win. In the finals against Arizona State's Cohlton Schultz, he was more his dynamic self, scoring two takedowns and accumulating 3:16 in riding time for an 8-1 win. He faces Michigan's Lucas Davison, who he defeated 8-3 in January, in the finals.
Kasak went 4-0 on Friday to advance to a consolation semifinals matchup with No. 1 seed Ridge Lovett of Nebraska. Truax, meanwhile, rebounded from a tough quarterfinal loss in which it looked like he injured his knee. But, he came back Friday night with his knee wrapped and won two matches to earn a consolation semifinal bout with Oregon State's Trey Munoz.
Davis, the No. 1 seed, was dropped into the wrestlebacks with a 4-3 decision by Arizona State No. 8 seed Richard Figueroa in the quarterfinals. A third-period reversal and a riding time point were the difference for the Sun Devil. Then, in the blood round, Davis and No, 5 seed Jore Volk of Wyoming went to sudden victory tied 1-1. Davis got in deep on a single but Volk countered to score the winning takedown for a 4-1 win that eliminated Davis.
Nagao won two matches in the third session to keep his All-America hopes alive. He clipped Julian Chlebove 5-1 in a second-round wrestleback match. Then, in the next round, he blanked Ohio State's Nic Bouzakis 3-0. That set up a blood round showdown with North Carolina State's Kai Orine, the No. 3 seed who lost in the quarterfinals to Vito Arujau of Cornell. Orine was too much for the Nittany Lion sophomore in an 11-4 decision that bounced Nagao from the tournament one win short of All-America status.