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Nittany Lions cruise at Nashville wrestling event

5 min read

From Mirror reports

NASHVILLE -- The Penn State wrestling team went 3-0 on Sunday while competing at the Nashville Duals.

The Nittany Lions finished the day with a 41-3 victory over Missouri.

The dual began at 125. Penn State's Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 12 at 125, opened up Penn State's final dual of the day with a 5-4 win over Gage Walker. Braeden Davis, ranked No. 10 at 133, built up over 4:00 in riding time during a convincing 14-3 major over Missouri's Kade Moore to give the Nittany Lions and early 7-0 lead.

Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 3 at 141, had to use extra time to beat No. 16 Josh Edmond. Bartlett scored early in the extra period to post the 4-1 win.

Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 2 at 149, continued Penn State's hot streak. Van Ness turned a first-period takedown into a pin at the 1:57 mark, it was Van Ness' third pin of the day and gave the Lions a 16-0 lead. Tyler Kasak, ranked No. 4 at 157, controlled James Conway for three periods and rolled to an 11-3 major decision to give Penn State a 20-0 lead at the midway point of the dual.

Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, won by forfeit (his second of the day) and Penn State led 26-0. Junior Levi Haines, ranked No. 2 at 174, took on No. 1 Keegan O'Toole in a much-anticipated match-up.

The duo battled through regulation even. A wild scramble in sudden victory ended with an O'Toole takedown, with Haines dropping the thrilling 4-1 decision.

Graduate Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 184, dominated No. 10 Colton Hawks in another top ten match-up. Starocci used a six-point third period to roll to a 10-1 major with over 2:00 in riding time to put Penn State up 30-3.

Josh Barr, ranked No. 7 at 197, blitzed Tiger Jesse Cassatt. Barr opened up an 11-0 lead before pinning Cassatt at the 1:45 mark. Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 2 at 285, finished off Penn State's day with a final technical fall.

Kerkvliet rolled to a 15-0 tech fall at the 5:57 mark over Missouri's Jarrett Stoner for a 3-0 day.

Penn State owned a 15-2 takedown advantage and picked up 14 bonus points off a forfeit (Mesenbrink), two pins (Van Ness, Barr), a tech fall (Kerkvliet) and three majors (Davis, Kasak, Starocci).

The Nittany Lions then beat Arkansas-Little Rock, 44-0.

The dual began at 125. Lilledahl, ranked No. 12 at 125, opened up the dual meet with a strong 9-3 win over Little Rock's Jaden Carson. Davis, ranked No. 10 at 133, thrilled the partisan Penn State crowd in the next bout. Davis used a second period escape to post a thrilling 1-0 win over No. 5 Nassir Bailey, putting Penn State up 6-0.

Bartlett, ranked No. 3 at 141, gave the Nittany Lions a 12-0 lead by pinning Cole Minnick at 5:23.

Van Ness, ranked No. 2 at 149, came back from an early first-period deficit against No. 16 Jordan Williams to pin the Trojan at the 4:39 mark of the second period, upping the Nittany Lion lead to 18-0. Kasak, ranked No. 4 at 157, used a first-period takedown to post a hard-fought 4-2 win over No. 20 Matty Bianchi. Penn State led Little Rock 21-0 at the midway point of the dual.

Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, continued Penn State's winning. Mesenbrink used four takedowns and a turn to roll to a 17-1 tech fall over No. 21 Joey Bianchi at 5:27.

Haines, ranked No. 2 at 174, followed that up with another tech, using a couple takedowns and three turns to beat Kodiak Kennedy 18-2 (5:33), giving the Nittany Lions a 31-0 lead.

Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 184, dominated Tristan Wills in the next match. Starocci took Wills down three times and turned him twice before posting the 17-1 tech fall at 5:37 in the third period.

Barr, ranked No. 7 at 197, won his match-up against No. 5 Stephen Little. Barr battled Little into extra time before ending the match with a takedown in sudden victory, winning 4-1 with just :17 on the clock. Kerkvliet, ranked No. 2 at 285, ended the dual meet with a 15-0 technical fall (1:40) over Little Rock's Keith Miley.

The Nittany Lions owned an 18-2 lead in takedowns. Penn State tallied 14 bonus points off two pins (Bartlett, Van Ness) and four tech falls (Mesenbrink, Haines, Starocci, Kerkvliet).

Earlier, the Lions shut out Binghamton 52-0 in their first dual of the day.

Penn State won all 10 matches, nine for bonus, and notched its second straight shutout win.

The dual began at 125. Lilledahl opened the dual meet by dominating No. 33 Carson Wagner. Lilledahl used six takedowns and an escape to post a 19-4 technical fall (5:37). Davis, at 133, followed that up with a 6-0 shutout win over Micah Roes to give the Nittany Lions an early 8-0 lead.

Bartlett, at 141, turned four takedowns into a strong 14-2 major over Nate Lucier for Penn State's third straight win in the dual. Van Ness, at 149, picked up Penn State's first pin of the day, getting a late first period fall over Caleb Sweet (2:49).

Kasak, ranked No. 4 at 157, pinned Jordan Brown early in the second period, getting the fall at 3:31, to give Penn State a 24-0 lead at the midway point of the dual.

Mesenbrink, at 165, received a forfeit win to put Penn State up 30-0. Haines, at 174, continued Penn State's bonus point barrage. He used two takedowns, and three four-point turns to roll to an 18-0 tech fall (5:00) over Roberto Padilla.

Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 184, dominated No. 23 Will Ebert, using a first-period takedowns and two reversals to open up a big lead before pinning the Bearcat at the 5:55 mark to give the Nittany Lions a 41-0 lead.

Barr, at 197, exploded for five first-period takedowns against Andrew Bailey. Barr finished off the first-period tech fall with four back points, winning 19-4 at the 2:40 mark.

Kerkvliet, at 285, ended the dual meet with a first-period pin of his own. Kerkvliet got the fall call over Charlie Tibbits as the 1:33 mark and the Nittany Lions posted their second straight shutout win.

Starting at /week.