By Andy Elder

For the Mirror

UNIVERSITY PARK — As the season wears on, the numbers the No. 1 Penn State wrestling team keeps compiling get more and more stupefying.

The latest example came Friday night in front of another Rec Hall sell-out crowd of 6,368. The Nittany Lions blanked Michigan State 55-0 in the Big Ten opener, tying a team record for margin of victory set on Feb. 18, 2018 in a 55-0 win over Buffalo.

Penn State produced six pins, three technical falls and a major decision and didn’t concede a takedown in amassing a 36-0 advantage.

Greg Kerkvliet, Shayne Van Ness, Tyler Kasak, Levi Haines, Carter Starocci and Josh Barr all scored falls. Luke Lilledahl, Braeden Davis and Mitchell Mesenbrink rolled to technical fall wins. Beau Bartlett won by major decision.

That makes four shutouts out of seven wins for the Nittany Lions, one shy of the five shuouts the 2012-13 team posted. Penn State has outscored its opponents 323-9 for an average score of 46.14-1.29. The 10 starters have compiled a 101-2 record and those two losses came to the No. 1-ranked wrestler at their respective weights. Eight Nittany Lions remain undefeated and two have just that one blemish.

Even with those historical numbers, both coach Cael Sanderson and a couple of his wrestlers said they believe that this team will follow the trend Sanderson’s teams have demonstrated time and again of peaking in March. How much better can they get?

“A lot better,” 157-pounder Kasak said. “I think this team has a lot of opportunity to grow and become better and better as the weeks progress. I mean, it’s special. I keep using that word, because it really is special. You know, these guys, everyone feeds off each other’s energies, and everyone wants to learn. And I think just by being around people that are self-motivated and take a lot of pride in what they do, I think it just ups the level every week and the more time we spend with each other, I think that’s why we continue to improve and adapt and overcome obstacles.”

Davis was succinct in affirming Kasak’s assessment.

“I completely agree,” he said with a smile. “And it’s pretty cool.”

Sanderson wasn’t shy about continuing the theme.

“Yeah, I think we just look at each individual and, you know, what little things can they continue to improve on? You know, obviously No. 1 is just competing with gratitude and enthusiasm,” he said. “But, yeah, I mean, there’s always little things. I mean, that’s what makes it fun is you have the ability to continue to get better. And that’s the plan.”

With the match starting at 285, Penn State fans used to sneaking out early for a return trip home were treated to a battle of heavyweights to start the night. Kerkvliet scored three quick takedowns before locking up a crossface cradle for a fall in 56 seconds.

At 125, Lilledahl showed off a variety of slick takedowns to build a 15-2 lead through two periods. In the third he hooked up a bow-and-arrow turn for four nearfall points to end the match in 6:07 with a 19-2 technical fall.

Davis followed at 133 with a second consecutive technical fall. He racked up five takedowns to build a 19-5 lead through two periods. An escape 25 seconds into the third period ended the bout at 20-5 in 5:25 to build Penn State’s lead to 16-0.

Bartlett extended the lead to 20-0 with a workmanlike 12-3 major decision at 141. After a scoreless first, Bartlett escaped, earned a penalty point for stalling and a takedown to lead 5-0 after two. In the third he added two takedowns sandwiched around a stalling point to set the final.

Van Ness made short work of his Spartan opponent at 149. He scored a couple quick takedowns and then ran a reinforced half to record a fall in 2:25 to give the Nittany Lions a 26-0 lead at the intermission.

Kasak scored four quick takedowns and made them look easy to build a 12-3 lead through one period. In the second, Kasak scored a reversal, ceded an escape and then scored a takedown before hooking up a reverse headlock for the fall in 3:46.

As he seemingly always does, Mesenbrink scored in bunches in rolling to a 20-5 technical fall in 165 in just 3:57. He used six takedowns and added two penalty points for stalling in the win. It was Mesenbrink’s ninth technical fall in 11 matches.

Haines had built a 7-1 lead early in the second period before converting on a takedown and transitioning immediately into a bow-and-arrow turning combination. He tightened it up and scored the fall in 4:12.

At 184, Starocci made it two pins in a row and nine out of nine bonus point wins. He used three takedowns, a four-point nearfall and an escape to mount a 14-2 lead through two periods. In the third, he ran a bar arm to stack his opponent before adjusting and scoring the fall in 5:48.

Barr finished off the night by scoring two quick takedowns and running a bar arm to flatten his opponent in 56 seconds.

Penn State takes its high-scoring show on the road for its next dual meet, at 9 p.m. Friday at Nebraska.

285: Kerkvliet, PSU, pinned Vanadia, :56.; 125: Lilledahl, PSU, won by tech. fall over Corday, 19-2 (6:07); Davis, PSU, won by tech. fall over Hampton, 20-5 (5:25); 141: Bartlett, PSU, maj. dec. Crumpler, 12-3; 149: Van Ness, PSU, pinned Jones, 2:25

157: Kasak, PSU, pinned Stauffenberg, 3:46; 165: Mesenbrink, PSU, won by tech. fall over Nivison, 20-5 (3:57); 174: Haines, PSU, pinned Garza, 4:12; 184: Starocci, PSU, pinned Boucher, 5:48; 197: Barr, PSU, pinned Thomas, 2:43.

Referee: Angel Rivera.

Attendance: 6,368.

Takedowns: MSU 0; PSU 36.