Annoucement :A Resurgent era in Penn State Wrestling? Their fifth mutually exclusive Big Ten triumph makes the Nittany Lions appear indomitable….
Annoucement :A Resurgent era in Penn State Wrestling? Their fifth mutually exclusive Big Ten triumph makes the Nittany Lions appear indomitable….
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (14-0, 8-0 B1G) dominated homestanding Illinois (9-4, 4-4 B1G) 29-9 on Sunday to wrap up the Big Ten portion of its dual schedule unbeaten. Penn State finished the Big Ten season with an 8-0 mark and won the 2025 Big Ten Regular Season (dual meet) Championship.
This year’s regular season crown is the 11th in Penn State history (all since head coach Cael Sanderson’s arrival) and the fifth straight. The 2025 Big Ten Championship will be contested, and crowned, at the 2025 Big Ten Championship Tournament on March 8-9 at Northwestern.
The dual began at 125. True freshman Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 7 at 125, opened the dual meet with a dominant 19-3 technical fall over Caelen Riley at 4:19. Sophomore Braeden Davis, ranked No. 8 at 133, dropped a tough 7-1 decision to No. 4 Lucas Byrd in the next bout and Penn State led the dual 5-3 after two matches. Senior+ Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 3 at 141, turned a five-point first period into a dominating 9-2 win over No. 17 Danny Pucino to give the Nittany Lions an 8-3 lead.
Sophomore Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 2 at 149, tallied four takedowns to dominate No. 14 Kannon Webster. Van Ness, with 2:07 in riding time, rolled to a 15-4 major decision. With No. 1 Tyler Kasak not competing, true freshman Joe Sealey wrestled again at 157. Sealey battled the ranked Illini evenly. Sealey, tied 1-1 but giving up riding time late in the bout, took Kraisser down on the edge of the mat to take a 4-1 lead. But after an Illinois challenge and a long review the call was reversed, and the Nittany Lion freshman dropped a tough 2-1 decision on 1:04 riding time. Penn State led 12-6 at the half.
Sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, forced three early stall warnings on No. 14 Braeden Scoles and chased the Illini down for a strong 10-1 major decision (with 2:23 in riding time). Junior Levi Haines, ranked No. 2 at 174, used a first period takedown, an escape and riding time to post a 5-1 win over No. 23 Danny Braunagel, giving the Nittany Lions a 19-6 lead. Graduate Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 184, worked up a 17-4 lead on No. 12 Edmond Ruth late in the third period and then won by disqualification after forcing a sixth stall warning at 6:43.
Redshirt freshman Josh Barr, ranked No. 3 at 197, dominated No. 17 Zac Braunagel, using four takedowns and over 2:00 in riding time to roll to a 15-4 major decision and give the Nittany Lions a 29-6 lead. With No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet not competing, true freshman Cole Mirasola stepped in once more. Mirasola battled the ranked Illini tough but lost a hard-fought 4-0 decision. The Nittany Lions capped off the 2025 Big Ten Regular Season title with a 29-9 win.
Penn State posted a lopsided 23-3 edge in takedowns. The Lions won seven of ten bouts and picked up eight bonus points off a DQ (Starocci), a tech fall (Lilledahl) and three majors (Van Ness, Mesenbrink, Barr).
The Nittany Lions are now 14-0, 8-0 B1G, and the 2025 Big Ten Regular Season Champions. Illinois falls to 9-4, 4-4 B1G. Penn State closes out its dual meet season at home next Friday, Feb. 21, when it hosts American University in Rec Hall at 7 p.m.
