3 takeaways and full results from Penn State wrestling's latest Big Ten title: Josh Barr injury, individual honors, more

Penn State wrestling won its third consecutive Big Ten team title on Sunday night at Northwestern. The Nittany Lions had five champions, and eight starters finished inside of the top three in their respective weight class. There was one major negative to come out of the two-day event, which we’ll get to below. But, head coach Cael Sanderson’s team did qualify all 10 starters for the NCAA Tournament. That starts March 20 in Philadelphia.

“It feels great,” Sanderson told the Big Ten Network. “It’s obviously a very exciting tournament. A lot of great competition. Nationals in two weeks. So, we’ll just sharpen our sticks a little bit and get ready for the nationals now. But we’re very happy right now.

“Just keep scoring points, just keep doing what we do,” Sanderson said when asked what it would take to win the program’s latest national title.

Here are our top takeaways from the weekend.

1. What is the status of Josh Barr?

It feels wrong to start a championship recap on a negative note. And yet, it feels like there is no other choice. Penn State redshirt freshman Josh Barr suffered a left leg injury in his consolation bracket semifinal opposite Isaiah Salazar of Minnesota. He tried to wrestle through the issue initially but ultimately could not. Barr was later helped off the mat by Nittany Lion staff members and took an injury default. He did the same in his fifth place match. And, he did not appear for the 197-pound conference championship podium picture later in the evening.

It goes without saying that every injury is different. But, after trainer Dan Monthley and his staff got Carter Starocci not just ready for NCAAs but in shape to win it on short notice following a leg injury last year, nothing should be ruled out. However, Starocci had more time to work on his recovery, as his injury happened in the final dual meet and not at the conference tournament. And, again, there’s no indication what Barr’s injury is. It could be greatly different than Starocci’s.

Either way, Barr is qualified for nationals. Whether or not he takes the mat there may not be known for a while. He will get a seed this Wednesday night. We’ll see if he takes it and competes in about 10 days.

2. Recapping the wins

As noted above, Penn State is advancing 10 wrestlers to nationals, five of which are Big Ten champs. Freshman Luke Lilledahl beat Nebraska’s Caleb Smith 4-3 in the 125-pound final. At 157, redshirt freshman Tyler Kasak took out Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon by major decision, 12-2. Mitchell Mesenbrink followed that up by beating Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo by decision, 4-1, in the 165-pound final. Junior Levi Haines won his third conference crown and first at 174 pounds by beating Nebraska’s Lenny Pinto 12-1. And, Carter Starocci needed extra time to fend off Minnesota freshman Max McEnelly 9-5 in sudden victory at 184 pounds.

Starocci was named the Big Ten wrestler of the year after the tournament. Sanderson is the coach of the year.

3. Recapping Penn State wrestler who lost

Four Nittany Lions found themselves on the wrong side of the bracket to start the second day of the tournament. For the most part, they did not let that stand in their way. Senior Beau Bartlett and junior Shayne Van Ness both won two matches to finish third at 141 and 149, respectively. Sophomore Braeden Davis was aggressive in his consolation semifinal win but then was pinned in the third place match to finish fourth. And, as noted, Barr’s injury ended his time at the tournament early.

The other Nittany Lion to note here is senior Greg Kerkvliet. He lost 10-3 to Minnesota’s Gable Steveson 10-3 in the 285-pound final. The pair should be the top two seeds at nationals. That puts them on a collision course to meet again in the NCAA finals.

Final Penn State Big Ten results

Bouts are championship finals unless otherwise noted:
125 pounds: No. 4 Luke Lilledahl, Penn State d. No. 2 Caleb Smith, Nebraska, 4-3

133 pounds: No. 9 Nic Bouzakis, Ohio State F  No. 4 Braeden Davis, PSU, 2:22 (third place match)
141 pounds: No. 1 Beau Bartlett, Penn State d. No. 2 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State, 4-2 (third place match)
149 pounds: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness, PSU md. No. 2 Kyle Parco, Iowa, 13-0  (third place match)
157 pounds: No. 2 Tyler Kasak, Penn State md. No. 8 Brandon Cannon, Ohio State, 12-2

165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU d.  No. 2 Mikey Caliendo, Iowa, 4-1
174 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines, Penn State md. No. 3 Lenny Pinto, Nebraska, 12-1
184 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU d. No. 2 Max McEnelly, Minnesota, 9-5 (SV)
197 pounds: No. 7 Camden McDanel, Nebraska MDF No. 2 Josh Barr, Penn State
285 pounds:  No. 1 Gable Steveson, Minnesota d. No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, 10-3