3 takeaways from a dominating day for Penn State wrestling at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals

Penn State had nearly a perfect day in Nashville at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals on Sunday. The Nittany Lions won 29 of 30 bouts over three matches, plus an extra match featuring Nittany Lion Kurt McHenry taking out Missouri’s Luqman Masud, over a full day of action. Here are our top takeaways from the event.

Penn State sets a record

Penn State won all but one match in Nashville en route to three dual meet triumphs. The Nittany Lions rolled over Binghamton 52-0, Little Rock 44-0, and Missouri 41-3. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s side has now won 62 consecutive matches, which is a new program record. It faced little resistance at this particular event and looks to be fully tuned up as it heads into the holiday break.

Haines-O’Toole lived up to the hype

The match of the day came in one of the final ones in Nashville. The nation’s No. 1 174-pound wrestler, Keegan O’Toole of Missouri, met Nittany Lions’ second-ranked junior Levi Haines. It lived up to the hype. The Tiger came out on the right side of a tremendous scramble in sudden victory to secure a takedown and beat the Penn State star 4-1. Both scored an escape during the first three periods of the match. It is almost certainly going to lead to a national final rematch. And, it should go without saying that college wrestling fans will be salivating to see these two former national champions on the mat opposite of each other again.

Braeden Davis makes a statement

First-year 133-pound Penn State starter Braeden Davis, who is No. 10 at 133 pounds, beat Little Rock’s No. 5 Nasir Bailey 1-0. A second period escape for the Nittany Lion was the difference. Davis went 3-0 on the day and is poised to move up in the rankings following his big win.

Full Penn State results from the Collegiate Wrestling Duals

Courtesy of Penn State Athletics:

PSU vs. Binghamton:

125: #12 Luke Lilledahl PSU tech fall #33 Carson Wagner BING, 19-4 (TF; 5:37)                     5-0

133: #10 Braeden Davis PSU dec. Micah Roes BING, 6-0                                                               8-0

141: #3 Beau Bartlett PSU maj. dec. Nate Lucier BING, 14-2                                                        12-0

149: #2 Shayne Van Ness PSU pinned Caleb Sweet BING, WBF (2:49)                                       18-0

157: #4 Tyler Kasak PSU pinned Jordan Brown BING, WBF (3:31)                                               24-0

165: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink PSU win by forfeit                                                                             30-0

174: #2 Levi Haines PSU tech fall Roberto Padilla BING, 18-0 (TF; 5:00)                                    35-0

184: #1 Carter Starocci PSU pinned #23 Will Ebert BING, WBF (5:55)                                        41-0

197: #7 Josh Barr PSU tech fall Andrew Bailey BING, 19-4 (2:40)                                                46-0

285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet PSU pinned Charlie Tibbits BING, WBF (1:33)                                         52-0

Records: Penn State (4-0, 0-0 B1G); Binghamton (1-2)

Penn State vs. Little Rock:

125: #12 Luke Lilledahl PSU dec. Jaden Carson LR, 9-3                                                   3-0

133: #10 Braeden Davis PSU dec. #5 Nassir Bailey LR, 1-0                                             6-0

141: #3 Beau Bartlett PSU pinned Cole Minnick LB, WBF (5:23)                                   12-0

149: #2 Shayne Van Ness PSU pinned #16 Jordan Williams LR, WBF (4:39)               18-0

157: #4 Tyler Kasak PSU dec. #20 Matty Bianchi LR, 4-2                                                21-0

165: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink PSU tech fall #21 Joey Bianchi LR, 17-1 (TF; 5:27)      26-0

174: #2 Levi Haines PSU tech fall Kodiak Kennedy LR, 18-2 (TF; 5:33)                        31-0

184: #1 Carter Starocci PSU tech fall Tristan Wills LR, 17-1 (TF; 5:37)                         36-0

197: #7 Josh Barr PSU dec. #5 Stephen Little LR, 4-1 (sv)                                               39-0

285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet PSU tech fall Keith Miley LR, 15-0 (TF; 1:40)                            44-0

Records: Penn State (5-0, 0-0 B1G); Little Rock (6-1)

PSU vs. Missouri:

125: #12 Luke Lilledahl PSU dec. Gage Walker UM, 5-4                                                 3-0

133: #10 Braeden Davis PSU maj. dec. Kade Moore UM, 14-3                                     7-0

141: #3 Beau Bartlett PSU dec. #16 Josh Edmond UM, 4-1 (sv)                                    10-0

149: #2 Shayne Van Ness PSU pinned Zeke Seltzer UM, WBF (1:57)                           16-0

157: #4 Tyler Kasak PSU maj. dec. James Conway UM, 11-3                                         20-0

165: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink PSU win by forfeit                                                              26-0

174: #1 Levi Haines UM dec. #2 Levi Haines PSU, 4-1 (sv)                                              26-3

184: #1 Carter Starocci PSU maj. dec. #10 Colton Hawks UM, 10-1                            30-3

197: #7 Josh Barr PSU pinned Jesse Cassatt UM, WBF (1:45)                                        36-3

285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet PSU tech fall Jarrett Stoner UM, 15-0 (TF; 5:57)                     41-3

Records: Penn State (6-0, 0-0 B1G); Missouri (2-5)