Penn State wrestling sends six to Big Ten finals, leads team race after Day 1: Recap
Penn State wrestling will send six wrestlers to Sunday’s Big Ten Championships at Northwestern. It was a bit of an up-and-down session two of the tournament for head coach Cael Sanderson’s team. Find a full recap of session two below.
This is your home for live updates, results, team scores, and more from the second session. Note: This page does not update automatically. So, please refresh your page often for the latest information.
Penn State goes 6-3 in the semifinal round
03/08/2025 09:11:28 PMAfter losing two of the first three semifinals it was involved in, the Lions went 5-1 from there to qualify a tournament-high number of wrestlers for the finals, which start at 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday on Big Ten Network. Luke Lilledahl (125), Tyler Kasak (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), Carter Starocci (184), and Greg Kerkvliet (285) are in the championship match in their respective weight classes. Braeden Davis (133), Beau Bartlett (141), Shayne Van Ness (149), and Josh Barr (197) are in the consolation semifinals with a chance to finish as high as third place. Those start at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.
In the team race, Penn State is in first with 145 points. Nebraska is in second with 118. Iowa is in third with 98. Minnesota is in fourth with 88.5. And, Illinois rounds out the top five with 81.5.
Find full results from session two, plus session three matches, below:
Penn State Session 2 opponents (All bouts semifinals unless otherwise noted)
125 pounds: No. 4 Luke Lilledahl, Penn State md. No. 1 Matt Ramos, Purdue, 12-4
133 pounds: No. 4 Braeden Davis, PSU TF No. 11 Dustin Norris, Purdue, 17-2 (2:03) (consolation bracket)
133 pounds: No. 4 Braeden Davis, Penn State d. No. 8 Angelo Rini of Indiana, 10-5
141 pounds: No. 4 Vance Vombaur, Minnesota d. No. 1 Beau Bartlett, Penn State, 5-3
149 pounds: No. 5 Kannon Webster, Illinois d. No. 1 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, 4-2
157 pounds: No. 2 Tyler Kasak, Penn State F No. 3 Antrell Taylor, Nebraska, 1:17
165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU TF No. 4 Beau Mantanona, Michigan, 25-8 (6:29)
174 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines, Penn State d. No. 4 Patrick Kennedy, Iowa, 10-3
184 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU vs. No. 5 Jaxon Smith, Maryland
197 pounds: No. 3 Jacob Cardenas, Michigan d. No. 2 Josh Barr, Penn State, 4-1 (SV)
285 pounds: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU md. No. 3 Josh Heindselman, Michigan, 9-1
Penn State Sunday opponents (finals unless otherwise noted)
125 pounds: No. 4 Luke Lilledahl, Penn State vs. No. 2 Caleb Smith, Nebraska
133 pounds: No. 4 Braeden Davis, PSU vs. No. 3 Braxton Brown, Maryland (consolation semifinals)
141 pounds: No. 1 Beau Bartlett, Penn State vs. No. 6 Joseph Oliveri, Rutgers (consolation semifinals)
149 pounds: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness, PSU vs. No. 6 Andrew Clark, Rutgers (consolation semifinals)
157 pounds: No. 2 Tyler Kasak, Penn State vs. No. 8 Brandon Cannon, Ohio State
165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU vs. No. 2 Mikey Caliendo, Iowa
174 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines, Penn State vs. No. 3 Lenny Pinto, Nebraska
184 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU vs. No. 2 Max McEnelly, Minnesota
197 pounds: No. 2 Josh Barr, Penn State vs. No. 4 Isaiah Salazar, Minnesota (consolation semifinals)
285 pounds: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU vs. No. 1 Gable Steveson, Minnesota
Greg Kerkvliet is headed to the Big Ten finals
03/08/2025 09:06:31 PMPenn State heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet is the sixth Nittany Lion finalist as he beat No. 3 Joshua Heindselman of Michigan by major decision, 9-1, with 4:27 in riding time. He joins Luke Lilledahl (125), Tyler Kasak (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), and Carter Starocci (184) in the finals.
Cardenas beats Barr
03/08/2025 08:58:23 PMJacob Cardenas beats Josh Barr with a takedown with 51 seconds left in sudden victory. The final score was 4-1 in the 197-pound semifinal. The Nittany Lion drops into the consolation semifinals on Sunday.
Updated team score heading into 197
03/08/2025 08:49:17 PMPenn State — 137
Nebraska — 118.5
Iowa — 91
Carter Starocci is the Lions’ fifth Big Ten finalist
03/08/2025 08:45:04 PMPenn State senior Carter Starocci, the top seed at 184 pounds, beat No. 5 Jaxon Smith of Maryland 11-2 and with 1:54 in riding time, wins 12-2. He’s off to the finals.
Levi Haines is headed to the Big Ten finals
03/08/2025 08:25:54 PMPenn State junior Levi Haines is the Lions’ fourth Big Ten finalist. He beat No. 4 Patrick Kennedy of Iowa 10-3 in a 174-pound semifinal.
Mitchell Mesenbrink is heading to the Big Ten finals
03/08/2025 08:21:49 PMMitchell Mesenbrink surrendered his first takedown of the season to trail 3-0 and then went on to beat No. 4 Beau Mantanona of Michigan by technical fall, 25-8, in 6:29. Penn State now has three Big Ten finalists: Luke Lilledahl (125), Tyler Kasak (157), and Mesenbrink with four semifinalists to go.
Tyler Kasak pins Antrell Taylor
03/08/2025 07:59:36 PMThere’s a shot in the arm for Penn State: Tyler Kasak decks No. 3 Antrell Taylor of Nebraska in a 157-pound semifinal at the 1:17 mark of the first period.
Kannon Webster beats Shayne Van Ness
03/08/2025 07:53:11 PMNo. 5 Kannon Webster upsets Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness, 4-1, in a semifinal at 149 pounds. The Illinois wrestler scored a takedown with less than 10 seconds left in the third period to secure the win. Ridge Lovett won the other semifinal for Nebraska, and the Cornhuskers have passed the Lions in the team race after four weight classes.
Updated team scores
03/08/2025 07:52:59 PMGoing into 149 pounds, Penn State and Nebraska are tied with 104.5 team points.
Penn State has Luke Lilledahl in the finals so far.
Beau Bartlett drop his semifinal bout
03/08/2025 07:39:27 PMBig Ten No. 4 seed Vance Vombaur beats No. 1 Beau Bartlett 5-3 in a semifinal at 141 pounds. Vombaur scored early and the Penn State senior never got his offense going. The Nittany Lion is headed to the consolation bracket.
Luke Lilledahl punches his ticket to the 125-pound finals
03/08/2025 07:12:33 PMPenn State freshman and Big Ten four-seed Luke Lilledahl used a good first period shot to score both a takedown and four nearfall points to take a 7-1 lead over No. 1 Matt Ramos of Purdue after one. It was 8-3 after two, and Lilledahl gets in on a takedown for an 11-3 lead. Ramos escaped to 11-4. Lilledahl goes on to win 12-4 and is one finalist at 125 pounds. He will face No. 2 Caleb Smith of Nebraska in Sunday’s finals.
Luke Lilledahl is up first
03/08/2025 06:35:07 PMPenn State freshman Luke Lilledahl will be on the mat first. The Big Ten tournament four seed, he will wrestle No. 1 Matt Ramos of Purdue in one 125-pound semifinal. It starts just after 8 p.m. ET.
Penn State wrestling semifinal lineup
03/08/2025 06:35:21 PMHere’s the rundown:
125 pounds: No. 4 Luke Lilledahl, Penn State vs. No. 1 Matt Ramos, Purdue
133 pounds: No. 4 Braeden Davis, PSU vs. TBD (consolation bracket)
141 pounds: No. 1 Beau Bartlett, Penn State vs. No. 4 Vance Vombaur, Minnesota
149 pounds: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness, PSU vs. No. 5 Kannon Webster, Illinois
157 pounds: No. 2 Tyler Kasak, Penn State vs. No. 3 Antrell Taylor, Nebraska
165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU vs. No. 4 Beau Mantanona, Michigan
174 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines, Penn State vs. No. 4 Patrick Kennedy, Iowa
184 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU vs. No. 5 Jaxon Smith, Maryland
197 pounds: No. 2 Josh Barr, Penn State vs. No. 3 Jacob Cardenas, Michigan
285 pounds: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU vs. No. 3 Josh Heindselman, Michigan
