Penn State wrestling podcast: Assessing key questions for the Lions, updates from Cael Sanderson

A new edition of the Blue-White Illustrated Penn State wrestling show is live. BWI reporter Greg Pickel and host Thomas Frank Carr dive into the latest on the 6-0 and top-ranked Nittany Lions ahead of their final dual meet of January. After securing two wins in three days last weekend, the team returns to the mat on Sunday at Maryland. Big Ten Network will televise the clash from College Park.

The duo discusses various topics in this week’s episode, which can be found in the video player above and at your favorite podcast links below. They start with a look back at the Lions’ wins over Michigan and Michigan State. The focus is on a pair of first-year Penn State wrestlers, 125-pound freshman Braeden Davis and 165-pound redshirt freshman Mitchell Mesenbrink, who continued their stellar starts in blue and white in both Ann Arbor and East Lansing.

From there, the conversation shifts to what Sanderson and his staff will do at 149 pounds. With All-American Shayne Van Ness out for the year due to injury, the time has come for the Lions to pick a starter for the rest of the season. The decision is between freshman Tyler Kasak and junior David Evans, who have both scored two dual meet victories in January. What will the program decide to do? Pickel and Carr discuss that before diving into some general thoughts as the midway point of the season nears before taking a brief look at the Terrapins, which feature No. 5 197-pounder Jaxon Smith and former Nittany Lion Seth Nevills at heavyweight.

Podcast links: SPOTIFY, APPLE

More from Penn State coach Cael Sanderson

You can read our first notebook of the week here. Here are some of the Penn State head coach’s other comments from Tuesday’s news conference:

On Mesenbrink’s pair of wins in the state of Michigan:

“Yeah, it was a big weekend,” Sanderson said. “We knew coming in that he had two of the best guys in the country. And he was very consistent. He’s the same person every day. And I think that’s a trait of just a great competitor. He’s confident. And he used a lot of different things to score points. Or he had to come back in one match, right? He uses conditioning, he used his technique. And he’s still a freshman, so he can just keep getting better.”

On 157-pound returning All-American Levi Haines’ season to date:

“Yeah, I just think last year, he was the true freshman kind of making his way,” Sanderson said. “Now, there’s a little bit more expectation on him and, and he’s done a great job battling. And as you saw this weekend, he had a couple close matches, so just little things. And he’s a great competitor and very coachable. So he’ll just continue to get better and work things out and figure things out as he moves toward the postseason area.”

On Penn State wrestlers taking advantage of the three-point takedown rule, which is new in 2023-2024:

“Well, I think the rules obviously apply to everybody,” Sanderson said. “And they are encouraging people to score more takedowns. Right? I mean, those points are flying up there. You know, guys like Aaron Brooks are getting techs with takedowns. The points accumulate quickly. So I think it’s exciting. Everyone’s in the same boat. I think back to a guy like Roman Bravo-Young and how many tech falls he would have had on takedowns. You get eight takedowns and win by eight points, and that’s just the way that the game has changed a little bit. But, seems to be exciting so far.”