Penn State wrestling top performers, a bold prediction, and more: Superlatives so far

Note: A version of this story will appear in the latest edition of the Blue-White Illustrated magazine, which is on its way to subscribers now! If you are not a magazine subscriber, click here to learn more and sign up today! Each magazine cycle, we highlight top performers, key moments, and more from the month that was. This story covers matches completed between the end of December and last Friday’s 31-7 Penn State win over Nebraska.

Three best Penn State wrestlers

Greg Kerkvliet | Sr.+ | 285

Kerkvliet continues to be one of the most dominating wrestlers in the country. He earned Big Ten wrestler of the week honors in early January as he kicked off the 2025 portion of the schedule with a 56-second victory by fall over Michigan State’s Max Vanadia. He followed that up by No. 24 Harley Andrews of Nebraska by technical fall, 20-2, in 6:12. Back in late December, he put an exclamation point on the end of the 2024 portion of the slate by winning three bouts at the Collegiate Wrestling Dual, two by technical fall and one by fall. He is the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the country behind only Minnesota’s Gable Steveson.

Luke Lilledahl | Fr. | 125

Lilledahl earned the best win of his young collegiate career when he scored a takedown with 15 seconds left opposite No. 6 Caleb Smith of Nebraska to upset the Cornhusker 4-2 on the road. Before that, he earned his first Big Ten dual meet win by stopping Michigan State’s Luke Corday by technical fall, 19-2, in 6:08. Back in Nashville in late December, he won three times at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals, as he earned a technical fall and two decision victories.

Josh Barr | R-Fr. | 197

You could make a very compelling argument that Barr should be first on this list. At the Collegiate Wrestling Duals, he upset then No. 5 Stephen Little of Arkansas Little Rock 4-1 in sudden victory as part of a three-win day at the even that also included a technical fall and first period pin. Then, he kicked off Big Ten action by decking Ryan Boucher of Michigan State in 5:48 and then added a technical fall triumph over No. 22 Cam McDanel 19-4 in 6:42.

Key moment

No. 3 senior Beau Bartlett battled No. 6 Brock Hardy of Nebraska in a rubber match between the two in early January. Each had previously beat the other at the college level. Bartlett scored first and ultimately took a 6-3 lead into the third period. But, he would not be able to coast to victory. That’s because Hardy quickly escaped in the third period and then took Bartlett down for a 7-6 lead with 30 seconds to wrestle. Undeterred, the Penn State All-American worked underneath of Hardy and eventually reversed him by locking up a cradle with seven seconds left. He rode out the period to win the match 8-7.

Best Penn State highlight

There are many different options to pick from here. Lilledahl’s reversal of Smith is a candidate. One of the many Mitchell Mesenbrink technical fall triumphs over the last month could be, as well. Our pick, though, comes from the Arkansas Little Rock match at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals. In an 133-pound match deadlocked at zero between No. 10 Braeden Davis, a Penn State sophomore, and No. 10 Nasir Bailey of Little Rock, the Nittany Lion escaped to a 1-0 lead in the second period. Bailey had the choice to start the third, and picked neutral. With tremendous defense and some action of his own, Davis kept Bailey at bay to finish the match on his feet and preserve the one-point upset victory.

Bold prediction

Shayne Van Ness will meet Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett again in the postseason, and this time, the outcome will be in favor of the Penn State wrestler. Lovett caught Van Ness late in their 149-pound dual meet bout in early January and combined a three-point takedown with four nearfall points to ultimately win by decision, 9-2. But, the match was closer than it looked and we think Van Nes will beat the Cornhusker if and when they meet again.