Penn State's Tyler Kasak arm raise at the 2024 NWCA All-Star Classic.

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No. 1 Penn State dominates No. 2 Iowa in Big Ten battle, 30-8

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by Savannah Asmann, USA Wrestling

The top ranked Penn State Nittany Lions handed the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes their first loss of the season in a Big Ten showdown on Friday night. With the 30-8 victory, Penn State moves to 10-0 overall, 4-0 in the Big Ten, and won its 66th-straight dual. The Hawkeyes drop to 9-1 overall and 3-1 in conference action. The dual in the Bryce Jordan Center was attended by 15, 998 fans.

The night started at 125 pounds, with the Nittany Lions jumping to an early lead after a 19-5 technical fall from No. 6 Luke Lilledahl. In the first, Lilledahl finished a single leg attempt and put No. 28 Joey Cruz to his back for the takedown. An escape by Cruz made it a 3-1 score. The Nittany Lion improved his lead to 4-1 with an escape, then notched another takedown to lead 7-1. Lilledahl piled on the points in the third period, and earned the victory for his sixth technical fall of the season.

Lilledahl is a two-time age-group World Champion, winning gold in 2024 at the U20 World Championships and in 2022 at the U17 World Championships. He has also won silver twice at the age-group World level, in 2023 at the U20 World Championships and in 2021 at the U17 World Championships.

Iowa’s Drake Ayala, ranked at No. 2, put up a 19-4 technical fall over Kurt McHenry at 133 pounds to earn Iowa its first win of the evening. Ayala, a national finalist in 2024 at 125 pounds, had a productive first period, picking up a 9-2 lead. He chased down McHenry in the second, stacking on two more takedowns for the win. It’s the sixth technical fall of the season for the Hawkeye.

At 141 pounds, No. 3 Beau Bartlett battled Iowa’s Cullan Schriever in the third bout of the night. Bartlett, a 2021 Junior World Bronze medalist, jumped ahead in the first. The Nittany Lion took a shot to Schrievers right, successfully clipped the other leg, and extended his lead to 6-1. A nice mat return from Bartlett followed, but Schriever added another escape, bringing the score to 6-2. Schriever started the second period on bottom and escaped, narrowing the gap to 6-3. Another escape from Bartlett made it a 7-3 score, and he held on for the win to push Penn State ahead once again.  

PSU’s Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 4 at 149 pounds, secured up a commanding victory over No. 2 Kyle Parco of Iowa. Van Ness earned a takedown and added four nearfall points late in the second period, pushing to a 17-6 major decision.

The highlight of the night came during the bout at 157 pounds, when sophomore Tyler Kasak, ranked at No. 3, knocked off No. 1 Jacori Teemer of Iowa. Scoreless through one, Kasak, a 2022 U17 World silver medalist, took a 4-0 lead with an escape and a takedown in the second. After two frames, Kasak led 4-1 while Teemer picked up the intensity and the pair exchanged shots. Teemer, a national finalist in 2024 for Arizona State, is a 2017 Cadet World bronze medalist. It’s the 20th consecutive win for Kasak, and his sixth ranked victory of the season.

In a battle of the top two wrestlers in the country at 165 pounds, Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked at No. 1, dominated from start to finish over Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo, ranked at No. 2. Mesenbrink, a three-time age-group World medalist and U20 World Champion, picked up a big lead to start the match, and Caliendo was unable to narrow the score throughout. Multiple takedowns and stalls pushed Mesenbrink to a 19-4 win. It’s his 12th technical fall of the season, and his record improves to 14-0 while delivering Caliendo his first loss of the season.

At 174 pounds, No. 2 Levi Haines of PSU matched up agains No. 6 Patrick Kennedy of Iowa. Haines secured a 10-3 decision to push Penn State up 23-5. Both past age-group World Team members, the pair completed the first period with no score. Haines jumped to a 4-0 lead after an escape and takedown, completing the second period. Kennedy countered with an escape in the third, but Haines extended his lead to 7-1 with another takedown. Without riding time as a factor in this one, the match ended 10-3 in Haines’ favor.

No. 1 Carter Starocci, a 2022 U23 World silver medalist, met Angelo Ferrari at 184 pounds. Starocci led 1-0 after a stall on Ferrari at the end of the first period. An escape in the second from Ferrari made it a 1-1 match, and Starocci escaped to regain the lead. Despite multiple exchanges, neither were able to secure a takedown and the match ended 3-1 with a riding time point for Starocci.  

In a top five matchup at 197 pounds, it was No. 1 Stephen Buchanan of Iowa edging out No. 4 Josh Barr of Penn State. In the first, Buchanan got to Barr’s leg but was unable to generate any points from the exchange. Barr started the second period on bottom, then took a 1-0 lead with an escape. The Hawkeye evened it with an escape to start the third, but maintained over a minute of riding time. Buchanan notched the first takedown of the match late in the third, winning 5-1. He’s now 6-0 versus ranked opponents this season, and 14-0 overall. Barr is a 2024 U20 World silver medalist.

In the final match of the night, No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet routed No. 10 Ben Kueter in a 12-2 major decision at 285 pounds. Kerkvliet is a three-time age-group World Team member, winning gold in 2017 (U17) and silver in 2018 (U17). Kueter is a two-time age-group World medalist, winning gold in 2022 (U20) and silver in 2024 (U20).

No. 1 Penn State 30, No. 2 Iowa 8

January 31, 2025 – Bryce Jordan Center – University Park, Pa.

125 | #9 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) tech fall #26 Joey Cruz (IOWA), 22-6

133 | #2 Drake Ayala (IOWA) tech fall Kurt McHenry (PSU), 19-4

141 | #3 Beau Bartlett (PSU) dec. Cullan Schriever (IOWA), 7-3

149 | #3 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) maj. dec. #2 Kyle Parco (IOWA), 17-6

157 | #3 Tyler Kasak (PSU) dec. #1 Jacori Teemer (IOWA), 5-2

165 | #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) tech fall #2 Mikey Caliendo (IOWA), 19-4

174 | #2 Levi Haines (PSU) dec. #6 Patrick Kennedy (IOWA), 10-3

184 | #1 Carter Starocci (PSU) dec. Angelo Ferrari (IOWA), 3-1

197 | #1 Stephen Buchanan (IOWA) dec. #4 Josh Barr (PSU), 5-1

285 | #2 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) maj. dec. #10 Ben Kueter (IOWA), 12-2

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