Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1512721
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 4 47 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M to No. 1 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa, 7-4, in a match in which he strug- gled to get his offense going. Five Lions Claim Titles At Black Knight Invitational Penn State sent 17 wrestlers to the Black Knight Invitational at Army on Nov. 19, with five finishing first in their respective weight classes and 12 making the placing stand. Freshman Braeden Davis scored two ranked victories, including one over No. 30 Ethan Berginc of Army, and four triumphs total to win the 125-pound bracket. First-year Lion and 2023 All- American Aaron Nagao cruised to the 133-pound title. He scored a first-period pin over Army's Braden Basile in the final. At 141 pounds, senior Beau Bartlett recorded three consecutive falls before beating freshman teammate Tyler Kasak 4-1 in the final. Another transfer, red- shirt freshman Mitchell Mesenbrink, cruised to the 165-pound final, where he beat senior teammate Terrell Barra- clough by decision, 8-5. Also, freshman Josh Barr beat Chase Kranitz of Buffalo 6-1 in sudden victory to take the 184-pound weight class. ■ Penn State 2023-24 Wrestling Schedule Date Opponent Time/TV Nov. 12 Journeymen Collegiate Classic* Individ. Nov. 19 Army Black Knight Invite** Individ. Nov. 21 NWCA ALL-STAR CLASSIC Individ. Dec. 3 LEHIGH W, 30-10 Dec. 10 HOFSTRA 1 p.m./B1G+ Jan. 5 at Oregon St. 8 p.m./Pac-12 Net. Jan. 14 INDIANA 1 p.m./B1G+ Jan. 19 at Michigan 6 p.m./BTN Jan. 21 at Michigan State TBA/B1G+ Jan. 28 at Maryland Noon/BTN Feb. 2 OHIO STATE 6:30 p.m./BTN Feb. 9 at Iowa 9 p.m./BTN Feb. 12 RUTGERS^ 7 p.m./BTN Feb. 18 NEBRASKA 4 p.m./BTN Feb. 25 EDINBORO 2 p.m./B1G+ Mar. 9-10 Big Ten Championships% TBA Mar. 21-23 NCAA Championships# TBA * at Bethlehem, Pa. ** at West Point, N.Y. ^ at Bryce Jordan Center % at College Park, Md. # at Kansas City, Mo. THREE BEST WRESTLERS Shayne Van Ness | R-So. | 149 Van Ness has had a fantastic start to his sec- ond season as a starter in the Nittany Lions' lineup. At the Journeymen Collegiate Classic, he was a perfect three-for-three, and every win came via a first-period fall. Then, No. 2 Van Ness closed out the month by beating No. 3 Kyle Parco of Arizona State, 5-1, in the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 21 at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lion redshirt sophomore led 4-0 after two periods and controlled the match throughout. Beau Bartlett | Sr. | 141 Bartlett is the nation's No. 2 grappler at 141 pounds. He was not invited to the NWCA All-Star Classic, so instead, he took care of business elsewhere to start his season. At the Army Black Knight Invitational on Nov. 19, Bartlett won the title by stomping three consecutive opponents by fall before beating freshman teammate Tyler Kasak in the finals. A week before, the Penn State senior scored victories over two ranked opponents, includ- ing wins over the No. 13- and No. 12-ranked wrestlers at the time. Greg Kerkvliet | Jr. | HWT Kerkvliet dominated second-ranked Wyatt Hendrickson of Air Force in the NWCA All- Star Classic. He mashed the Falcon standout by technical fall, winning 18-2 in 4:48 in front of a raucous Rec Hall crowd to make his NCAA Tournament win over Hendrickson from the 2022-23 season stand up. The PSU heavyweight started his season at the Jour- neymen Collegiate Classic in Bethlehem, Pa., on Nov. 12, finishing 3-0 with a technical fall and two decisions. BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT This is an easy pick. Penn State started the year with a question mark regarding who its starter would be at 165 pounds. That ques- tion has now been answered. Redshirt freshman Mitchell Mesenbrink, a first-year transfer from Cal Baptist, will handle the first-team job now that redshirt sophomore Alex Facundo has opted to take an Olympic redshirt season. Mesenbrink, a former prep star in Wiscon- sin, was 2-0 at Cal Baptist last year before opting to join the Nittany Lion program this past offseason. Six of his eight wins to start the year have come by bonus points. BEST HIGHLIGHT There was never any question that senior Carter Starocci had his sights set on winning a fourth consecutive NCAA title when he made the announcement that he was return- ing for one final season at Penn State. He showed at the NWCA All-Star Classic just how prepared he is for that challenge, overpowering Virginia Tech star Mekhi Lewis, a former national champion, in an 11-0 vic- tory. Starocci dominated the entirety of the match and cemented his status as a favorite to win again at 174 pounds. BOLD PREDICTION The 125-pound starting job will not go to sophomore Robbie Howard. Penn State welcomed Howard back after he missed the past two seasons due to injuries. He is working hard and is a key competitor in the room, but freshman Braeden Davis is off to a perfect start after the first two events and looks very capable of winning the job outright. He will ultimately do so by the time January arrives. — Greg Pickel PENN STATE WRESTLING SUPERLATIVES NOV. 12-DEC. 3 Beau Bartlett got his senior season off to a rousing start with three victories at 141 pounds, all coming by fall, at the Army Black Knight Invitational. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE