Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1533674
A P R I L 2 0 2 5 41 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Sophomore Braeden Davis was fifth at 133 and super senior Greg Kerkvliet sixth at 285, defaulting out of the tour- nament after a semifinal loss to eventual NCAA champion Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State because of a knee injury suffered in practice prior to the nationals. Sanderson always empathizes with wrestlers who don't quite get where they want. "Your heart is with each individual," he said. "We spend so much time with these guys. You want to see them happy and reaching their goals. "And in a sport like this, one second here, one second there was the difference. There were some tough losses, but every- body rebounded well." Sanderson said he wasn't certain that Kerkvliet would even be able to compete. "He just got tough for the team, went out there and made the semifinals," Sand- erson said. "Josh Barr, the same thing. We didn't know how he was going wrestle the first match [because of an injured ham- string], and he makes it to the finals with a gutsy performance." Sanderson praised Lilledahl and Davis, noted that Bartlett was a couple of sec- onds away from being in the finals, said Van Ness wrestled great and that Kasak was a scramble and a couple of seconds away from advancing, too. "That's life, that's sports," Sanderson said. "And Levi Haines was a takedown away from getting in there. He finished third. Guys finishing third, there's a lot of honor in that. That's a really big deal. We really value them battling back as a team." Always Evolving While Penn State has had more semifi- nal success in past years, the tournament itself continues to strengthen. Bartlett wants everyone to know how difficult it is. "Folkstyle wrestling is hard. College wrestling is hard," he said. "You're feeling it. Everyone's body is beat up right now. It's like a schoolyard brawl out there in all these matches. "It's not life or death, but your mind takes you to that place. At the end of the day, either your hand gets raised or it doesn't. I just want everyone to know, when we're wrestling out there, we're do- ing everything we can, because it matters. It matters to us. It's a small part of our lives, but it's a very important part." Kasak claims that Sanderson and his staff never stop evolving. "He's never satisfied with what the situation is. … It could always be better. And honestly, until we have 10 national champions, I don't think it'll be enough," Kasak said. "Everything I'm doing right now is special, and I'm part of history. There's never going to be a team in any NCAA sport as good as this one's been. It's a blessing to be part of something like this." It's sort of unique, too, according to some data that Kasak and Davis mined during the week of the NCAAs. NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAM STANDINGS Finish Team Points 1. Penn State 177.0 2. Nebraska 117.0 3. Oklahoma State 102.5 4. Iowa 81.0 T5. Minnesota 51.5 Ohio State 51.5 7. Cornell 50.0 8. NC State 46.5 9. Northern Iowa 45.5 10. Illinois 44.5 Redshirt sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink won his first NCAA championship by defeating Iowa's Michael Caliendo, 8-2, in the 165-pound final. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS PENN STATE FINISHERS Wt. Name Class Finish 125 Luke Lilledahl Fr. 3rd 133 Braeden Davis So. 5th 141 Beau Bartlett Sr. 3rd 149 Shayne Van Ness R-So. 3rd 157 Tyler Kasak So. 3rd 165 Mitchell Mesenbrink R-So. 1st 174 Levi Haines Jr. 3rd 184 Carter Starocci Gr. 1st 197 Josh Barr R-Fr. 2nd 285 Greg Kerkvliet Sr.+ 6th