Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543434
M A R C H 2 0 2 6 71 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M THREE BEST WRESTLERS Mitchell Mesenbrink | Jr. | 165 The defending 165-pound national champ is now 19-0 on the season, and he's one of only two college wrestlers (the other is teammate Josh Barr) to win every one of his matches by bonus points (major decision, technical fall, pin or forfeit). In Penn State's 32-3 rout of Iowa on Jan. 16, Mesenbrink earned an 11-2 major over No. 3 Mikey Caliendo, and he followed up that impres- sive win two weeks later with a 20-5 technical fall over Nebraska's seventh-ranked LJ Araujo. Mesenbrink continues to be the top contender for the Hodge Trophy, which goes annually to the nation's best wrestler, and he's the leader in the NCAA's dominance metric. He has won a nation- leading 46 consecutive matches entering the Big Ten Tournament. Josh Barr | R-So. | 197 Barr missed the beginning of the collegiate campaign with a rib injury he suffered while competing internationally, but he's been on a tear ever since making his season debut in late December. The 197-pounder is now 16-0 on the season and is second only to Mesenbrink in the most-dominant-wrestler standings, with 5 falls and 7 tech falls. One of Barr's most impressive Big Ten wins to date was a 26-9 major decision over No. 9 Camden McDanel of Nebraska. He also beat Little Rock's third-ranked Stephen Little by major decision, 9-1, at the Southern Scuffle in January. Marcus Blaze | Fr. | 133 Any number of Nittany Lions could have made the final spot on this list, from 125-pound sopho- more Luke Lilledahl to 149-pound junior Shayne Van Ness to 174-pound senior Levi Haines to 184-pound sophomore Rocco Welsh. All are ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes. But we go with Blaze, who is No. 2 at 133, for finding a way to score a 3-2 triumph over then- No. 2 Ben Davino of Ohio State when they met at the Bryce Jordan Center on Feb. 16. The Ohio na- tive is now 19-0 on the year, including 4 falls. KEY MOMENT There are plenty of moments from Penn State's recent dual meets that might merit inclusion here. Blaze's reversal would be a logical pick. Also, freshman 157-pounder PJ Duke deserves consid- eration for his strong third-period performance against Michigan's 13th-ranked Cam Catrabone, which resulted in a 12-10 comeback win on the road. Our pick, though, is Lilledahl's effort in sud- den victory against No. 2 Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State. With the bout tied at 1-1 (each wrestler had an escape) after seven minutes, Lilledahl shot low on a single early in the two-minute overtime period and took control of his Buckeye opponent to score a 4-1 victory and cement his spot as the nation's No. 1 wrestler at 125 pounds. BEST HIGHLIGHT It would be easy to pick the takedown in sud- den victory that gave redshirt freshman heavy- weight Cole Mirasola a 4-1 win over Ohio State's third-ranked Nick Feldman. But we can't stop thinking about Van Ness' absurd comeback win over No. 4 Carter Young during a Jan. 24 dual meet between Penn State and Maryland. Van Ness found himself in an uncharacteristic 7-1 hole after the opening three minutes, but Young's lead turned out to be short-lived. The Nit- tany Lion junior quickly escaped before shooting and scoring a takedown to pull within 7-5. From there, Van Ness scored 3 takedowns to lead 17-11 after two periods. He continued to pour on the offense in the third period, ultimately winning the match by technical fall, 31-15, in 6:41. It was a stunning and impressive performance, and it stands as Penn State's comeback win of the year. BOLD PREDICTION Penn State enters the postseason with six wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes, and three additional Nittany Lions are ranked inside the top five. We're predicting that PSU will end up with six NCAA champions before all is said and done. Coach Cael Sanderson always has his group ready to go at nationals, and this will be one of the Lions' most impressive perfor- mances yet. — Greg Pickel PENN STATE WRESTLING SUPERLATIVES J A N . 2 3 - F E B . 2 0 Ranked No. 1 at 165 pounds, Mitchell Mesenbrink won by technical fall, 20-5, in his matchup against Nebraska's seventh- ranked LJ Araujo. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS