Penn State wrestling shuts out Michigan State to claim 50th straight dual victory

For the second straight dual, Penn State’s Carter Starocci didn’t hit the mat Sunday with the rest of his teammates.

According to Jeff Byers of the Penn State Sports Network, Starocci just isn’t feeling well.

On Sunday, Greg Kerkvliet didn’t go either because he was sick after wrestling against Michigan on Friday.

But the Nittany Lions weren’t deterred as they shut out Michigan State, 35-0, inside Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Mich. It was the team’s 50th straight dual victory.

After not giving up a takedown in the dual against Indiana, Penn State has now only given up a combined four takedowns in back-to-back duals. It recorded 26 takedowns on Sunday.

The dual began at 125 pounds with Braeden Davis getting things started off on the right foot, as he has since being inserted into the starting lineup.

He took on Tristan Lujan, who Davis already beat earlier this year in the Black Knight Invitational, 4-2. On Sunday, Davis put some distance between him and Lujan.

The true freshman snapped off a takedown three seconds into the bout. He added a second late in the third period for a 7-3 win.

“(Davis) is a beast, you see how strong he is, he just sucks in people’s legs. I love his mentality. He’s a quieter guy, doesn’t say much,” Terrell Barraclough, who filled in for Starocci again, told the Penn State Sports Network. “He’s cracking jokes every once in a while, but when he gets out there (on the mat) you see it in his face. He just goes cold. Guys try to go after him, but he’s just a stud.”

Aaron Nagao shook off his sudden victory loss on Friday against Michigan’s Dylan Ragusin by facing Michigan State’s Andy Hampton. Nagao snapped off five takedowns and used early nearfall points in the third period to rack up an 18-3 technical fall in 5:21.

Beau Bartlett kept things rolling at 141 pounds against No. 33 Jordan Hamdan. He needed a late counter takedown, which turned into nearfall points to pick up an 8-2 win. Penn State led 11-0.

David Evans got the call at 149 pounds in place of Tyler Kasak. Evans used a first period takedown to help secure a 4-2 win over Braden Stauffenberg.

Levi Haines got a scare in his match against No. 21 Chase Saldate.

Saldate recorded the first points with a standing cradle on Haines in the first period. Haines escaped before the period ended and used another escape in the second period to get within 3-2.

The third period saw Saldate escape to a 4-2 lead. The pair got into a scramble situation that Saldate seemed he was going to finish off for another takedown.

Instead, Haines wrapped around and appeared to catch Saldate’s nose to finish off a counter takedown. Saldate escaped with just over one minute remaining to tie the bout, 5-5.

They went to sudden victory where neither wrestler scored. The first rideout period saw Haines unable to escape. The second rideout period had Haines get called for interlocking hands that was overturned by a Nittany Lions’ coaches challenge.

Neither wrestler scored in the second sudden victory. The first rideout period of the second ultimate tiebreaker had Haines collect a full period rideout, but he was hit for a second stall giving Saldate a 6-5 lead.

In the second rideout period, Haines used a reversal with one second left to win 7-6.

“I was warming up for my match. I’m trying to time it out because you have a game plan for that. I’m like what is going on?,” Barraclough said. “I keep looking up at the clock. Next thing I see is period seven, period eight and I’m like, oh my gosh. Levi is a tough son of a gun. I knew that he had it. He’s the kind of guy that’s never going to quit, and that’s what makes Levi so amazing.”

Penn State led 17-0 after Haines’ cardiac performance.

Mitchell Mesenbrink kept his scoring pace up, but saw himself in a little bit of trouble against No. 10 Caleb Fish. After Mesenbrink tallied the opening takedown, Fish threw in a mearkle on Mesenbrink and rolled him to his back for nearfall points.

Mesenbrink rolled through, escaped and tallied another takedown before the period ended to lead 7-6. The redshirt freshman added an escape and another takedown to open things up a little in the second period.

The third period saw Mesenbrink record two more takedowns to earn an 18-8 major decision.

“You see in the way that he wrestles, he’s so enthusiastic. We go at it, but he’s definitely a guy that I look up to. I really admire the way that he wrestles and how he’s always continually moving,” Barraclough said. “He is so passionate about what he does. I love learning from him. It makes me a better wrestler. I really do admire what he does for me and the other guys on the team.”

Like Barraclough said, he fed off of Mesenbrink’s win. He recorded the first points of the match with an escape and a takedown of DJ Shannon in the second period.

Barraclough added another takedown in the third period to secure an 8-1 win to lock up the dual for the Nittany Lions with three bouts left.

Bernie Truax used a first period takedown to secure a 4-2 win over No. 22 Layne Malczewski. Aaron Brooks recorded seven takedowns in four minutes of wrestling to beat No. 29 Kael Wisler, 21-6, for his fourth straight technical fall.

Lucas Cochran filled in for Kerkvliet at heavyweight and gave up nearly 49 pounds to the Spartan’s Josh Terrill.

Cochran wasn’t fazed by the disadvantage as he earned a first period takedown. He had a full period rideout in the second period.

The third period saw Cochran escape easily, and added a riding time point to secure a 5-0 win and preserve the shutout for Penn State.

“I think that this is the best team depth-wise we’ve ever had. It’s just guy after guy after guy. Guys who aren’t starting, you saw Lucas, David Evans and me today,” Barraclough said. “Our whole team is ready to go, that’s so exciting because we’re always competing in the room. We’re trying to see who can get the most takedown. It’s just a game. Coach Cael (Sanderson) talks about it so much. It’s just a game. It’s going out there and just making the guy never want to wrestle you again. I saw him (Cael Sanderson) kind of grin after the match today. You don’t see that very often, but that’s fun to see too.”

No. 1 Penn State 35, Michigan State 0

Sunday at East Lansing, Mich.

125: No. 14 Braeden Davis, PSU, dec. Tristan Lujan, 7-3

133: No. 4 Aaron Nagao, PSU, tech. fall Andy Hampton, 18-3 (5:21)

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. No. 33 Jordan Hamdan, 8-2

149: David Evans, PSU, dec. Braden Stauffenberg, 4-2

157: No. 1 Levi Haines, PSU, dec. No. 21 Chase Saldate, 7-6 (UTB2)

165: No. 9 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, major dec. No. 10 Caleb Fish, 18-8

174: Terrell Barraclough, PSU, dec. DJ Shannon, 8-1

184: No. 5 Bernie Truax, PSU, dec. No. 22 Layne Malczewski, 4-2

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, PSU, tech. fall No. 29 Kael Wisler, 21-6 (4:00)

285: Lucas Cochran, PSU, dec. Josh Terrill, 5-0

Takedowns: PSU 26, MSU 2

Records: Penn State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten), Michigan State (7-3, 0-3)

Next match: Penn State at Maryland, Jan. 28, Noon