By Allen Smith, Membership Committee Co-Chair
Friday, Oct. 24 Recap
Two weight classes in Men’s Freestyle hit the mats today, as Mitchell Mesenbrink (74kg) and Josh Barr (92kg) got the ball rolling for the USA squad. There results for the day are as follows;
Mitchell Mesenbrink: The 74kg rep for the USA got the tournament started with a bang, pinning his first opponent. Mesenbrink led 6-2 after one minute of action, and led 12-2 after only a bit more than two minutes gone when he flattened his challenger for the early FALL. In the second round, the bout again did not get out of the first period, Mesenbrink getting a 10-0 technical superiority win in less than two minutes and 40 seconds. The trend would continue in his third bout, as Mesenbrink – for the third bout in a row – would win by technical superiority 12-2 in less than two minutes. This win, in the quarterfinals, would set up a semifinal showdown with the 2025 Senior Men’s Freestyle World Champion at 70kg from Japan, winner advancing to the finals. This bout was as close as expected. Aoyogi (Japan) struck first with a takedown a bit more than one minute in, the first time Mesenbrink was behind in a bout today. Mesenbrink, in a scramble, was able to turn Aoyogi for a back exposure, as the score was 2-2, Mesenbrink holding criteria with about 40 seconds remaining in the first period. Mesenbrink struck again, just before the period ended, with another back exposure to take a 4-2 lead at the break. Mesenbrink was clearly the aggressor, as the Japanese early score was on a counter, and Mesenbrink’s points on his own attacks. The second period would turn out to be a dandy. Halfway through the period, Aoyogi would get the takedown that would tie the score at 4-4, but now the Japanese wrestler held criteria. Mesenbrink turned up the pressure, Aoyogi fighting off Mesenbrink’s attacks.. Then with 13 seconds left, a final Mesenbrink attack led to a scramble, the two point takedown awarded with about 1 second on the clock! The Japanese corner challenged the takedown, but the call was upheld and Mesenbrink would advance to tomorrow’s finals after the 7-4 win (1 point was added for the lost challenge). The finish was amazing!! Congrats to Mesenbrink, wrestling at noon tomorrow for a U23 World Championship.
Josh Barr: Barr would get a bye in the first qualification round before hitting the mat in round 2. His first action would be an 11-1 technical superiority win with about two minutes remaining in the bout. In the quarterfinals, Barr would face a wrestler from Iran. For the first period and one minute into the second, the current Penn State wrestler would get the better of his opponent, leading 3-1 (would have been 5-1, but a takedown was reversed after a challenge). After a restart, the Iranian would get the takedown that would tie the score, then follow that with five turns (back exposures) that would give the Iranian the 3-13 technical superiority win. Barr was clearly injured during the exchange, so we will have to wait and see if he can go tomorrow in repechage. the Iranian made the finals, pulling Barr back into the tournament, so again it is wait and see.
That’s it for the day. Tomorrow’s action will see three more Penn State wrestlers on the mats, as Luke Lilledahl (57kg), PJ Duke (70kg) and Levi Haines (79kg) will be wrestling.
