By Pat Donghia gopsusports.com 11/17/24
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (1-0, 0-0 B1G) rolled to a 41-3 win over visiting Drexel (0-4) in its official NCAA season opener Sunday in Rec Hall. Penn State posted the win with a handful of regular starters not competing, having wrestled in last night’s NWCA All-Star Exhibition.
Two true freshmen made their Penn State dual debuts in the season opener and two wrestlers who won in last night’s All-Star Exhibition took to the mat and rolled to big wins. The dual was wrestled in front of 6,426 fans, the 73rd-straight Rec Hall sellout crowd.
The dual meet began at 125. True freshman Luke Lilledahl made his Penn State debut at 125 and received a forfeit victory after Drexel’s 125-pounder suffered an injury heading into the weekend. Sophomore Braeden Davis, ranked No. 7 at 133, opened up an early 6-2 lead and held on for a 7-5 win over Drexel’s Kyle Waterman to give Penn State a 9-0 lead. With No. 3 Beau Bartlett not wrestling after last night’s All-Star exhibition, true freshman Cael Nasdeo made his collegiate debut at 141. Nasdeo led early but dropped a tough 11-8 decision to Drexel’s Jordan Soriano.
With No. 2 Shayne Van Ness also not competing after the All-Star exhibition, sophomore Connor Pierce got the nod at 149. Pierce opened up an early lead and held on for a hard fought 5-4 win over Dom Findora to put Penn State up 12-3. Likewise, No. 5 Tyler Kasak did not compete after his All-Star exhibition appearance and sophomore Alex Facundo took to the mat at 157. Facundo led early and held off a late rally to post an 8-6 win over Luke Nichter. Penn State led 15-3 at halftime.
Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, opened up the second half by rolling to a 21-4 technical fall over Drexel’s Cody Walsh (5:19). Mesenbrink’s win put the Nittany Lions up 20-3. Junior Levi Haines, ranked No. 2 at 174, followed that up with a tech fall of his own. Haines rolled up two takedowns and a series of nearfalls to post the 16-0 tech at 4:04. Graduate Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 184, notched Penn State’s third straight technical fall. Starocci dominated Giusseppe Hoose in a 19-3 tech fall at 5:37, to put Penn State on top 30-3.
Junior Lucas Cochran made it four straight techs with a big win at 197. The Lion junior led 14-1 after two and ended the match early in the second with an escape and takedown to roll to an 18-1 tech (3:27). Senior Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 1 at 285, finished off a torrid Penn State second half with a first period pin over Tanner Updegraff, getting the fall at 1:40. Kerkvliet’s capped off Penn State’s 41-3 win.
Penn State won nine of ten bouts and rolled up a 25-4 edge in takedowns. The Nittany Lions picked up 14 bonus points off a pin (Kerkvliet), a forfeit win (Lilledahl) and four technical falls (Mesenbrink, Haines, Starocci, Cochran).
The Nittany Lions return to action next weekend when they head to West Point, N.Y., for the Black Knight Invitational. Action begins at 10 a.m. at Army West Point. All rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat Team TPI.
Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via X/twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
#1 Penn State xxx, Drexel xxx
November 17, 2024 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
125: Luke Lilledahl PSU win by forfeit 6-0
133: #7 Braeden Davis PSU dec. Kyle Waterman DREX, 7-5 9-0
141: Jordan Soriano DREX dec. Cael Nasdeo PSU, 11-8 9-3
149: Connor Pierce PSU dec. Dom Findora DREX, 5-4 12-3
157: Alex Facundo PSU dec. Luke Nichter DREX, 8-6 15-3
165: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink PSU tech fall Cody Walsh DREX, 21-4 (TF; 5:19) 20-3
174: #2 Levi Haines PSU tech fall Jack Janda DREX, 16-0 (TF; 4:04) 25-3
184: #1 Carter Starocci PSU tech fall Giuseppe Hoose DREX, 19-3 (TF; 5:37) 30-3
197: Lucas Cochran PSU tech fall Ethan Wilson DREX, 18-1 (TF; 3:27) 35-3
285: #1 Greg Kerkvliet PSU pinned Tanner Updegraff DREX, WBF (1:40) 41-3
Attendance: 6,426 (Penn State has wrestled in front of 82 sellouts in its last 85 home events, including 73-straight in Rec Hall and 9 of 12 in the BJC)
Records: Penn State (1-0, 0-0 B1G); Drexel (0-4)
Up Next for Penn State: at Black Knight Invitational, West Point, N.Y. – Sunday, Nov. 24, 10 a.m.
DUAL MEET BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: True freshman Luke Lilledahl made his collegiate debut on Sunday and received a forfeit victory as Drexel’s 125-pounder suffered an injury heading into the weekend.
133: Sophomore Braeden Davis, ranked No. 7 by InterMat at 133, met senior Kyle Waterman. Davis came out quickly and took Waterman down for an early 3-1 lead just seconds into the bout. The Nittany Lion sophomore worked his way in on a single leg. Davis called for a quick injury timeout, stopping the action. Waterman chose down on the reset and escaped to a 3-2 score. Davis quickly took the Dragon down for another takedown and a 6-2 lead. Waterman reversed Davis on the scramble to cut the lead to 6-4 at :35. Trailing 6-4, Waterman chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 6-5 score. Davis worked the center of the mat through the 1:00 mark, looking for an opening to score again. Waterman was able to work Davis towards the outside circle and the match moved to the third period with Davis leading 6-5. Davis chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 7-5 lead. Davis was hit for a first stall call at 1:04. He fought off a solid Waterman shot at the 1:05 mark and worked the clock down to :45 before the bout was stopped for blood. Davis worked his way in on a shot at the reset and forced a scramble through the end of the bout. The Drexel corner called for a video review at the end of the match, looking for a Waterman takedown on the scramble. The call was confirmed and Davis walked away with the 7-5 victory.
141: True freshman Cael Nasdeo made his collegiate debut and met Drexel’s Jordan Soriano at 141. Nasdeo came out and scored quickly, taking Soriano down at the 2:41 mark for a 3-0 lead. Soriano worked a double into a near takedown but Nasdeo deftly rolled through the move and took a 6-1 lead with another takedown of his own. Nasdeo worked strong on top, building up over 1:30 in riding time while looking for a turn. Soriano escaped to a 6-2 score and then countered a Nasdeo shot for a late takedown, cutting the lead to 6-5. Nasdeo escaped with :02 on the clock to lead 7-5 after one. Nasdeo chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to an 8-5 lead. Soriano worked a low single into a takedown and an 8-8 tie at the 1:15 mark. Nasdeo was unable to work free of the Drexel ride and the bout moved to the third period tied 8-8. Soriano chose down to start the third period and reversed Nasdeo to lead 10-8. Soriano built his time up to 1:25 before a stall warning at the :48 mark. Nasdeo was unable to break free of Soriano’s ride and, giving up riding time, dropped the 11-8 decision.
149: Junior Connor Pierce took on Dragon Dom Findora at 149. Findora worked his way in on a solid shot at the 1:50 mark but Pierce was able to scrambled his way to a stalemate and a reset. The Nittany Lion then pressed forward with a low shot, flowing through the action to get the takedown at 1:20, opening up a 3-0 lead. Pierce was able to maintain control of the action for the remainder of the period, finishing on top to lead 3-0 with 1:20 in time after one. Findora chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 3-1 score. Pierce moved in on a low shot, forcing a scramble at the :50 mark, but Findora worked his way to a stalemate and a reset. Findora took a shot with :10 left, and Pierce fought the move off to kill the clock and lead 3-1 after two. Pierce chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 4-1 lead. Findora moved in on a low single and scrambled his way to a takedown to tie the bout at 4-4. Pierce escaped to a 5-4 lead with 1:10 left. Findora continued to shoot, forcing Pierce into defense for the remaining :50 seconds. Pierce held on for the 5-4 victory.
157: Sophomore Alex Facundo faced off against Drexel’s Luke Nichter at 157. Facundo fought off a Nichter shot with 2: on the clock and then scrambled around behind the Dragon for a takedown of his own and a 3-0 lead. Nichter escaped to a 3-1 score at 1:40. Facundo moved in on a low shot, but the action was halted at :50. The Nittany Lion sophomore carried the 3-1 lead into the second period. Facundo chose down to start the second period and Facundo quickly reversed the Dragon for a 5-1 lead. He settled on a strong ride through the 1:00 mark before cutting Nichter loose to a 5-2 score. Nichter worked his way in for a tying takedown at :45 and Facundo scrambled his way to a reversal with :08 left to lead 7-5 after two periods. Nichter chose down to start the third period. Facundo was strong on top, working his riding time back up over 1:00 and the clock down to 1:00 before Nichter escaped to a 7-6 score. Facundo pressed the Dragon backwards, forcing a stall warning at :35. He finished the period in control of a scramble and, with 1:24 in riding time, rolled to the 8-6 win.
165: Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, battled senior Cody Walsh of Drexel. Mesenbrink started quickly, lifting Walsh off the mat and taking him down to a scramble off the opening whistle. He finished off the takedown for a 3-0 lead at 2:20 and went to work on top. Mesenbrink cut Walsh loose and then immediately scored off a reset to lead 6-1 at 1:52. The Nittany Lion sophomore built up over 1:00 of riding time with strong control on top before cutting the Dragon loose again. Mesenbrink added a quick third takedown for a 9-2 lead at 1:00. He scored again after a Walsh escape and carried a 12-3 lead with 1:56 riding time into the second period. Mesenbrink chose down to start the second period and quickly reversed Walsh to lead 14-3. He built his riding time up over 3:00 while looking to turn Walsh to his back. The Dragon was able to fight off the nearfall until Mesenbrink cut him loose with :30 on the clock. Mesenbrink took him down again to lead 17-4 with :20 left and, with 3:23 in riding time, led 17-4 after two. Walsh chose top to start the third period and Mesenbrink escaped to an 18-4 lead. Mesenbrink finished off the match with a final takedown to post the 21-4 tech fall at 5:19.
174: Levi Haines, ranked No. 2 at 174, met Jack Janda. Haines scored quickly, taking an early 3-2 lead at the 2:21 mark. He spent 1:00 working for a turn and picked up two near fall points to lead 5-0 at :50. He continued to work Janda’s shoulders, looking for another turn. He picked up another four point turn before the period ended to lead 9-0 after one. Haines chose neutral to start the second period. He zipped through a low single for another takedown and a 12-0 lead at 1:35. Haines then rolled Janda one more time and ended the bout with a final four point turn, posting the 16-0 tech fall at 4:04.
184: Graduate Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 184, took on Giuseppe Hoose. Starocci scored quickly, turning a low shot into a scramble and a takedown to lead 3-0 at 2:11. Starocci let the Dragon loose at 1:15, leading 3-1. He worked another low single into a scramble and a second takedown to lead 6-1 at the :50 mark. Starocci cut Hoose loose and quickly took him down again for a 9-2 lead with :32 left on the clock. The Nittany Lion grad finished the period on top to carry that lead, plus 1:36 in time, into the second period. Starocci chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 10-2 lead. Starocci dropped down after a quick high single to open up a 13-3 lead with another takedown and cut. He added another quick takedown to up his lead 16-3 with 1:05 left in the period. Starocci finished on top and led 16-3 with 2:40 in riding time after two. Hoose chose neutral to start the third period and Starocci ended the bout with a final takedown at the 1:23 mark, posting the 19-3 tech fall at the 5:37 mark.
197: Penn State’s Lucas Cochran faced off against Ethan Wilson at 197. Cochran scored quickly, taking Wilson down for an early 3-0 lead just :15 into the bout. Cochran turned Wilson for four back points before the Dragon escaped to a 7-1 Cochran lead. The Nittany Lion junior turned a low shot into another takedown to up his lead to 10-1 at 1:20. He then turned Wilson for four more back points, upping his margin to 14-1 at 1:05. He chose down to start the second half, escaped and quickly ended the match with a takedown, posting the 18-1 tech fall at 3:27.
285: Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 1 at 285, met Drexel’s Tanner Updegraff. Kerkvliet scored quickly, taking Updegraff down for a 3-1 lead just :30 into the bout. He added a second takedown, and a four-point turn to open up a 10-1 lead and then finished the match off with a first period pin, getting the fall at 1:40.
