By Pat Donghia gopsusports.com
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (15-0, 8-0 B1G) shut out Princeton (4-11) in the dual meet finale for head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad. Penn State rolled to the 50-0 victory in senior Levi Haines’ final dual meet in Rec Hall.
The shutout victory was the eighth of the year for Penn State, meaning the Nittany Lions posted shutouts in over half their duals this year. Penn State now has 33 shutouts since Sanderson’s arrival as head coach in 2009-10.
The dual began at 125. Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 1 at 125, opened up the dual by forcing No. 12 Marc-Anthony McGowan into five stalls, winning by disqualification at the 6:54 mark to put Penn State on top 6-0. True freshman Marcus Blaze, ranked No. 2 at 133, dominated No. 32 Ethan Rivera in the next bout and posted an 11-3 major decision. Junior Braeden Davis, ranked No. 12 at 141, notched three takedowns in an 11-8 win over Matthew Martino to put Penn State up 13-0.
Junior Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 1 at 149, used four takedowns to control No. 14 Eligh Rivera in a 15-6 major decision. True freshman PJ Duke, ranked No. 4 at 157, put on a takedown clinic against Gavin Hawk. Duke tallied eight takedowns to roll to a 24-8 technical fall at 6:08. Penn State led 22-0 at halftime.
Junior Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, opened up the second with a fall over #19 Ty Whalen. Mesenbrink pinned the Tiger early in the second period, getting the fall at 3:31 to give the Lions a 28-0 lead. Haines, ranked No. 1 at 174, wrestled in Rec Hall for the last time and walked away with Penn State’s second straight fall. Haines pinned Cody Tavoso at the 4:06 mark in the second stanza. Sophomore Rocco Welsh, ranked No. 1 at 184, used seven takedowns to roll to a 21-6 tech fall over Xavier Giles to put Penn State up 39-0.
Sophomore Josh Barr, ranked No. 1 at 197, notched Penn State’s third pin of the dual by turning Conor McCloskey to his back for a fall in the first period (1:29). Redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola, ranked No. 6 at 285, closed out the dual with Penn State’s third technical fall. Mirasola rolled up seven takedowns in a 21-6 tech fall over Sebastian Garibaldi at the 3:46 mark. The Nittany Lions walked away with the 50-0 shutout win.
Penn State amassed a 39-2 edge in takedowns. The Nittany Lions won all ten bouts, nine by bonus. Penn State picked up 20 bonus points off three pins (Mesenbrink, Haines, Barr), a default win (Lilledahl), three tech falls (Duke, Welsh, Mirasola) and two majors (Blaze, Van Ness).
The Nittany Lions close out the regular season 15-0 overall, 8-0 in the Big Ten. Princeton falls to 4-11. Penn State will now get set to host the 2026 Big Ten Championship on Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, in the Bryce Jordan Center. Action begins with two sessions on Saturday, one at 10 a.m. and one at 5 p.m. The event concludes with a final combined session on Sunday starting at 12 p.m. (consolation finals/7th place rounds followed by the finals/3rd/5th place bouts).
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. The Family Clothesline is the presenting sponsor for the 2025-26 Nittany Lion wrestling season. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
#1 Penn State 50, Princeton 0
February 20, 2026 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
125: #1 Luke Lilledahl PSU win by DQ #12 Marck-Anthony McGowan PRIN, DQ (6:54) 6-0
133: #2 Marcus Blaze PSU maj. dec. #32 Ethan Rivera PRIN, 11-3 10-0
141: #12 Braeden Davis PSU dec. Matthew Martino PRIN, 11-8 13-0
149: #1 Shayne Van Ness PSU maj. dec. #14 Eligh Rivera PRIN, 15-6 17-0
157: #4 PJ Duke PSU tech fall Gavin Hawk PRIN, 24-8 (TF; 6:08) 22-0
165: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink PSU pinned #19 Ty Whalen PRIN, WBF (3:31) 28-0
174: #1 Levi Haines PSU pinned Cody Tavoso PRIN, WBF (4:06) 34-0
184: #1 Rocco Welsh PSU tech fall Xavier Giles PRIN, 21-6 (TF; 4:11) 39-0
197: #1 Josh Barr PSU pinned Conor McCloskey PRIN, WBF (1:29) 45-0
285: #6 Cole Mirasola PSU tech fall Sebastian Garibaldi PRIN, 21-6 (TF; 3:46) 50-0
Attendance: 6,356 (Penn State has wrestled in front of 91 sellouts in its last 98 home events, including 80-straight in Rec Hall and 11 of 18 in the BJC)
Records: Penn State 15-0, 8-0 B1G; Princeton 4-11
Up Next for Penn State: Hosts 2026 Big Ten Championships, Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8 (10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday // 12 p.m. combined session on Sunday)
DUAL MEET BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 1 at 125, took on No. 12 Marc-Anthony McGowan. Lilledahl held position on the mat while McGowan backed out to the outside circle from the onset. Lilledahl continued to pressure the Tiger backwards for the first minute-plus. Lilledahl forced a first stall warning at 1:00. He forced a second with :02 on the clock and led 1-0 after one. McGowan chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 1-1 tie. Lilledahl continued to pressure the Tiger backwards and took a 2-1 lead with a third stall warning. Lilledahl took a 4-1 lead with a fourth stall warning near the end of the period and led by that score after two. Lilledahl chose neutral to start the third period. He continued force McGowan backwards and received penalty point to take a 5-1 lead at 1:00. He forced the fifth and final stall with :06 left in the match to win by disqualification (stalling) at 6:54)
133: Marcus Blaze, ranked No. 2 at 133, met No. 32 Ethan Rivera. Blaze controlled the action from the onset and set up his offense for a takedown on the edge of the mat, taking a 3-0 lead with 1:38 on the clock. Blaze built up over 1:00 riding time before cutting Rivera loose. He carried the 3-1 lead into the second period and chose down to start it. Blaze worked his way to an escape and a 4-1 lead then went back to work in the center of the mat. Blaze worked Rivera’s head down, worked his way around the Tiger for a takedown and led 7-2 after cutting Rivera loose again. Rivera, trailing by five, chose down to start the third period. Blaze controlled action on top and built his riding time back over 1:00 before cutting Rivera loose on the reset to a 7-3 score. Blaze scrambled for leg control on the edge of the mat, pulled Rivera back in bounds, and finished off a takedown at :17. He finished the bout on top and, with 1:26 in riding time, posted the 11-3 major decision.
141: Braeden Davis, ranked No. 12 at 141, battled Matthew Martino. Davis and Martino battled on the Nittany Lion logo through the opening minute. Davis used a fast high single to take a 3-0 lead at 1:42. Martino escaped to a 3-1 score and action resumed in neutral. Davis forced a stall at :30, then worked a high single into a scramble and a takedown with just :02 on the clock to lead 6-1 after one. Davis chose down to start the second period. He escaped to a 7-1 score at 1:20 and went back to work on his feet. Martino worked his way to a takedown at :35 and cut Davis’ lead to 7-4. Davis escaped before the period ended and led 8-4 after two. Martino chose down to start the third period. Martino escaped to an 8-5 score with 1:35 on the clock. Davis fought off a Martino press at :45 but gave up a stall warning in the process. He gave up a second at :36 and led 8-6. Davis then bulled through a low double to take Martino down and led 11-6 at :22. Martino escaped to an 11-7 score at :11, forced another stall and Davis walked away with an 11-8 win.
149: Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 1 at 149, faced No. 14 Eligh Rivera. Van Ness took a 3-0 lead early in the bout with a fast takedown on the edge of the mat. Van Ness cut Rivera loose to a 3-1 score and the match continued with the wrestlers battling in neutral. Rivera worked shoulder control into a scramble, forcing Van Ness’ head down and finishing off the takedown at 1:00. Van Ness escaped to a 4-4 tie and went back to work on his feet. Van Ness turned a low double into a takedown and a 7-4 lead at :22. He finished the period on top and led by three after one. Rivera chose down to start the second period, and Van Ness cut him loose to a 7-5 score. Van Ness chased Rivera to the edge of the mat as the Tiger fled to the sidelines. He muscled the Tiger to the mat at :48 to lead 10-5 and worked his riding time up over 2:00 with a rideout. Van Ness chose neutral to start the third and quickly scrambled his way to a takedown and 13-6 lead after a quick cut. Van Ness forced a stall at :42 with riding time clinched. Van Ness continued to force Rivera into a stall for another point and, with 2:10 in riding time, rolled to the 15-6 major decision.
157: PJ Duke, ranked No. 4 at 157, met Gavin Hawk. Duke came out and took Hawk down quickly, opening up a 3-1 lead after cutting Hawk loose. The Nittany Lion freshman continued to pressure Hawk and took a 6-2 lead after a second takedown and cut. Duke took a 9-3 lead with a third takedown, then a 12-3 lead with a fourth at 1:11. Duke then went to work on top, working to turn the Tiger for back points and more. Hawk fought off the turn and escaped to a 12-4 score at :45. Duke led 12-4 after one. He chose neutral to start the second period then moved in quickly for a fifth takedown and a 15-5 lead. Duke fought off a solid Hawk shot, countered and moved himself into position for another takedown to lead 18-5 at :30. Hawk escaped before the period ended and Duke led 18-6 after two. Hawk chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to an 18-7 score. Duke took a 21-7 lead at 1:05 with a seventh takedown, cut Hawk loose and finished off the bout with a final takedown to post the convincing 24-8 technical fall at 6:08.
165: Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, took on No. 19 Ty Whalen. Mesenbrink came out and scrambled his way to a takedown and a 3-0 lead at 2:17. He built up over 1:00 in riding time before cutting Whalen loose to a 3-1 score. Mesenbrink scrambled through a slight Whalen shot for a second takedown and a 6-1 lead. He went to work on top and finished the period in control to lead 6-1 after one. Whalen chose down to start the second period. Mesenbrink quickly turned the Tiger to his back and pinned him at the 3:31 mark.
174: Levi Haines, ranked No. 1 at 174, battled Cody Tavoso. Haines battled through a scoreless first minute before taking Tavoso down to open up a 3-1 lead after a quick cut. He bulled through a second takedown to lead 6-1 and went to work on top, looking for a turn. Tavoso took down to start the second. Haines reversed him, cut him loose and then took him down quickly to lead 11-2 at the 1:30 mark. He turned the Tiger to his back and closed out his Rec Hall career with a pin at 4:06.
184: Rocco Welsh, ranked No. 1 at 184, faced Xavier Giles. Welsh worked the center of the mat for the first minute then turned a low shot into a takedown and a 3-0 lead at 1:48. He cut Giles loose on a reset and went back to work on his feet. Welsh scrambled around a slight Giles shot for a second takedown and a 6-1 lead at 1:15. After another escape, Welsh blew through a high double for a third takedown and a 9-3 lead. The Lion sophomore added another takedown at :22 and led 12-3 after one. Giles chose down to start the second and escaped to a 12-4 score. Welsh quickly took him down a fifth time and lead 15-5 at 1:30 as action returned to neutral. Welsh forced a stall warning and then took Giles down once again to up his lead to 18-6 after another cut. Welsh finished off the bout with a final takedown to post the 21-6 technical fall at 4:11.
197: Josh Barr, ranked No. 1 at 197, met Conor McCloskey. Barr took an early 3-0 lead with a takedown in the opening seconds. McCloskey escaped to a 3-1 score and Barr quickly turned a low double into a takedown and a 6-1 lead at 2:00.
285: Cole Mirasola, ranked No. 6 at 285, took on Sebastian Garibaldi. Mirasola used a high double for a takedown early in the bout for a quick 3-1 lead. The Lion freshman used a high double for a second takedown to lead 6-2 after cutting Garibaldi loose again. He bulled through a third takedown at 2:00, cut the Tiger loose and forced a stall warning at 1:35. He picked up a fourth takedown at 1:08 and a fifth at :30. Mirasola finished the period on top and led 15-4 after one. Garibaldi chose down to start the second and Mirasola let him up. He notched his sixth takedown to lead 18-6 at 1:30 and then finished off the bout with a final takedown, posting the 21-6 tech fall at 3:46.
