By: Pat Donghia
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (2-0, 0-0 B1G) hosts Wyoming on Sunday, Dec. 15. Due to scheduling conflicts with the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament, this dual meet has been moved to the Bryce Jordan Center. The dual between the Lions and Cowboys, the first ever, maintains the original 1 p.m. start time. All rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI).
The Nittany Lions are coming off a resounding 36-3 win at No. 14 Lehigh on Sunday, Dec. 8. Penn State won nine of ten bouts including a pin, two technical falls and three majors. The win improved Penn State’s dual record to 2-0 on the year.
Penn State’s line-up features ten ranked wrestlers. Luke Lilledahl is ranked No. 12 at 125, Braeden Davis No. 11 at 133, Beau Bartlett No. 3 at 141, Shayne Van Ness No. 2 at 149, Tyler Kasak No. 4 at 157, Mitchell Mesenbrink No. 1 at 165, Levi Haines No. 2 at 174, Carter Starocci No. 1 at 184, Josh Barr No. 7 at 197 and Greg Kerkvliet No. 2 at 285.
Wyoming enters the dual with a 2-2 mark. The Cowboys last competed at Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas last Friday and Saturday. Wyoming owns dual meet wins over Campbell (28-12) and Western Wyoming (46-0) and has lost to Oklahoma State (32-6) and Oklahoma (27-6). Jore Volk is ranked No. 7 at 125, Cole Brooks is No. 28 at 141, Gabe Willochell is No. 22 at 149, Jared Hill is No. 19 at 157, and Joey Novak is No. 14 at 197. This will be the first dual meet ever between the two schools.
Penn State closes out the first semester portion of its schedule with a trip to Nashville, Tenn., for the 2024 Journeymen Collegiate Duals on Sunday, Dec. 22. The Nittany Lions will face Binghamton at 3 p.m., Little Rock at 5 p.m. and Missouri at 7 p.m.
The 2024-25 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via X 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 NITTANY LIONS (2-0, 0-0 B1G)
125 #12 Luke Lilledahl Fr. Weldon Spring, Mo./Wyoming Seminary 4-0
133 #11 Braeden Davis So. Belleville, Mich./Dundee 1-1
141 #3 Beau Bartlett Sr.+ Tempe, Ariz./Wyoming Seminary 5-0
149 #2 Shayne Van Ness So. Somerville, N.J./Blair Academy 5-0
157 #4 Tyler Kasak So. Doylestown, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic 4-0
Alex Facundo So. Essexville, Mich./Davison 5-0
165 #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink So. Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead 6-0
174 #2 Levi Haines Jr. Arendtsville, Pa./Biglerville 5-0
184 #1 Carter Starocci Gr. Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep 5-0
197 #7 Josh Barr R-Fr. Davison, Mich./Davison 4-0
Lucas Cochran Jr. Perry, Utah/Box Elder 4-0
285 #2 Greg Kerkvliet Sr.+ Inver Grove Heights, Min../Simley 5-0
WYOMING COWBOYS (2-2)
125 Jack Braman So. Lookout Mountain, Ga./The McCallie School 1-4
133 Stockton O’Brien Jr. Woodland, Utah/Wasatch 5-3
141 #28 Cole Brooks So. Owasso, Oklahoma/Collinsville 4-4
149 #22 Gabe Willochell Jr. Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe 4-4
157 #19 Jared Hill Jr. Broken Arrow, Oklahoma/Broken Arrow 6-2
165 Cooper Voorhees Sr. Rapid City, S.D./Stevens 3-4
174 OR Riley Davis Fr. Amarillo, Texas/Randall 0-2
184 OR Quayin Short Jr. Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley 0-1
197 OR Ethan Ducca Sr. Chardon, Ohio/Ashtabula St. John 0-0
285 Kevin Zimmer So. Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg 2-5
Individual rankings listed are InterMat as of 12-10-24 // Team ranking InterMat TPI
