By: Pat Donghia

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; December 18, 2024 – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (3-0, 0-0 B1G) will head to Nashville, Tenn., for the Journeymen Collegiate Duals on Sunday, Dec. 22. Penn State will battle Binghamton (1-1) at 3 p.m., Little Rock (5-0) at 5 p.m. and Missouri (1-3) at 7 p.m. All rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI).

The Nittany Lions are coming off a resounding 54-0 shutout win over visiting Wyoming on Sunday, Dec., 15, in a dual moved to the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State had five pins, four techs and a major and posted its second most lopsided victory ever (55-0 vs. Buffalo in 2018).

Penn State’s line-up features ten ranked wrestlers. True freshman Luke Lilledahl is ranked No. 12 at 125, sophomore Braeden Davis is No. 10 at 133, senior+ Beau Bartlett is No. 3 at 141, sophomore Shayne Van Ness is No. 2 at 149, sophomore Tyler Kasak is No. 4 at 157, sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink is No. 1 at 165, junior Levi Haines is No. 2 at 174, graduate Carter Starocci is No. 1 at 184, redshirt freshman Josh Barr is No. 7 at 197 and senior+ Greg Kerkvliet is No. 2 at 285.

Binghamton enters the weekend 1-1, coming off a win over LIU this past Sunday. The Bearcats have four ranked wrestlers: Carson Wagner is No. 33 at 125, Brevin Cassella is No. 12 at 174, Will Ebert is No. 23 at 184 and Cory Day is No. 17 at 285. Penn State leads the all-time series with BU 3-0, including a 40-2 win at Binghamton on Nov. 17, 2017, in the last meeting.

Little Rock enters the weekend with a 5-0 overall record, coming off a Monday night win against Chattanooga. The Trojans have seven ranked wrestlers: Nasir Bailey is No. 5 at 133, Jordan Williams is No. 16 at 149, Matty Bianchi is No. 20 at 157, Joey Bianchi is No. 21 at 165, Tyler Brennan is No. 33 at 174, Brock DelSignore is No. 16 at 184 and Stephen Little is No. 5 at 197. This will be the first meeting ever between Penn State and Little Rock.

Missouri enters the weekend 1-3. The Tigers own a dual meet victory over Northern Colorado. Missouri has seven ranked wrestlers: Josh Edmond is No. 16 at 141, Logan Gioffre is No. 23 at 149, Cam Steed is No. 19 at 165, Keegan O’Toole is No. 1 at 174, Colton Hawks is No. 10 at 184, Rocky Elam is No. 4 at 197 and Seth Nitzel is No. 19 at 285. Penn State leads the all-tie series with Missouri 3-2-1, including a 20-19 win at the National Duals on Jan. 11, 2009, in the last meeting between the teams.

Penn State opens up Big Ten dual action in its next outing. The Nittany Lions host Michigan State on Friday, Jan. 10, at 8 p.m. in Rec Hall.

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 (3-0, 0-0 B1G)

125 #12 Luke Lilledahl Fr. Weldon Spring, Mo./Wyoming Seminary 5-0
133 #11 Braeden Davis So. Belleville, Mich./Dundee 2-1
141 #3 Beau Bartlett Sr.+ Tempe, Ariz./Wyoming Seminary 6-0
149 #2 Shayne Van Ness So. Somerville, N.J./Blair Academy 6-0
157 #4 Tyler Kasak So. Doylestown, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic 5-0
Alex Facundo So. Essexville, Mich./Davison 5-0
165 #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink So. Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead 7-0
174 #2 Levi Haines Jr. Arendtsville, Pa./Biglerville 6-0
184 #1 Carter Starocci Gr. Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep 6-0
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 6-0

BINGHAMTON BEARCATS (1-1)

125 #33 Carson Wagner So. Nazareth, Pa./Northampton
133 Micah Roes Gr. Lowville, N.Y./Lowville
141 Nate Lucier Jr. Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville
149 Ivan Garcia Sr. Port Chester, N.Y./Port Chester
157 Fin Nadeau Jr. Bigfork, Mt./Flathead
165 Robert Padilla So. Monroe, N.Y./St. Joseph Regional (N.J.)
174 #12 Brevin Cassella Sr. Clinton, Mass./Clinton
184 #23 Will Ebert Jr. Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde
197 Cayden Bevis Jr. Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln
285 #17 Cory Day Gr. Buffalo, N.Y./Iroquois

15 LITTLE ROCK TROJANS (5-0)

125 Tyson Roach Fr. Lake Charles, La./Sam Houston
133 #5 Nasir Bailey So. Park Forest, Ill./Rich Township
141 Cole Minnick Fr. Katy, Texas/Tompkins
149 #16 Jordan Williams Jr. Tulsa, Okla.
157 #20 Matty Bianchi Gr. Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers
165 #21 Joey Bianchi Gr. Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers
174 #33 Tyler Brennan Gr. Frisco, Texas/Frisco
184 #16 Brock DelSignore Sr. Ballston, N.Y./Shenendehowa
197 #5 Stephen Little So. Sturgis, Ky./Union County
285 Apollo Gothard Jr. Lemont, Ill./Lemont

8 MISSOURI TIGERS (1-3)

125 Gage Walker Fr. Jay, Okla./Bixby
133 Kade Moore So. Allen, Texas/Allen
141 #16 Josh Edmond Jr. Detroit, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central
149 #23 Logan Gioffre Jr. Clovis, Calif./Buchanan
157 James Conway So. Charlestown, Ind./Floyd Central
165 #19 Cam Steed So. Collinsville, Okla./Collinsville
174 #1 Keegan O’Toole Sr. Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead
184 #10 Colton Hawks Jr. Wentzville, Mo./Lafayette
197 #4 Rocky Elam Sr. Kansas City, Mo./Staley
Aeoden Sinclair Fr. Edgerton, Wis./Milton
285 #19 Seth Nitzel Jr. Stillwell, Kan./Blue Valley Southwest

Individual rankings listed are InterMat as of 12-17-24 // Team ranking InterMat TPI

THIS WEEK
The Nittany Lions (3-0, 0-0 B1G) head to Nashville, Tenn., for the 2024 Journeymen Collegiate Duals on Sunday, Dec. 22. The Nittany Lions battle Binghamton (1-1) at 3 p.m., No. 15 Little Rock (5-0) at 5 p.m. and No. 8 Missouri (1-3) at 7 p.m.