Back-to-Back: Five Take First as Penn Wrestling Wins Second Straight Conference Title

Penn State wrestling secured their second straight Big Ten team title in College Park, Maryland on Sunday. Five individual champions and a school record 170.5 punctuated the dominant performance from the Nittany Lions.

At 125 pounds, true freshman Braeden Davis secured an 8-1 decision over Minnesota’s Patrick McKee to win the weight class as the sixth seed. Davis finished the tournament with three nationally ranked victories over Eric Barnett of Wisconsin, Michael DeAugustino of Michigan and the aforementioned McKee.

Aaron Nagao fell short of a conference title at 133 pounds but still walked away with a strong showing and a third-place finish that he hopes will provide him some momentum for nationals.

Beau Bartlett ran a rough shot on the Big Ten in the regular season, but Jesse Mendez proved to be his kryptonite in College Park. The Buckeye bested Bartlett to take first place at 141 pounds, but the two could be on a collision course for a rematch in Kansas City.

True freshman Tyler Kasak rounded out a terrific showing in his first conference tournament with a third-place finish of his own and secured an NCAA tournament appearance. With the team losing star Shayne Van Ness at 149 pounds at the start of the season, many presumed the weight would be a weak point for the Nittany Lions for the rest of the campaign. Kasak has instead proved to be a bright spot and will now rep the blue and white on the national stage in a few weeks.

Levi Haines did it again at 157 pounds securing his second conference championship in his sophomore year. For Haines, it’s another accolade under his belt, but the big kahuna is still up for grabs; his first national title, which he’ll vie for and in all likelihood, be favored to obtain.

At 165 pounds the Mitchell Mesenbrink magic continued. In what could easily be pinpointed as a match of the tournament against the reigning champion in Wisconsin’s Dean Hamiti, Mesenbrink concocted a 13-11 comeback victory for the ages. Mesenbrink earned the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award as well to go with his conference championship.

The Cal-Baptist transfer has been one of the stories of the year in the NCAA. Blossoming from a burgeoning prospect that gained traction throughout the season, to a legitimate threat for the national title at 165 and a key cog in the future of the program.

With Carter Starocci taking a pair of injury default losses, 174 pounds was the lone class without representation for the Nittany Lions on Sunday, but Starocci was still a hot topic. A cryptic post on X late Saturday night read, “Looking forward to a new chapter. Thank you Penn State forever.”

The post comes amidst the expectation that Starocci will receive an at-large bid Tuesday. Starocci would become Penn State’s 10th wrestler representing the team at nationals, giving them a wrestler at each weight class for the tournament, presuming he’s deemed healthy enough to compete. Or, that this post wasn’t an indication of something more happening behind closed doors.

Alright, now back to the regularly scheduled programming. Bernie Truax finished off a strong tournament showing with a second-place performance, falling to Isaiah Salazar of Minnesota. Truax put up a valiant effort at 184 pounds but couldn’t beat Salazar who won 8-1 in sudden victory to take his first NCAA tournament title.

Then, Aaron Brooks did what Aaron Brooks does best, winning another conference championship, this time by tech fall over Iowa’s Zach Glazier. The Maryland native added his fourth conference title and Wrestler of the Championships honors in front of a familiar crowd. This polished off an undefeated season for Brooks, one in which he was awarded Big Ten Wrestler of the Year for his performance. Unequivocally, Brooks will go in the favorite at 197 pounds for nationals.

It was a long winding road for Greg Kerkvliet who finished second, third and fourth sequentially in three appearances at the conference tournament. After taking a step up each year Kerkvliet finally secured his first conference championship beating Ohio State youngster Nick Feldman for the title. Kerkvliet goes to Kansas City seeking to round out his year of firsts with his first NCAA crown.

With five individual champions and success at nearly every weight class, it was yet another dominant tournament for the Nittany Lions who won by a 47-point margin over the next closest school in Michigan. Cael Sanderson received Big Ten Coach of the Year recognition for piecing together another stout season for Penn State.

All the focus now shifts to the chase for the three-peat from Penn State and the NCAA tournament which kicks off March 21.

Dylan Price is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email dvp5625@psu.edu.