Penn State wrestling clinches 12th NCAA team title. Here’s what’s next for each wrestler

Penn State clinched its 12th NCAA team title in program history Friday night during the semifinals of the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships.

The championship is the program’s 11th since Cael Sanderson took over as head coach in 2010.

The Nittany Lions were significant favorites heading into the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships and the fact that they clinched the team title Friday night is another sign that they have distanced themselves from the pack nationally.

While the overall championship is locked up, Penn State sent six wrestlers into the finals. Two others remain alive in the consolation bracket.

The question now is whether or not the team can break the NCAA record of 170 set by Iowa in 1997. The Nittany Lions sit at 148 points, which is good for an 83.5 point lead over Michigan.

The finals are set to take place Saturday at 7 p.m. starting at 285 pounds, but wrestling starts back up at 11 a.m.

Here’s a look at how things ended on day two:

125 Pounds: Braeden Davis

Record after day two: 2-2

Current Round: Eliminated

Recap: Davis’ day didn’t start well and it didn’t end well either.

The true freshman was upset by the No. 8 Richard Figueroa of Arizona State, 3-2. Figueroa opened the third period with a reversal and built up enough riding time for the winning points.

After dropping into the consolation bracket, Davis faced Wyoming’s Jore Volk, needing one win to become an All-American. The pair traded escapes to go to sudden victory.

With 44 seconds left, Volk took Davis down for the 4-1 win.

133 Pounds: Aaron Nagao

Record after day: 3-2

Current Round: Eliminated

Recap: Nagao battled his way back through the consolation bracket after suffering a first round loss.

He got himself to within one win of becoming an All-American by earning a 3-0 shutout of Arizona State’s Julian Chlebove. Nagao faced North Carolina State’s Kai Orine for a spot on the podium.

Orine took control of the bout early with a takedown in the first period. He extended his lead in the second period with four nearfall points and a full period rideout to lead 7-1 after two.

Nagao tried for the comeback, but he couldn’t get it in an 11-4 loss.

141 Pounds: Beau Bartlett

Record after day: 4-0

Current Round: Finals

Recap: Bartlett continued his hot streak on the mat Friday.

After pinning his way to the quarterfinals, he picked up another fall to make the semifinals. Bartlett stuck Minnesota’s Vance Vombaur, who was the No. 26 seed, in 6:48.

In the semifinals, the senior took on high school teammate Lachlan McNeil, who competed for North Carolina. Bartlett scored all of his points in the third period with a reversal, nearfall points and a riding time point in a 5-1 win.

He’ll get a familiar foe in Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez in the finals. Mendez handed Bartlett his lone loss of the year.

“I’m happy I performed well. I’m happy I was firing some shots,” Bartlett said. “I got a turn — that’s the highlight of my day. That was a lot of fun. I know that’s cliche, but I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a turn in a college folkstyle match.”

149 Pounds: Tyler Kasak

Record after day: 5-1

Current Round: Consolation Semifinals

Recap: Kasak continued his tremendous run through the consolation bracket.

He opened by pinning Cornell’s Ethan Fernandez in 37 seconds. The freshman then hung a 13-1 major decision on Indiana’s Graham Rooks.

Kasak took on North Carolina State’s Jackson Arrington for a spot on the podium. He used a gutsy takedown to edge Arrington, 5-4.

The Nittany Lion then continued his climb up the podium by collecting another major decision, 10-2, over Rider’s Quinn Kinner. Kasak will face Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett, who was upset in the semifinals, for a spot in the consolation finals.

157 Pounds: Levi Haines

Record after day: 4-0

Current Round: Finals

Recap: Haines opened his day with a Big Ten foe in Nebraska’s Peyton Robb.

The sophomore didn’t give up a single point to Robb in an 8-0 major decision. He got another familiar face in Virginia Tech’s Bryce Andonian in the semifinals.

Haines pinned Andonian in the quarterfinals last year. This year, he did it again in 6:49.

Haines is in his second straight NCAA final and will face Arizona State’s Jacori Teemer.

“I’m super excited. I never got to wrestle Jacori Teemer before, so I look forward to it. He’s a tough competitor,” Haines said. “Doesn’t matter if it’s the national finals or if we were wrestling at some random location on some random day, I just really love to compete. I’m excited to be able to do that (Saturday).”

165 Pounds: Mitchell Mesenbrink

Record after day: 4-0

Current Round: Finals

Recap: Mesenbrink took care of Michigan’s Cameron Amine in the quarterfinals, 6-1, after forcing several stall calls on the Wolverine like he did in the January dual.

In the semifinals, Mesenbrink gave up the initial takedown to Iowa’s Michael Caliendo. He responded by snapping off five takedowns of his own to secure a 17-9 major decision.

Mesenbrink takes on Iowa State’s David Carr in the finals.

“It’s about competing with heart, and realizing that it doesn’t matter if you’re down early, just keep going and keep bringing it. Like I said, wrestling with honor, wrestling with my value not being tied with the outcome,” Mesenbrink said, “winning or losing, but being tied to how hard I compete, and if I keeping giving it my all. I think that is hopefully apparent that when I do wrestle I put it all out there and I wrestle with my entire heart.”

174 Pounds: Carter Starocci

Record after day: 4-0

Current Round: Finals

Recap: Starocci has shown a lot of grit in his tournament run.

He opened his day by taking on Virginia Tech’s Mehki Lewis in the quarterfinals. Starocci collected an early takedown and added an escape in the second period to tally a 4-0 shutout.

He then shutout Michigan’s Shane Griffith, 2-0, in the semifinals. By beating both of those guys, Starocci took down former NCAA champions in back-to-back rounds.

He’ll get Ohio State’s Rocco Welsh in a battle of Pennsylvania kids, and a chance at a fourth NCAA title.

“It’s one of those numbers where like every single day you wake up, you kind of envision yourself making history every single day. When you are actually living it, it’s as if it’s not so real,” Starocci said. “When you’re in your bed and you’re thinking about it, it almost feels so real and when you are out there it goes by so fast.”

184 Pounds: Bernie Truax

Record after day: 4-1

Current Round: Consolation Semifinals

Recap: Truax suffered a 16-6 major decision loss to Oklahoma State’s Dustin Plott to start his day in a match that he appeared to injure his right leg.

He responded by shutting out North Carolina State’s Dylan Fishback, 5-0. Truax took out another ACC-foe in Virginia Tech’s TJ Stewart, 5-1.

He’ll face Oregon State’s Trey Munoz for a spot in the consolation finals.

197 Pounds: Aaron Brooks

Record after day: 4-0

Current Round: Finals

Recap: Brooks continued to be a bonus-point machine.

He pinned his way into the semifinals by sticking Oklahoma’s Stephen Buchanan in 2:45. Brooks then put on a takedown clinic on Missouri’s Rocky Elam.

He tallied five in a 17-2 technical fall in 5:46.

Brooks now gets a familiar face in North Carolina State’s Trent Hidlay in the finals, and will look to claim a fourth NCAA title.

“I think you just don’t really think about it. You don’t let things consume you. The world wants to consume you; labels, titles, accomplishments,” Brooks said. “When you’re not defined by that stuff and you’re not chasing that, it sets you free. It is a battle, because it’s constantly being pushed in your face on social media. It’s always someone trying to remind you what you’re doing, but it’s like, ‘Hey, I’m just blessed to be doing this.’”

285 Pounds: Greg Kerkvliet

Record after day: 4-0

Current Round: Finals

Recap: Kerkvliet snuck his way into the semifinals by edging Ohio State’s Nick Feldman, 1-0.

He opened his offense up more against Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz in their semifinals bout. Kerkvliet was able to secure a takedown in the first and second period on his way to an 8-1 win and his second NCAA final.

“I like Cohlton, he’s a good guy. We just happened to meet on the same side of the bracket,” Kerkvliet said. “It’s always fun competing against anybody, especially guys you know and have a good relationship with. He’s a big, strong guy, kind of want to stay out from under those hips. I think I played it smart, played it right and it went my way.”

The Penn State wrestler gets Michigan’s Lucas Davison, who made his way to the finals as a No. 10 seed.

NCAA Championships

Friday at Kansas City, Mo.

Team key: Air Force (AF), American (A), Appalachian State (APP), Arizona State (ASU), Army West Point (AWP), Binghamton (BT), Brown (B), Bucknell (BK), Buffalo (BF), Cal Poly (CP), California Baptist (CBT), Campbell (CB), Central Michigan (CM), Chattanooga, (CT), Clarion (C), Cleveland State (CSU), Columbia (CL), Cornell (CN), Davidson (D), Franklin & Marshall (F), Gardner-Webb (GW), George Mason (GM), Harvard (H), Hofstra (HF), Illinois (IL), Indiana (ID), Iowa State (ISU), Iowa (I), Kent State (K), Lehigh (L), Little Rock (LR), Long Island University (LIU), Lock Haven (LH), Maryland (MD), Michigan State (MSU), Michigan (M), Minnesota (MN), Missouri (MS), Navy (N), Nebraska (NEB), North Carolina State (NCS), North Carolina (NC), North Dakota State (NDS), Northern Colorado (NCO), Northern Illinois (NI), Northern Iowa (NIU), Northwestern (NW), Ohio State (OSU), Ohio (O), Oklahoma State (OKS), Oklahoma (OK), Oregon State (OS), Penn State (PSU), Pennsylvania (P), Pittsburgh (PT), Princeton (PN), Purdue (PD), Rider (RD), Rutgers (R), SIU Edwardsville (SE), South Dakota State (SD), Stanford (S), The Citadel (T), Utah Valley (U), Virginia Tech (VT), Virginia (V), VMI (VMI), West Virginia (WV), Wisconsin (W), Wyoming (WY)

Team scores: 1. Penn State 148, 2. Michigan 64.5, 3. Iowa 60, T4. Arizona State 59.5, T4. Iowa State 59.5, 6. Cornell 58.5, 7. Ohio State 57, 8. Oklahoma State 55, 9. Virginia Tech 53, 10. Nebraska 52

Semifinals

141: Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Lachlan McNeil, NC, 5-1; 157: Levi Haines, PSU, pinned Bryce Andonian, VT, 6:48 (SV); 165: Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, major dec. Michael Caliendo, I, 17-9; 174: Carter Starocci, PSU, dec. Shane Griffith, M, 2-0; 197: Aaron Brooks, PSU, tech. fall Rocky Elam, MS, 17-2 (5:46); 285: Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, dec. Cohlton Schultz, ASU, 8-1

Consolation Quarterfinals

149: Tyler Kasak, PSU, major dec. Quinn Kinner, RD, 10-2; 184: Bernie Truax, PSU, dec. TJ Stewart, VT, 5-1

Consolation Fourth Round

125: Jore Volk, WY, dec. Braeden Davis, PSU, 4-1 (SV); 133: Kai Orine, NCS, dec. Aaron Nagao, PSU, 11-4; 149: Kasak, PSU, dec. Jackson Arrington, NCS, 5-4; 184: Truax, PSU, dec. Dylan Fishback, NCS, 5-0

Consolation Third Round

133: Nagao, PSU, dec. Nic Bouzakis, OSU, 3-0; 149: Kasak, PSU, major dec. Graham Rooks, ID, 13-1

Consolation Second Round

133: Nagao, PSU, dec. Julian Chlebove, ASU, 5-1; 149: Kasak, PSU, pinned Ethan Fernandez, CN, :36

Quarterfinals

125: Richard Figueroa, ASU, dec. Davis, PSU, 3-2; 141: Bartlett, PSU, pinned Vance Vombaur, MN, 6:48; 157: Haines, PSU, major dec. Peyton Robb, NEB, 8-0; 165: Mesenbrink, PSU, dec. Cameron Amine, M, 6-1; 174: Starocci, PSU, dec. Mehki Lewis, VT, 4-0; 184: Dustin Plott, OKS, major dec. Truax, PSU, 16-6; 197: Brooks, PSU, pinned Stephen Buchanan, OK, 2:44; 285: Kerkvliet, PSU, dec. Nick Feldman, OSU, 1-0

Jon Sauber reported from Centre County.