No. 2 Ohio State suffered its first defeat of the season, falling to No. 1 Penn State by a score of 36-5 on Friday at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania. The dual meet drew a crowd of 16,006 spectators.
The matchup featured several closely contested bouts but saw Penn State secure victories in nine out of ten matches.
At 125 pounds, top-ranked Luke Lilledahl of Penn State defeated second-ranked Nic Bouzakis from Ohio State in sudden victory, 4-1. The bout was tied after regulation before Lilledahl scored the decisive takedown.
In the 133-pound match, Marcus Blaze (Penn State) overcame Ben Davino (Ohio State) in tiebreakers with a final score of 3-2. Both wrestlers struggled to score during regulation and overtime before Blaze secured the win in the tiebreaker period.
Ohio State’s only win came at 141 pounds, where Jesse Mendez, ranked No. 1 nationally, earned a technical fall over Braeden Davis (Penn State), winning 18-2. Mendez controlled the match from start to finish.
Penn State responded with a series of dominant performances. At 149 pounds, Shayne Van Ness won by technical fall against Brogan Fielding (20-5). PJ Duke followed at 157 pounds with a pin over Daxton Chase at 3:28 into the match.
Mitchell Mesenbrink added another major decision for Penn State at 165 pounds against Paddy Gallagher (12-2). Levi Haines secured a technical fall over T.J. Schierl at 174 pounds (16-1).
At 184 pounds, Rocco Welsh narrowly defeated Dylan Fishback from Ohio State by decision, finishing ahead 7-6 after overcoming an early deficit.
Josh Barr continued Penn State’s success at 197 pounds with an 11-2 major decision against Luke Geog. In the heavyweight division, Cole Mirasola clinched victory for Penn State over Nick Feldman in sudden victory, winning by decision, 4-1.
Ohio State will look to rebound as it continues its road trip against Maryland on Sunday at 2 p.m., with coverage available via B1G+ streaming service.