Penn State University’s wrestling team secured the Big Ten Regular Season Championship after a decisive 36-5 victory over Ohio State at the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday night. The event drew 16,006 spectators, setting a new NCAA and Penn State indoor attendance record for wrestling.
The win marks Penn State’s sixth consecutive regular season Big Ten title and its 12th overall since Cael Sanderson became head coach in the 2009-10 season. The Nittany Lions also completed their 11th unbeaten and untied Big Ten regular season in school history. All of the top ten NCAA indoor attendance records for wrestling have now been set at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center.
The dual meet featured six underclassmen in Penn State’s lineup. Action began at 125 pounds, where Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 1, defeated Ohio State’s Nic Bouzakis in sudden victory with a score of 4-1. At 133 pounds, true freshman Marcus Blaze earned a narrow win over Ben Davino with a reversal in tie-breaker time.
Ohio State got on the board at 141 pounds when Jesse Mendez scored an 18-2 technical fall over Braeden Davis. However, Shayne Van Ness responded for Penn State at 149 pounds with his own technical fall against Brogan Fielding.
At 157 pounds, PJ Duke pinned Daxton Chase early in the second period to give Penn State a commanding lead going into halftime. After intermission, Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) won by major decision and Levi Haines (174) added another technical fall.
Rocco Welsh (184) overcame an early deficit to defeat Dylan Fishback with a late takedown. Josh Barr (197) followed up with an 11-2 major decision against Luke Geog. The night concluded with Cole Mirasola securing a sudden victory win over Nick Feldman at heavyweight.
Penn State won nine out of ten bouts and recorded five bonus-point victories through one pinfall, two technical falls, and two major decisions. The Nittany Lions improved their overall record to 14-0 (8-0 B1G), while Ohio State fell to 17-1 (6-1 B1G).
Penn State will finish its dual meet season next week against Princeton on February 20 at Rec Hall.
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