Penn State wrestling survives some surprises in Big Ten road victory over Nebraska

Penn State made the trek to Lincoln, Nebraska, for its first Big Ten road dual of the year on Friday night.

The No. 1 Nittany Lions will come back to Happy Valley as 31-7 victors over No. 7 Nebraska in a dual that showcased 10 bouts of ranked wrestlers squaring off. There were also some surprises, with a pair of top-5 Penn State wrestlers suffering defeats.

The dual began with the Nittany Lions winning the first five bouts, after Levi Haines kicked things off at 174 pounds with a 9-2 win over fellow Pennsylvania wrestler in No. 15 Lenny Pinto. Carter Starocci had three takedowns in his 11-2 major decision over No. 7 Silas Allred.

Josh Barr put on an offensive display in the third period to the tune of four takedowns. He had six total in his 19-4 technical fall over No. 22 Camden McDanel in 6:42.

Penn State led 12-0.

Greg Kerkvliet had no troubles with No. 24 Harley Andrews. After two periods, the No. 2 wrestler in the country held a 12-2 lead after scoring 10 points.

In the third period, Kerkvliet collected two sets of nearfall points for a 20-2 tech in 6:12.

Luke Lilledahl proved he’s a force to reckon with at 125 pounds against No. 6 Caleb Smith. The pair were tied 1-1 late in the bout when they went into scramble mode.

Lilledahl countered a Smith shot attempt with his cat-like reflexes for the winning takedown with 15 seconds left in a 4-2 win. The Nittany Lions led 20-0 at the break.

Then came the first top-5 wrestler to drop a bout in Braeden Davis. No. 16 Jacob Van Dee hit Davis with a Jonesy Roll for a takedown and nearfall points in the first period.

Davis got an escape and a takedown, but Van Dee had a reversal to lead 7-5 after one period. After Davis tallied an escape in the second period, Van Dee countered Davis’ throw attempt for a takedown. The Cornhuskers’ wrestler added a riding time point for a 14-7 victory over the Penn State wrestler.

Beau Bartlett needed a reversal with 12 seconds left in the third period to edge No. 6 Brock Hardy, 8-7.

At 149 pounds, Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett, who is No. 4 in the country, was dominant against Shayne Van Ness. Van Ness tallied a reversal in the second period for his lone points of the bout.

In the third period, Lovett quickly escaped and went right into a takedown of Van Ness. The defending Big Ten champion then put Van Ness toward his back for nearfall points in a 10-2 major decision.

Tyler Kasak had a takedown into nearfall points on No. 5 Antrell Taylor in the first period, which was plenty in a 9-3 victory. Mitchell Mesenbrink closed the dual out by welcoming No. 7 Bubba Wilson to the mat for Nebraska to the tune of a 20-3 technical fall in 5:39.

The Nittany Lions will next face Rutgers on the road at 8 p.m. Friday.

No. 1 Penn State 31, No. 7 Nebraska 7

Friday at Lincoln, Nebraska

174: No. 2 Levi Haines, PSU, dec. No. 15 Lenny Pinto, 9-2

184: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU, major dec. No. 7 Silas Allred, 11-2

197: No. 4 Josh Barr, PSU, tech. fall No. 22 Camden McDanel, 19-4 (6:42)

285: No. 2 GReg Kerkvliet, PSU, tech. fall No. 24 Harley Andrews, 20-2 (6:12)

125: No. 12 Luke Lilledahl, PSU, dec. No. 6 Caleb Smith, 4-2

133: No. 16 Jacob Van Dee, N, dec. No. 5 Braeden Davis, 14-7

141: No. 3 Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. No. 6 Brock Hardy, 8-7

149: No. 4 Ridge Lovett, N, major dec. No. 2 Shayne Van Ness, 10-2

157: No. 3 Tyler Kasak, PSU, dec. No. 5 Antrell Taylor, 9-3

165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, tech. fall No. 7 Bubba Wilson, 20-3 (5:39)

Takedowns: PSU 20, N 4

Records: Penn State (8-0, 2-0 Big Ten), Nebraska (6-2, 1-1 Big Ten)

Next match: Penn State at Rutgers, Friday, 8 p.m.