Penn State Wrestling Dominates Wyoming for 59th Consecutive Win

The Nittany Lions shut out Wyoming 54-0, earning bonus points in all 10 bouts.

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Levi Haines gets his hand raised at the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships. / Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The No. 1 Penn State wrestling team continued its roll through the nonconference schedule, shutting out Wyoming 54-0 in Sunday's match at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions won their 59th consecutive dual dating to 2020 and are one win from tying the longest streak in coach Cael Sanderson's career at Penn State. The victory was Sanderson's 250th in his 19-year coaching career, including three seasons at Iowa State.

Penn State (3-0) has been utterly dominant to start the 2024-25 wrestling season. The Nittany Lions have outscored their three opponents 136-6 and are a combined 28-2 in the 30 bouts contested (including one forfeit). Penn State has scored bonus points in 22 of its victories, including all 10 bouts against Wyoming.

The Nittany Lions produced five pins, four technical falls, one major decision and a 29-1 edge in takedowns against the Cowboys. Here's the recap:

125: No. 12 Luke Lilledahl tech. fall Jack Braman 20-5 in 4:25: Lilledahl, a true freshman, quickly scored two takedowns in the first minute on his way to the second-period technical fall. Lilledahl (5-0) led 12-3 after one period, opened the second with a turn for back points and finished the bout two more takedowns.

133: No. 11 Braeden Davis tech. fall Stockton O’Brien 18-4 in 5:27: Davis scored two first-period takedowns to take a 6-1 lead, built that to 12-3 after two periods and began the finish with a reversal to start the third period. Davis (2-1) bounced back from a loss to top-ranked Ryan Crookham of Lehigh.

141: No. 3 Beau Bartlett pin No. 28 Cole Brooks :47: Bartlett didn't need more than one takedown, quickly putting Brooks on his back for the fall. Bartlett improved to 6-0.

149: No. 2 Shayne Van Ness pin No. 22 Gabe Willochell 4:27: Van Ness scored his first takedown within seconds of the first period, which Willochell countered with a first-period takedown to tie the bout at 4-4. Van Ness (6-0) hit a second-period takedown to take a 10-5 lead and spun that into the fall.

157: No. 4 Tyler Kasak decision No. 19 Jared Hill16-3: Kasak scored a pair of first-period takedowns to take a 7-1 lead and punctuated his scoring with three nearfall points in the third. Kasak (5-0) finished with 2:06 of riding time.

165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink tech. fall Cooper Voorhees 15-0 in 3:17: Mesenbrink cruised to the shutout by turning a takedown into four nearfall points in the first period. Mesenbrink (7-0) was dominant from the top position, adding four more back points in the second.

174: No. 2 Levi Haines pin Riley Davis 2:25: Haines scored just over a minute into the first period and never let up. Haines (6-0) hit four back points, reset and finished the fall in the first period.

184: No. 1 Carter Starocci pin Ethan Ducca 1:37: Starocci was customarily dominant, turning a first-period into the fall. Starocci improved to 6-0.

197: No. 7 Josh Barr pin Brant Whitaker 1:48: Barr scored a pair of takedowns in the opening minute before turning his third into the fall. Barr, who quickly has been climbing the national ranks, moved to 5-0.

285: No. 2 : Greg Kerkvliet tech. fall Kevin Zimmer 20-8 in 3:28:  The returning national champ built a 16-3 lead after one period, then capped his technical fall with a four-point move off the second0-period whistle. Kerkvliet improved to 6-0.

The announced attendance at the Bryce Jordan Center was 7,317.

Up Next

Penn State will compete in the Journeymen Collegiate Duals on Dec. 22 in Nashville. The Nittany Lions will take on Binghamton, Arkansas-Little Rock and Missouri in a three-match day.

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