After handing the Iowa Hawkeyes their worst home defeat in history on Friday, the No. 1 Penn State Nittany Lions continued their dominant run through the Big Ten, securing a 51-0 shutout against Northwestern in Evanston. This marks the team’s second Big Ten dual shutout (and fifth overall) of the season. Penn State won all ten bouts, collecting bonus points in every single match with a 38-1 takedown advantage, making the tally for the weekend 53-3.
Recap
174 lbs – #1 Levi Haines, Penn State Technical Fall vs. #32 Eddie Enright, Northwestern, 19-4
1st
Levi anchored himself in the center and chain-attacked through his heavy hands, earning a stall warning on Enright just as he dropped to a low head-outside single, doubled off, and secured the takedown at the edge, riding out the period with 1:26 in riding time. 3-0
2nd
Levi escaped from his choice of down and fired his high-crotch for the early score. Levi released Enright, who connected on a shot to Levi’s leg but couldn’t finish against Haines’ stout defense. Levi cleared Enright’s elbow and swung in for a single-leg, and double-leg finish before the buzzer. 10-1
3rd
Levi cut Enright from his choice of down, and the lanky Wildcat’s stance seemed to drift upward as Haines timed a high double and finished. The Nittany Lion Hammer looked for a wrist for a while before opting to restart in neutral, ceding the escape, to chase the tech with a minute left. He proceeded to do so, scoring on a low shot, set him free, then countered Enright to ice the 19-4 Technical Fall in 6:48
Penn State 5, Northwestern 0
184 lbs – #4 Rocco Welsh, Penn State Technical Fall vs. J.D. Perez, Northwestern, 22-7
1st
Rocco horsed heavy collar ties off the whistle and found the far ankle on a Perez shot to score the opening takedown. Welsh worked an arm-bar and momentarily turned Perez, who swung his hips free for the escape. Rocco snatched a single and finished quickly for a score, releasing Perez right after for the escape. The Wildcat then showed some life, kicking his leg forward with elbow control, effecting a powerful snap, which he chased behind for his own takedown. Rocco escaped, and shot a high-crotch and converted to close the period with 1:06 in riding time. 12-5
2nd
Rocco cut Perez to start the 2nd, and scored off another high-crotch, keeping his hips low on the Wildcat’s attempted elevator. After releasing Perez for the escape, Rocco stepped into a single-leg, and went back to his arm-bar, again nearly turned Perez, and briefly caught, then lost a cradle, but rode out the period with 2:29 in riding time. 18-7
3rd
Welsh stood for his escape, pawed at Perez’s head and countered a Perez shot for the go-behind and 22-7 Technical Fall in 5:27
Penn State 10, Northwestern 0
197 lbs – #1 Josh Barr, Penn State Pinned Alex Smith, Northwestern
1st
Smith attacked off the whistle, but Barr neutralized it easily. Smith kept attacking, getting a front-headlock, but Josh reached his long arms for a single on the edge and finished the takedown; he immediately slipped a figure-four in, looking to chin the Wildcat over. Smith got back to his belly on the edge, and relaxed just as Barr cross-faced, locking the cradle and rolling back in for the Fall in 1:50.
Penn State 16, Northwestern 0
285 lbs – #13 Cole Mirasola, Penn State Technical Fall vs. Gabe Christenson, Northwestern, 19-4
1st
Facing a three-pound lighter opponent (223 to 226 lbs), Cole wasted no time off the whistle in down-blocking a Christenson shot for the go-behind takedown. He immediately cut loose the fifth-year Senior, snapped heavily, secured a single-leg and came around for a 2nd score. Cole sought a standing cradle in releasing the Wildcat, and picked his ankle via a reshot, finishing the takedown by coming around from a waterfall position; he then used a turk to chin Christenson over for 4 nearfall points before releasing him back to neutral. Mirasola then faked several more attacks before snatching a knee and again stepping behind for his fourth takedown. In releasing his opponent, he tried a PJ Duke foot-sweep, sought a collar-and-ankle before far-ankle scrambling his way off a Christenson shot for the 19-4 Technical Fall in 2:47.
Penn State 21, Northwestern 0
125 lbs – #2 Luke Lilledahl, Penn State Technical Fall vs. #26 Dedrick Navarro, Northwestern, 20-5
1st
Navarro weathered early snaps and got to Luke’s leg, but couldn’t clear Lilledahl’s whizzer. Luke pounced on a head-outside single and reached for the far ankle to score the takedown. He matched Navarro’s activity long enough to get riding time to 1:03 before the Wildcat turned out for an escape. Luke got to another single-leg, but Navarro scrambled very well and kept the Nittany Lion from scoring in short time. 3-1
2nd
Navarro took bottom and Luke caught a brief cradle, but couldn’t keep the lock, and the Wildcat turned his hips away for an escape. The two traded shots and blocks, but Luke connected on a single and climbed the legs for the score, briefly Duke foot-sweeping his opponent to the mat on an intentional release. Luke fired a high-crotch, finishing cleanly, briefly locking a cradle again, looking for a bow and arrow, and taking riding time to 2:11 to close the period on top. 9-3
3rd
Navarro broke Lilledahl to the mat, but Luke sealed hands and escaped before faking and repeating his head-outside single-leg and reaching for the hip to score. He cut the Wildcat and peppered in fakes, getting a stall warning before re-shooting off a fatigued Navarro’s attempt for a takedown, then quick release to neutral. In short time, Lilledahl snapped, notched the takedown, and rode-out for the 20-5 Technical Fall in 7:00
Penn State 26, Northwestern 0
133 lbs – #4 Marcus Blaze, Penn State Major Decision vs. #24 Sean Spidle, Northwestern, 15-4
1st
Marcus held center and push-pulled his taller opponent, then snapped to a single and sunk his hips to block Spidle’s roll attempt, securing the takedown. Blaze went optional on the restart, stalking and harassing the wildcat, getting to a single-leg, that the Wildcat scrambled to a potential dangerous whistle. Blaze kept the heat on and earned a stall warning before the close of the period. 3-1
2nd
Blaze stood and earned his escape, continuing to keep position and take ground, earning a stall point just as he shot for a single-leg that Spidle again was able to scramble to a potentially dangerous whistle. The Wildcat got to his own shot, which Marcus whizzered and nearly turned into his own takedown at the buzzer. 5-1
3rd
From Spidle’s choice of bottom, Blaze looked for a wrist before opting to return to neutral (conceding the escape). Spidle pulled Marcus’ headgear on a collar tie, and Blaze was given a penalty point before hitting paydirt on a lightning-quick re-shot off of Spidle’s feint for the takedown. With 45 seconds remaining, Blaze cut him and doubled off of a shallow single leg, set him free again and snared an ankle pick off a collar tie for the 15-4 Major Decision.
Penn State 30, Northwestern 0
141 lbs – #7 Braeden Davis, Penn State Major Decision vs. #32 Billy Dekraker, Northwestern, 9-0
1st
Davis worked angles to reach for Dekraker’s legs as the two hand-fought in the middle before mis-directing to a single-leg, cracking down, and finishing the takedowns with a turk in tow—which he turned into 4 near-fall points before time expired. 7-0
2nd
Chasing down, Davis continued to be automatic with his sit-out, hand-control escape. Braeden jumped into a single-leg, but seemed to lose the thread when working to finish, with the two wrestlers staying in neutral to close the period. 8-0
3rd
Dekraker chose neutral, and Braeden continued to show a newfound commitment to stay on top, with repeated mat returns, following granbys, leg and spiral riding his way to the period ride-out and the 9-0 Major Decision.
Penn State 34, Northwestern 0
149 lbs – #1 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State Technical Fall vs. August Hibler, Northwestern, 18-3
1st
Following a pattern of aggressive Wildcats (especially compared to Friday night’s Hawkeyes), backup Hibler shot to start the action, and Shayne methodically down-blocked, clearing the arms for the go-behind takedown. He looked for the figure-four and chin, then barred Hibler’s left arm, then went hammerlock before conceding an escape. Hibler walked right into a snatch-single which Shayne finished with ease. He went back to the hammerlock and arm-bar series on a flattened Hibler, taking riding time to 2:19 as time expired. 6-1
2nd
The Wildcat chose down and worked to escape. Van Ness fired a head-outside single and secured a takedown, then secured a bow and arrow for four painful near-fall points before his high body position allowed Hibler to shake out for the escape. 13-3
3rd
Shayne stood for his escape and dropped down for a double-leg touchdown. Van Ness continued to look for an arm-bar and hammerlock, this time on the right side, to close out the period with the wildcat doing a mat-sticker impression to stave off further scoring. Technical Fall in 7:00
Penn State 39, Northwestern 0
157 lbs – #3 PJ Duke, Penn State Pinned Gunner Myers, Northwestern
1st
PJ hipped-in with a side-headlock, chasing Myers for the single-leg and clean takedown. He looked to cut the Wildcat, keeping a 2-on-1 for a gorgeous foot-sweep that upon Matt Storniolo’s challenge, was deemed to lack adequate separation for an escape. PJ conceded the escape on the restart, chain wrestling from foot-sweep to underhook knee pick, to going behind for the takedown and quick cut. He used the 2-on-1 for another score and release, then countered a Myers shot for a go-behind, and subsequent release. Duke then dove into a double-leg, but settled for a stalemate on the scramble. He fired a single-leg off the whistle and climbed the body for a head-and arm, securing the Fall in 2:42.
Penn State 45, Northwestern 0
165 lbs – #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State Won by Forfeit
Northwestern’s only 165 lb wrestler, Jacob Bostelman, has been battling injury all year, and they ended up forfeiting the match to Mitchell Mesenbrink.
Penn State 51, Northwestern 0
Takeaways
I was pleased to see the Northwestern kids’ fight in this dual. It may be a shade demoralizing to attack this Nittany Lion lineup—but attack they did—and the product was ultimately more enjoyable for spectators than certain other approaches to facing an inevitable beating. In particular, it seems the Wildcats have talented kids at 125 and 184—so here’s to hoping that NIL-era hurting program can rebuild to their history of regularly producing All Americans and the occasional National Champion.
For the Lions, it was just a fun end to their fun road trip—a little release before they returned to the books and the daily challenge of whomever they choose to face on a given day in the Lorenzo Wrestling complex.
Ernie Lucas Winner: Luke Lilledahl
Next Up: Indiana comes to Rec Hall at 7pm EST, Friday, January 23 (LionVision / Big Ten+ ($))
