Wrestling Postview: Penn State Shuts Out NDSU & Stanford to Break the D1 Dual Meet Win Streak

Penn State gets better and better.

No surprise that they continue to win and win.

Penn State 46, North Dakota State 0

The Day 1 Journeymen Collegiate Duals schedule lined up like this:

  • 3p: North Dakota State vs Stanford
  • 5p: PSU vs North Dakota State
  • 7p: PSU vs Stanford

As we head into the bout-by-bouts, for reference, here are the bout results of Stanford 25, NDSU 15 from Wrestlestat:

2025 Journeymen Collegiate Duals, Stanford 25, NDSU 15 boout results.via Wrestlestat" data-portal-copyright="via Wrestlestat" />

125 #2 Luke Lilledahl DEC #31 Ezekiel Witt, 6-5; PSU 3-0

#31 Witt defeated #12 Provo in the earlier dual and again showed his toughness in this bout vs Lilledahl. They traded first-period takedowns, before Lilledahl started accruing riding time.

In the second, Lilledahl escaped, but neither could earn another TD.

In the third, eventually Witt escaped, but not until after Lilledahl had the riding time secured, and that turned out to be the victory margin.

All in all, call it tied in neutral, but Lilledahl with the slight edge on both top and bottom, for a 2-1 positions win advantage.

133 #10 Marcus Blaze MD #29 Tristan Daugherty, 11-3; PSU 7-0

Marcus Blaze made Daugherty feel the pressure of his pace and … pressure—to the tune of forcing 4 stall calls.

Blaze took 1-0 lead on stall calls in the first. In the second he earned a takedown and another stall point, and did so again in the third. A solid, 3-position victory for the stud true freshman.

141 Nate Desmond DEC Michael Olson, 4-1; PSU 10-0

Desmond has stepped in nicely so far this year, in spot duty for the injured past AA Aaron Nagao. Nagao traveled with the team to this event in Nashville, so there is hope he will be recovered by the time the next PSU Wrestling event occurs, on January 10, 2026 in Rec Hall against Rutger.

Desmond’s wild true freshman season has seen him defeat #2 Luke Lilledahl in the finals of the Black Knight Open, at 125 pounds. Then he bumped up two weight classes a few weeks later to sub in for Nagao, in three dual meets. The BKO only counts as one of his 5 allowable dates to retain his Redshirt, so he still has one left if the coaches need to use him again.

In this bout, he traded escapes with Olson in the first and second periods, and earned the deciding takedown in the third.

149 #1 Shayne Van Ness TF Max Petersen, 19-2 in 5:16; PSU 15-0

Van Ness jumped all over the overmatched Petersen early in this one, earning two takedowns and two sets of 4 nearfall points, all in the first.

SVN got his third takedown in the second, chose neutral to start the third and earned the final, bout-ending takedown in it.

157 #8 PJ Duke MD #21 Gavin Drexler, 16-5; PSU 19-0

PJ Duke remains qualified with Marcus Blaze as Wrestlers Who Could Tie Cael Sanderson’s 4-year record of never losing in their collegiate career.

With the way this program mercilessly assails wrestling’s record books, we just have to put that out there.

Duke continued his undefeated ways by scoring 3 first-period takedowns, 1 second-period takedown and 1 third-period takedown as he secured his 7th bonus-point win in his young 8-0 career.

165 #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink TF Boeden Greenley, 18-1 in 3:45; PSU 24-0

So far, early this season, Mesenbrink seems to be trying to keep us guessing: will he Tech or will he Pin?

In the first, he earned 2 TDs, 4NF and 2NF.
In the second, he earned a Reversal and 4 more NF to end the bout.

174 #1 Levi Haines PINS Tyler Secoy in 1:38; PSU 30-0

Levi took this guy down and pinned him.

The end.

184 #4 Rocco Welsh TF Andrew McMonagle, 19-4 in 6:17; PSU 35-0

Rocco started out this season 5-0 with 5 Bonus wins and no fewer than 13 points scored. Then he had 1-takedown Decision wins against both Drexel & Wyoming. What would he show in Dual One in Nashville?

Moar Points, yay!

  • P1: 2 takedowns
  • P2: 1 takedown
  • P3: 3 takedowns and a bout-ending Technical Fall

Some fun commentary from you, the BSDWrestle Community:

BSDWrestle Friends asking for scoring and Rocco Welsh providing.

197 Josh Barr TF Devin Wasley, 19-3 in 3:20; PSU 40-0

BSDWrestle fans showing excitement for the return of National Finalist Josh Barr.

Yay! I like how when this coaching staff brings someone back after time off, they do indeed look ‘ready.’

Barr’s Readiness Receipts:

  • P1: 4 takedown, 4 near fall points. 16-3
  • P2: chose neutral, earned the bout-ending takedown

285 #13 Cole Mirasola PINS Drew Blackburn-Frost in 0:33; PSU 46, North Dakota State 0

Cole kicked off his kick-ass performance in Nashville with 33-second pin!

In last week’s Collegiate Duals PSU Preview, our resident forecaster Cari Greene predicted a 46-0 win for the Nittany Lions. The final score was 46-0, PSU.

That’s … an accurate prediction!

#1 Penn State 42, #19 Stanford 0

Stanford wrestled North Dakota State in the 2p bout on Day 1 of the Journeymen Collegiate Duals, and won 25-15. The Cardinal brought back 174-pound Lorenzo Norman from injury, but were still without 165-pound 2x All-American Hunter Garvin.

Our friends at Quad Pod Wrestle caught up with Stanford Head Coach Chris Ayers about the injuries:

125 #2 Luke Lilledahl DEC #12 Nico Provo, 4-2; PSU 3-0

Luke earned the deciding takedown in the first period, and Provo quickly escaped. The two traded escapes in the second and third periods, and Lilledahl gets out of Nashville with two Decision victories and his (official) undefeated record intact.

133 #10 Marcus Blaze PINS #6 Tyler Knox in 6:44; PSU 9-0

In the first, Marcus earned the first takedown and—inexplicably—the first stall call. When he incurred blood time about 15 seconds later, Coaches Cael & Casey had plenty of words and questions for the refs.

Not to worry. Blaze pushed the pace at the end of the first and earned a stall call on Knox as well.

In the second, Blaze chose down, escaped and earned his second takedown.

In the third, Knox chose top!

This is nice confidence in one’s top-scoring arsenal, but it was lost on the elite young stud Blaze, who easily hipped over in a scramble position for a reversal and a 9-1 lead. After a Provo escape and another Blaze takedown, Blaze locked up a cradle that Provo tried to fight off with a prolonged singlet grab. Blaze got the ref’s attention, Ref called the penalty point, Provo released the singlet, then Blaze rolled him over to finish decking the halls.

141 Nate Desmond MD Lain Yapoujian, 9-0; PSU 13-0

Like Blaze against NDSU’s Daugherty, Desmond forced 4 stall calls on Yapoujian, nearly disqualifying him (5 calls = DQ).

The first ended with only the 1 stall call against Stanford. In the second, Yapoujian chose down and could not escape. Jeff Byers said on the audio broadcast during the NDSU dual that Desmond weighed in at 137.5, so this was an impressive full-period rideout by a presumably smaller guy.

In the 3rd, Desmond earned a takedown, continued to ride, earned more stalling calls and points and a riding time point for the final 9-0 margin.

It’s going to be very interesting to watch this young wrestler’s future, both this season if needed and definitely in future lineups.

149 #1 Shayne Van Ness DEC#14 Aden Valencia, 10-4; PSU 16-0

Like many of Coach Chris Ayres’ fighting Cardinal wrestlers, Valencia brought a ton of fight to this bout with Van Ness. And it paid off in the end, as Shayne was unable to either finish the final ride or get the final takedown that would allow him to continue his Bonus Point streak.

There was no scoring in the first, despite some nice SVN attacks. Valencia defense was up to the task.

In the second, SVN earned two takedowns and Valencia earned 3 escapes, for a 6-3 Van Ness lead.

In the third, SVN escaped and earned another takedown, but also allowed an escape for the final score.

157 #8 PJ Duke DEC #5 Daniel Cardenas, 5-2; PSU 19-0

My oh my, was this ever a brawly affair! So much good action.

Cardenas made the R12 in his true freshman 2023 tourney. In 2024 he placed 4th, and last year he redshirted during the 2025 tourney.

In the first, there were a couple times the lads found themselves locked in upper-body over-under positions that evoked classic oldschool brawls between Vincenzo Joseph and Iowa’s Alex The Bull Marinelli. But, friends, no scores were earned, and only one stall call was applied, on Cardenas.

In the second, Duke chose down and Cardenas rode him to over a minute in riding time. Duke did escape and did earn a second stall call on Cardenas.

In the third, Cardenas escaped, Duke scored a takedown and Cardenas escaped for the final score.

165 #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink PINS EJ Parco in 4:22; PSU 25-0

Mitchell’s bonus-point speedrun:

  • P1: 3 takedowns, 4 near fall
  • P2: 1 takedown, 1 bow, 1 arrow, 1 ARCHERY SZN decking of the Nashville halls

174 #1 Levi Haines MD Lorenzo Norman, 14-4; PSU 29-0

Levi followed up his under-2-minute pin in Dual One with a full-period, 11-point Major Decision.

In the first, Levi earned 2 takedowns. In the second, Norman was inexplicably awarded a takedown that the Penn State coaches challenged and lost. This bad call spoiled what would have been a fresh Penn State Takedown Shutout! Levi earned another of his own before the second period ended, with the score 11-4.

In the third, Levi rode and rode and looked close to turning Norman for the near fall points, but never did. Instead, he earned a few more stall calls (3 in total for the bout) for the final score.

184 #4 Rocco Welsh DEC Abraham Wojcikiewicz, 5-1; PSU 32-0

Rocco got the deciding takedown early in the first, and an escape and two stall calls in the latter two periods.

197 Josh Barr TF #19 Angelo Posada, 19-3 in 4:13; PSU 37-0

Josh Barr’s bonus-point speedrun:

  • P1: 2 takedowns, 4 near fall, 10-1
  • P1: 3 takedowns to end the bout

285 #13 Cole Mirasola TF Luke Duthie, 21-6 in 3:00; PSU 42, Stanford 0

Mirasola went on a takedown spree! He scored all 7 of them in the first period and ended the dual in style!

Cari predicted Penn State would win 32-3, but did include this quip about Mirasola:

This has a very strong possibility of ending very quickly; it depends on Cole, not so much on the Cardinal wrestler. If Cole wrestles like we know he can, this could be done in the first.

Which inspired BSDWrestle’s LocalYocal to bless her with a new nickname!

LocalYocal dubs Cari “Greenestrodamus”

Executive Summaries

2025 1220 PSU 46, NDSU 0 box scorevia BSDWrestle spreadsheeting" data-portal-copyright="via BSDWrestle spreadsheeting" />

Against the Bison of NDSU, Penn State racked up 8 Bonus wins: 2 Majors, 2 Pins and 4 Tech Falls. They scored 121 bout points, to NDSU’s 25, and won the takedown battle 29-1. Additionally, Nittany Lion wrestlers forced 6 stall calls from Daugherty (4), Drexler (1) & Greenley (1).

2025 1220 PSU 42, Stanford 0 box scorevia BSDWrestle spreadsheeting" data-portal-copyright="via BSDWrestle spreadsheeting" />

The box score for the Cardinal does showcase the fighty wrestling we saw from them on the mat, as they held the Nittany Lions to only 6 Bonus Point wins. Provo, Valencia, Cardenas and Wojcikiewicz held Penn State powerhouses Lilledahl, Van Ness, Duke & Welsh to mere Decision victories. Other than Valencia, who gave up 3 takedowns to Van Ness, the others held their PSU counterparts to a single takedown each.

But thanks to multiple-TD matches from Mirasola (7), Barr (5) and Mesenbrink (4), the total TD ratio was identical to the dual against NDSU: 29-1.

Additionally, Stanford’s fightiness in the face of traditional Penn State attackedness ofttimes manifested in the form of stalling. Nittany Lion wrestlers forced Stanford wrestlers into 11 stall calls from this referee: Desmond (4), Duke, (2), Haines (3) and Welsh (2).

The Streakery

Oklahoma State wrestling historian and 2018 National Wrestling Media Association Journalist of the Year Alex Steen posted in 2019 about Oklahoma State’s 76-win streak:

Started the streak on Mar 5th, 1937 with a win over Central Oklahoma (after a loss to Southwestern Oklahoma on Feb 26th). The streak ended on Jan 19th, 1951 with a loss to Oklahoma.

That means a few things. One, OKST took 14 years to amass their 76 wins. And two, they held that record for over 74 years, before Penn State broke it on Saturday night.

I started charting PSU dual meet results in the 2022 season. In the 2023 season, using Bubba’s play-by-play updates in Cari’s previews, I added in charting PSU takedown data. So I don’t have TD data for the 2020, 2021 & 2022 seasons, but I do have team scores and numbers of bout wins for all PSU wins during the 7 seasons this 77-win streak crossed:

Tourney SznDateOpponentIntermat RankResultTeam ScorePSU ScoreOpp ScorePSU Bout W’sOpp Bout W’sPSU Bonus W’sOpp Bonus W’sPSU TD’sOpp TD’sTD DiffPSU Bout PointsOpp Bout PointsBout Points Diff
20202/2/2020MarylandW40-340391
20202/7/2020WisconsinW29-10291073
20202/9/2020MinnesotaW31-10311073
20202/15/2020Ohio StateW20-16201655
20202/23/2020AmericanW40-340391
20211/30/2021IndianaW24-15241564
20211/30/2021NorthwesternW29-13291363
20212/2/2021WisconsinW34-634691
20212/14/2021MichiganW18-13181364
20212/19/2021Ohio StateW28-12281273
20212/22/2021MarylandW44-0440100
202211/13/2021Sacred HeartW47 – 347391
202211/13/2021Oregon StateW32 – 732782
202211/18/2021ArmyW32 – 732782
202212/3/2021PennsylvaniaW20 – 16201664
202212/5/2021LeighW23 – 16231664
202212/20/2021Northern IowaW29 – 929973
202212/20/2021CornellW21 – 16211664
202212/21/2021Arizon StateW29 – 10291073
20221/7/2022MarylandW46 – 0460100
20221/9/2022IndianaW29 – 11291173
20221/16/2022RutgersW27 – 11271173
20221/21/2022MichiganW29 – 629682
20221/23/2022Michigan StateW28 – 928973
20221/28/2022IowaW19 – 13191364
20222/4/2022Ohio StateW32 – 732782
20222/6/2022NebraskaW21 – 13211364
20222/20/2022RiderW45-0450100
202311/11/2022Lock HavenW44-3443918151645
202312/2/2022RiderW37-3373915036333
202312/4/2022Lehigh30W24-1224126430231211
202312/11/2022Oregon State27W31-3313913029326
202312/19/2022Central MichiganW50-3503919030426
202312/19/2022UNC28W37-3373915029227
202312/20/2022Iowa State5W22-122212645014410
20231/6/2023Wisconsin17W28-112811736231922
20231/20/2023Michigan13W30-8308824123815
20231/22/2023Michigan State22W34-6346824029425
20231/27/2023Iowa2W23-142314642116214
20232/3/2023Ohio State6W29-9299823119316
20232/5/2023Indiana23W35-83588261271017
20232/10/2023Rutgers24W33-83388241381424
20232/12/2023MarylandW44-3443914041041
20232/19/2023ClarionW40-6406912143439
202412/3/2023Lehigh24W30-10301073512411131045648
202412/10/2023HofstraW43-1043108282306241024260
20241/5/2024Oregon State16W36-33639150335281233687
20241/14/2024Indiana29W46-0460100903503515023127
20241/19/2024Michigan13W27-9279822115213692643
20241/21/2024Michigan StateW35-035010030262241003367
20241/28/2024MarylandW42-6426828019316962472
20242/2/2024Ohio State6W29-6296823124420933855
20242/9/2024Iowa3W29-6296825021516873057
20242/12/2024Rutgers BJC14W35-3353913016412642539
20242/18/2024Nebraska4W22-132213643121912895435
20242/25/2024EdinboroW55-0550100803903915227125
202511/17/2024DrexelW41-34139150254211133578
202512/8/2024Lehigh23W36-3363916021120991683
202512/15/2024Wyoming BJC26W54-05401001002712612921108
202512/22/2024BinghamtonW52-05201009023023961284
202512/22/2024Arkansas Little-Rock16W44-044010060202181051788
202512/22/2024Missouri15W41-3413916016214721854
20251/10/2025Michigan StateW55-05501001003603613326107
20251/17/2025Nebraska6W31-73178241214171094861
20251/24/2025Rutgers13W35-3353914024123962373
20251/31/2025Iowa BJC2W30-83088241248161005149
20252/7/2025Michigan BJC19W39-03901004020020801862
20252/9/2025Maryland29W35-1035108261290291263195
20252/14/2025Ohio State6W27-132713733225619945539
20252/16/2025Illinois13W29-9299734023320923359
20252/21/2025AmericanW50-350391903523312424100
202611/14/2025Oklahoma22W45-045010080361351444599
202612/5/2025DrexelW43-343391903923714838110
202612/7/2025Lehigh14W36-63668250265211054065
202612/13/2025Wyoming18W40-7407826120812983959
202612/20/2025North Dakota StateW46-046010080291281212596
202612/20/2025Stanford19W42-042010060291281172691
7726675116241452672113301911139353010552475
34.66.68.11.95.40.427.13.923.2107.032.075.0
Penn State’s record 77 dual meet win streak details.

These Streak averages of 8.1 bout wins per dual, and 34.6 team points per dual may look a little mind-blowing, until you consider the possibility that Penn State might actually still be improving year over year.

So what’s next? Wrestling Historian Jason Bryant has a fun page on his Mat Talk Online Almanac website, of different win streaks in wrestling’s different divisions. Here are some records Penn State can now chase:

  • D2 Dual Meet Win Streak: 77. St. Cloud State ran this record from 2017 to 2022 and ended it with a 19-14 loss to Central Oklahoma.
  • D1 Dual Meet Unbeaten Streak: 84. This streak began after a 19-15 loss to Oklahoma State on January 5, 2008, and continued as both a Winning AND Unbeaten streak until a 15-15 tie with OkSt on January 16, 2011 ended the Winning Streak at 69. From there, it continued as an Unbeaten Streak, until Oklahoma State again ended it, with a 17-16 victory on January 8, 2012, via the then-newly-introduced tiebreaker criteria rules.
  • NJCAA Dual Meet Win Streak: 92. SUNY-Delhi ran this record from 1979 to 1983 and ended it with a 27-18 loss to Morrisville State.
  • NAIA Dual Meet Win Streak: 117. Grand View ran this record from 2013 to 2022 and ended it with a 40-0 loss to Iowa State.

Penn State has 9 more dual meets this year and could finish the season at 86. How long will it be until another team can hope to earn the 4 (very unlikely to win a dual meet with only 4 wins against 6 losses) or 5 or more wins needed to knock off this juggernaut?

The Takery

To build this post, I cloned a Postview from the November, 2022, 44-3 demolishing of Lock Haven. In its Takery section, I wrote about the 2023 tourney team:

This lineup is sick.

Heading into a new season, the 4 returning National Champions and 2x AA Greg Kerkvliet are about as good as any team could hope for out of 5 of its 10 weight classes. Add in two elite recruits, who have been incubating in the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex for 15 months or so (Van Ness & Facundo), drop 2x qualifier Beau Bartlett down to 141 and you’ve got 8 incredible wrestlers primed to stand on the podium in March. Round out the lineup with a 4x Utah state champ at 157 and a 2x PA state champ at 125, and the prospects for qualifying all 10 weight classes for Nationals seem viable.

Kinda quaint that back then, at the beginning of the 2023 tourney season we were still aspiring to qualify 10 wrestlers for Nationals, isn’t it?

A mere 3 years after that, in the 2025 tourney, Penn State celebrated its first time ever placing 10 wrestlers onto the All-American podium, en route to breaking the NCAA Tournament team scoring record for the second year in a row.

What’s next for this program? Let us know in the comments!

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