Braeden Davis, Mitchell Mesenbrink help push Penn State to wrestling win vs. Michigan

Friday night’s dual between Penn State and Michigan was setup to have all ranked matchups at all 10 bouts.

However, the Nittany Lions’ Tyler Kasak and Carter Starocci, and the Wolverines’ Austin Gomez didn’t make the call, which left eight bouts having ranked wrestlers against one another.

Penn State won eight of the ten bouts to pick up a 27-9 victory over Michigan. It was the program’s 995th victory and 49th straight dual win.

The Nittany Lions saw them go 18 bouts in a row without surrendering a takedown. They held a 15-2 advantage in the takedown category, but also forced 11 stall calls.

Braeden Davis and Mitchell Mesenbrink stayed hot, and secured some major upsets. Terrell Barraclough filled in admirably for Starocci at 174 pounds. David Evans picked up a win filling in for Kasak.

The dual didn’t begin at the usual 125 pounds, instead it started at 157 with Levi Haines facing No. 9 Will Lewan.

The pair had to go to sudden victory last year to find a winner. On Friday night, the bout ended in regulation.

Haines and Lewan were both hit for stalling in the first period, but Haines’ escape in the second made it 1-0. Lewan tied the bout with an escape 20 seconds into the third period.

With 20 seconds left in the match, Lewan was called for a second stall due to Haines’ pace, which gave Haines the 2-1 victory.

Mesenbrink followed against No. 7 Cameron Amine, who is a three-time All-American. The Nittany Lions wrestler came out with a relentless attack, which caused a pair of stalls on Amine in the first period.

The second period saw Amine take the lead with an escape, but he gave up another stall point. Mesenbrink connected on a takedown with 32 seconds left and held a 5-1 lead after two periods.

Mesenbrink poured it on in the third period. He opened with an escape and forced another stall call on Amine, which left the Michigan wrestler with no choice but to wrestle because with one more stall he would’ve been disqualified.

It allowed Mesenbrink to record another takedown, and he added riding time for a 12-1 major decision.

“It’s funny because Coach Cody (Sanderson) came over to me and was like, ‘You should probably go out in the hallway eventually because your really getting into these matches. We don’t want to see you getting tired,’” Evans said to the Penn State Sports Network. “Mitch is an animal. These new guys coming in, even like Bernie (Truax), those dudes are a blessing and bring some new personalities to the program, and some different type of wrestling. It’s really cool. I love watching them wrestle. It’s awesome.”

Barraclough had a tall task not only filling in for Starocci, but he had to take on former NCAA champion in Shane Griffith at 174 pounds. Griffith won his title three years ago at 165 pounds.

Neither wrestler scored any points in the first period. But late in the second period, Griffith caught Barraclough out of position for a reversal after Barraclough nearly rode Griffith for the full period.

Barraclough was unable to get a bout winning score, but his 1 minute and 10 seconds in riding time resulted in just a 1-point loss at 2-1 to Griffith. Penn State led 7-3.

Bernie Truax made a return to the lineup after missing last weekend’s Big Ten opener against Indiana. He needed a takedown with 35 seconds left in the bout with No. 15 Jaden Bullock to earn his first Big Ten victory, 4-1.

Aaron Brooks had no problems with No. 32 Bobby Striggow at 197 pounds as he secured his third straight technical fall. The three-time NCAA champion snapped off six takedowns to rack up a 20-5 win in 4:16.

The Nittany Lions led 15-3 at the break.

Kerkvliet came out and picked up a top-five win over No. 4 Lucas Davison. Kerkvliet had a pair of takedowns and riding time for an 8-3 win.

Davis then stepped on the mat against No. 5 Michael DeAugustino, which eliminated Davis chances of redshirting this year.

He nearly rode DeAugustino for the entire second period, but the Michigan wrestler escaped with 16 seconds left to hold a 1-0 lead after two periods. In the third period, Davis was poised and escaped 45 seconds into the period.

With the bout tied 1-1, Davis was able to secure a takedown with 8 seconds left and added riding time for a 5-1 victory in his home state.

“I mean that kid works hard in the room. We know what he’s capable of. Everybody has been wondering if he’s that guy,” Evans said. “I think he went out there and showed it tonight. DeAugustino is no joke, but Braden is just tough. He wrestles through every position, which shows what he’s got.”

At 133 pounds, it was full of scrambling between Aaron Nagao and No. 6 Dylan Ragusin, who was going to redshirt this year. The pair traded takedowns and escapes in the first period for a 4-4 score.

The second period saw Ragusin ride Nagao the entire period, but he gave up a penalty point for locked hands. Ragusin’s built up riding time forced sudden victory, 5-5.

In the sudden victory period, the pair was scrambling again when Ragusin caught Nagao and pinned him from the neutral position in 7:28. Michigan was within 12 points at 21-9, and still had a shot of winning the meet.

Beau Bartlett shut that down in the next bout against No. 25 Sergio Lemley. Bartlett’s reversal midway through the third period was enough to earn a 7-5 win for Penn State. Lemley had the bout tied 4-4 with 1:20 left, then Bartlett got that reversal.

Evans finished the dual off using a takedown with 34 seconds left against Fidel Mayora to secure a 5-2 win.

“It felt really good. It’s good to get that experience,” Evans said. “I’m just thankful for these matches, and these opportunities to go out and compete for Penn State. It’s a blessing.”

No. 1 Penn State 27, No. 11 Michigan 9

Friday at Ann Arbor, Mich.

157: No. 1 Levi Haines, PSU, dec. No. 9 Will Lewan, 2-1

165: No. 9 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, major dec. No. 7 Cameron Amine, 12-1

174: No. 4 Shane Griffith, M, dec. Terrell Barraclough, 2-1

184: No. 5 Bernie Truax, PSU, dec. No. 15 Jaden Bullock, 4-1

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, PSU, tech. fall No. 32 Bobby Striggow, 20-5 (4:16)

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, dec. No. 4 Lucas Davison, 8-3

125: No. 14 Braeden Davis, PSU, dec. No. 5 Michael DeAugustino, 5-1

133: No. 6 Dylan Ragusin, M, pinned No. 4 Aaron Nagao, 7:28

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. No. 25 Sergio Lemley, 7-5

149: David Evans, PSU, dec. Fidel Mayora, 5-2

Takedowns: PSU 15, M 2

Records: Penn State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten), Michigan (4-2, 2-1)

Next match: Penn State at Michigan State, Sunday, 1 p.m.