The Head Coach Is Fired Due To…
The No. 1 Penn State wrestling team has won 49 consecutive matches and 10 of the last 12 NCAA titles with dominant rosters. But this 2024 team could be its best. The Nittany Lions strong-armed No. 13 Michigan 27-9 on Friday, essentially rolling the Wolverines off their home mat. Penn State (5-0) won eight bouts, defeating four top-10 wrestlers in the process. Michigan presented the best lineup Penn State has faced so far this season and basically was no match.
Further, the Lions leveled Michigan without being at full strength. Carter Starocci, the three-time NCAA champ who has won 59 consecutive bouts, did not weigh in at 174 Friday. Neither did unbeaten freshman Tyler Kasak at 149. Yet their replacements looked strong. David Evans got a win at 149, and unranked Terrell Barraclough took fourth-ranked Shane Griffith the distance in a 2-1 loss at 174. Griffith needed a sharp move to reverse Barraclough, who had wrestled all season at 165, in the second period and cling to the victory.
Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) has been among Penn State’s lineup highlights and scored his biggest win over the season at Michigan. The redshirt freshman absolutely dominated seventh-ranked Cameron Amine for a 12-1 major decision, dictating the tempo against the two-time All-American. Mesenbrink scored two takedowns and prodded Amine into four stalling calls. Amine essentially ran from Mesenbrink for seven minutes. Mesenbrink (No. 9 nationally, according to InterMat) has beaten three consecutive ranked wrestlers in improving to 12-0.
At 125, freshman Braeden Davis continues climbing into All-American contention. The unbeaten Michigan native (he won four state titles) controlled his bout in a 5-1 win over fifth-ranked Michael DeAugustino. Davis (11-0) held the riding-time advantage late in a 1-1 bout, then comfortably countered a frantic DeAugustino shot for the clinching takedown. Davis, who entered the InterMat rankings this week at No. 14, has beaten four ranked wrestlers.
At least this was Michigan’s highlight. Penn State’s fourth-ranked Aaron Nagao squared off with No. 6 Dylan Ragusin at 133 in a postseason preview. The two wrestled seven high-octane minutes, with Ragusin scoring Michigan’s first takedown of the night (in the match’s seventh bout).
Nagao took a 5-4 lead late in the second, catching a penalty point as he attempted a reversal, but Ragusin mustered a riding-time point to force overtime. There, Ragusin generated Michigan’s best moment, pinning Nagao in sudden victory. It was a quirky ending that Nagao will remember in the postseason.
Top-ranked Levi Haines (157) beat Will Lewan for the second straight time in another low-scoring bout. Haines, who hit a takedown vs. Lewan in overtime last year, didn’t score on offense this time. Instead, he took advantage of a third-period stalling penalty on Lewan for a 2-1 victory. Neither wrestler could get to their offense, trading escapes before the stalling penalty that prompted booing at the Crisler Center. Bernie Truax, ranked fifth at 184, delivered another of his team’s exceptional finishes. He hit a clean takedown against 14th-ranked Jaden Bullock for a 4-1 victory. Truax won his first bout since Dec. 10. He had lost to Oregon State’s Trey Munoz and did not wrestle against Indiana. In this bout, Truax (6-1) also worked through a second-period takedown that was overturned. In fact, both wrestlers had takedowns denied. Second-ranked Beau Bartlett got an unexpected test from Michigan’s 25th-ranked Sergio Lemley, winning 7-5 on the strength of an early takedown. Three-time national champ Aaron Brooks rolled onward, finishing his fourth technical fall (19-4) in seven bouts this season. Brooks has generated bonus points in all seven wins. And No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (7-0) continues distancing himself at heavyweight, cruising past fourth-ranked Lucas Davison 8-3. NOTEWORTHY In addition to Starocci, Penn State also was without freshman standout Kasak at 149. Kasak jumped into the national rankings at No. 12 after starting his career 6-1. Kasak’s only loss is to Bartlett in a tournament at 141. Michigan did not have sixth-ranked Austin Gomez at 149, preventing one of the match’s more anticipated bouts.
