Huskers Battle No. 1 Penn State in Front of Record Crowd

In front of a record crowd of 6,736, the No. 6 Nebraska wrestling team took on No. 1 Penn State on Friday night. Despite two top-five wins, the Huskers fell 31-7 to the Nittany Lions, and to 6-2 (1-1 Big Ten) on the season. PSU improved to 8-0 (2-0 Big Ten) to continue its five-year dual win streak.

No. 4 Ridge Lovett scored bonus points in his first ever matchup against No. 2 Shayne Van Ness, and No. 16 Van Dee took down No. 5 Braeden Davis. The 24-point Husker loss was the smallest margin yet for Penn State’s 2024-25 season, but with three tech. falls and a major decision, PSU notched another Big Ten victory and pushed the series lead to 13-8-1 PSU.

Kicking the dual off at 174 was No. 15 Lenny Pinto taking on No. 2 Levi Haines. Haines got an early takedown to take a 3-0 lead into the second period. The Nittany Lion got an early escape, and Pinto fired back with a reversal. Late in the third period Haines took back control, scoring with another takedown to make the score 9-2 with riding time and claimed the decision.

On the mat at 184 was No. 7 Silas Allred against No. 1 Carter Starocci. PSU’s defending national champion got an early lead, and an escape in the second period for Allred cut into Starocci’s lead. With three takedowns and riding time, the undefeated Nittany Lion was able to pull out the major decision win, giving Penn State the 7-0 advantage. 

Next up for Nebraska at 197, No. 22 Camden McDanel faced Penn State’s No. 4 Josh Barr. The freshman Husker tallied four points in the match, but was unable to fend off the late surge from the undefeated Barr, falling 19-4 in a major decision. 

At heavyweight, No. 24 Harley Andrews met No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet on the mat, his second NCAA Champion and top-2 opponent in six days. Penn State’s senior scored in the first period with a takedown. Andrews got on the board with a reversal, but Kerkvliet fired back with dominant nearfall points in the third period to claim the 20-2 tech. fall, and extend the PSU lead to 17-0.

Back at 125, No. 6 Caleb Smith wrestled No. 12 Luke Lilledahl. The pair went scoreless through the first period. Smith was the first on the board, with an escape, to head into the third period leading 1-0. The final two minutes were scrappy, and after a stall warning on the Husker and a Penn State take down in the final 10 seconds, Smith got an escape, but fell with a 4-2 decision to the undefeated Nittany Lion.

After a brief intermission, action returned with No. 16 Jacob Van Dee taking on No. 5 Braeden Davis. Van Dee jumped out to a lead quickly in the first period, earning a takedown and a four-point nearfall. A reversal in the second round gave Van Dee the 9-6 advantage heading into the second period. An additional takedown, escape, and point for riding time gave Van Dee the 14-7 decision. He handed Davis his second loss of the season.

In the only rematch of the night, All-Americans No. 6 Brock Hardy and No. 3 Beau Bartlett took the mat. Penn State’s senior scored with an early takedown, and Hardy got on the board with a reversal. Bartlett took another takedown, answered by a Husker escape to make it 3-5 after the first period. Hardy battled back in the third period with a takedown to take the lead. A final-second reversal for Bartlett gave him the edge in the third period, narrowly escaping with an 8-7 victory for Penn State, pushing the team score to 23-3. 

No. 4 Ridge Lovett met No. 2 Shayne Van Ness at 149. After a scoreless first period, Van Ness got the reversal and lead, quickly answered with a Lovett escape. The Husker got a takedown to open the third period, and sealed the deal with four point nearfall, clinching the major decision with riding time. The top-five bonus point upset put four on the board for the Big Red, and Lovett improved to 6-0 in his season dual record.

With Penn State leading 23-7, No. 5 Antrell Taylor faced No. 3 Tyler Kasak at 157. Kasak took an early 7-0 lead using a takedown and nearfall points, followed by an escape from each All-American sophomore. Another escape from the Husker and a penalty against PSU made it 8-3 in the third period. Kasak claimed the riding time point and the 9-3 decision.

The final match of the night was between No. 7 Bubba Wilson and No. 1 Mitchell Messenbrink at 165. Penn State’s sophomore opened with two takedowns, and despite Wilson’s escape and penalty point, Messenbrink used nearfall points and a takedown for a 17-3 lead. With additional nearfall points, the 165 No. 1 ended the bout with the 20-3 tech. fall. Penn State improved to 8-0 (2-0 Big Ten) with a 31-7 win. 

UP NEXT
The Huskers head to Michigan for a double-dual weekend. NU will start at No. 15 Michigan in Ann Arbor on Friday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m. (CT), which will be televised on BTN. On Sunday, Jan. 26, the Big Red take on Michigan State at noon and will be streamed on B1G+.

No. 6 Nebraska 7, No. 1 Penn State 31
174: No. 2 Levi Haines (PSU) dec. No. 15 Lenny Pinto 9-2 (NEB 0, PSU 3)
184: No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) major dec. No. 7 Silas Allred 11-2 (NEB 0, PSU 7)
197: No. 4 Josh Barr (PSU) tech. fall No. 22 Caden McDanel 19-4 (6:43) (NEB 0, PSU 12)
HWT: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) tech. fall No. 24 Harley Andrews 20-2 (6:15) (NEB 0, PSU 17)
125: No. 12 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) dec. No. 6 Caleb Smith 4-2 (NEB 0, PSU 20)
133: No. 16 Jacob Van Dee dec. No. 5 Braeden Davis (PSU) 14-7 (NEB 3, PSU 20)
141: No. 3 Beau Bartlett (PSU) dec. No. 6 Brock Hardy 8-7 (NEB 3, PSU 23)
149: No. 4 Ridge Lovett major dec. No. 2 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) 10-2 (NEB 7, PSU 23)
157: No. 3 Tyler Kasak (PSU) dec. No. 5 Antrell Taylor 9-3 (NEB 7, PSU 26)
165: No. 1 Mitchell Messenbrink (PSU) tech. fall No. 7 Bubba Wilson 20-3 (NEB 7, PSU 31)