Penn State wrestling | Two unbeaten Nittany Lions survive upset bids, reach Big Ten semifinals
· Yahoo Sports
STATE COLLEGE – With a boisterous Bryce Jordan Center crowd supporting them, Shayne Van Ness and Rocco Welsh escaped upset bids to join seven of their Penn State teammates to win quarterfinal bouts at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Saturday.
The other Nittany Lions advancing to Saturday night’s semifinal round – Luke Lilledahl (125 pounds), Marcus Blaze (133), P.J. Duke (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), Josh Barr (197) and Cole Mirasola (285) – each had an easier time, piling up bonus points as Penn State wrestlers went 11-2 in the opening session.
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The second session of the tournament will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday, with the semifinals – which will be shown on the Big Ten Network – beginning at 7 p.m.
Van Ness, who is 19-0 and ranked first nationally at 149 pounds, scored four stalling points – including two with six seconds remaining in the final period – to beat Iowa’s Ryder Block 5-4 in the quarterfinal round. Van Ness will face fourth-seeded Lachlan McNeil of Michigan on Saturday night.
Welsh is also 19-0 and ranked first nationally. He edged Iowa’s Angelo Ferrari 3-2 in tiebreakers thanks to four seconds of riding-time advantage in a match where Ferrari twice lifted the top seed in the air but couldn’t finish a takedown. Welsh draws Michigan’s Brock Mantanona in the evening session.
Penn State’s P.J. Duke, the second seed at 157 pounds, scored a 20-7 major decision over Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon, who is the top-ranked wrestler in the nation according to InterMat but was the No. 7 seed in the tournament after missing the past six weeks with an injury.
Lilledahl beat Iowa’s Dean Peterson 8-3 at 125. He will face Indiana’s Jacob Moran in the semifinals.
Blaze beat Rutgers’ Dylan Shawver 16-3 and will take on Iowa’s Drake Ayala in the semifinal round. Blaze earned the top seed over Illinois’ Lucas Byrd, a returning national champion who was undefeated on the season before being upset by Purdue’s Blake Boarman, a No. 10 seed with an 11-12 record, in the quarterfinals.
Mesenbrink kept his streak of bonus-point victories intact, but just barely. A riding-time point gave the returning NCAA champion a 10-2 victory over Ohio State’s Paddy Gallagher. Mesenbrink, who is 20-0 with all of his victories resulting in bonus points, will face fifth-seeded Andrew Sparks of Minnesota in the semifinal round.
Haines scored five takedowns in a 17-2 technical fall over Illinois’ Colin Kelly. Haines, who was pre-seeded second before the Penn State coaches successfully argued for him to be moved up to the top spot, will face Ohio State’s Carson Kharchla in the evening session.
Barr, who is ranked first nationally, went two better. He scored seven takedowns in a 21-6 technical fall victory over Indiana’s Gabe Sollars. Barr draws Ohio State’s Luke Geog in the semifinals.
Fourth-seeded Mirasola made a first-period takedown stand up in a 4-2 victory over Wisconsin’s Braxton Amos. Mirasola, who needed just 25 seconds to pin Northwestern’s Gabe Christenson in the first round, will take on top-ranked Taye Ghadaiali of Michigan for a spot in Sunday’s final.
Braeden Davis was the only Nittany Lion to lose during the first session. Davis survived an upset bid by Maryland’s Dario Lemus in the first round at 141 pounds, getting off his back in the second period for a 6-4 victory. Davis led Minnesota’s Vance Vombauer 5-4 in the second period of their quarterfinal bout, but the Golden Gopher scored 17 unanswered points for a 20-7 technical fall.