Penn State dominates Michigan wrestling 27-9 in Ann Arbor

THIRD PERIOD: Evans gets out and scores a takedown! The Nittany Lion leads 4-1 and is racking up the riding time while looking for back points. Stalemate. Forty-five seconds to go! Evans takes the 5-2 to put an exclamation point on Penn State's win. 

149: David Evans PSU dec. Fidel Mayora MICH, 5-2
Penn State 27, Michigan 9

— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST)

Nittany Lions win 24-9! 

SECOND PERIOD: Mayora begins the second period on the bottom. Evans notches riding time up over a minute, but Mayora gets out, putting himself on the board to take the 1-0 lead. This score held throughout the end of the period. 

FIRST PERIOD: This match between backup David Evans (wrestling in place of Tyler Kasak) and Fidel Mayora (wrestling in place of Austin Gomez) will be fun. Penn State has already locked up the dual win, so this one is just for pride. But that pride matters. Scoreles first period. 

THIRD PERIOD: Lemley begins the third period in the down position, and he's out immediately. Bartlett leads 4-1. Big throw, and it's Lemley who comes out on top! The Wolverine has tied it up with the All-American. Briefly. Bartlett back in on his own attack, earning a takedown but getting dinged for locked hands. He leads 7-5 after Lemley's escape. Bartlett holds on for the 7-5 win. 

Penn State leads 24-9 with one match to go! 

SECOND PERIOD: Bartlett chooses down to start the second period, and he's out within 35 minutes. He leads 4-0. Credit to Lemley for his defense. He's giving Bartlett everything he's got. Ten seconds to go in the period. The second period will end 4-0 in favor of Bartlett. 

FIRST PERIOD: Penn State's Beau Bartlett notches the first takedown of the match in the opening two minutes. He's in control now, working on top. Bartlett will end the period with the 3-0 lead and 1:04 of riding time. 

THIRD PERIOD: Davis starts the third period on bottom. We're scrambling as Davis works his way around. Escape Davis, but DeAugustino pushed the riding time down under a minute. Penn State challenges the riding time clock. Penn State wins the challenge, and riding time is reset at one minute, meaning the match ended now, Davis would get the 2-1 win with the riding time point. Thirty seconds to go. Ten seconds. Takedown Davis! The true freshman tops the All-American in his home state! He takes the 5-1! 

125: No. 14 Braeden Davis PSU dec. No. 5 Michael DeAugustino MICH, 5-1
Penn State 21, Michigan 3

— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST)

Penn State leads 21-3 after six matches! 

SECOND PERIOD: DeAugustino starts on the bottom to begin the second period and gets funky quickly. He tries to sramble out, but Davis holds him down. Davis pushes riding time up over a minute against the All-American. He's got DeAugustino on his back! No points there for Davis, but he flexed his strength and sent a message. He's here to compete at 125 pounds. At a weight as wild as 125 pounds, Davis is showing he's very much in the podium conversation. 

Thirty seconds to go. Davis is looking for the rideout. DeAugustino escapes with less than 15 seconds to go. DeAugustino will end the second period with a 1-0 lead, but Davis has 1:46 of riding time. 

FIRST PERIOD: Penn State's Braeden Davis, a true freshman, is showing no fear against DeAugustino as he goes in for an early shot and tries to set a fast pace. He's wrestling with ferociousness. DeAugustino looks for a throw against Davis, but Davis brushes him off. Scoreless through two minutes. The score remains 0-0 at the end of the period. 

THIRD PERIOD: Davison chooses bottom to start the third period. He needs an escape, a takedown and more to stay in this one. Kerkvliet holds him down and rides him for the first minute of the period. Riding time is now over 90 seconds. Davison is out. He narrows the lead to 7-3, but riding time is a factor. A takedown from Kerkvliet gives him bonus. Thirty seconds. Shot from Davison, but he can't finish before time expires. Kerkvliet will take this one 8-3. 

Penn State leads 18-3 after six bouts! 

SECOND PERIOD: Kerkvliet starts on the bottom to begin the third. He's out quickly and nearly in on another shot. Takedown #2 for the Nittany Lion! He leads 7-1. An escape for Davison makes it 7-2, but Davison is then warned for stalling. These stall calls have been frequent tonight. Shot from Davison, but Kerkvliet holds him off to maintain his 7-2 lead. 

FIRST PERIOD: As I mentioned in the preview for this dual, this heavyweight match features two strong, fast and athletic big men. Kerkvliet in on a shot, and that's an early takedown for the Nittany Lion. Penn State wrestlers have been the aggressors all night, as Michigan has not yet notched a takedown tonight (Griffith won his match with a reversal). 

THIRD PERIOD: Bullock chooses down to start the third, and he's out quickly to bring the score to 1-1. A takedown would win this bout as just 90 seconds remain on the clock. One minute to go. Takedown Truax! That's three! He leads 4-1 with short time remaining!

Truax takes the win 4-1, and the Nittany Lions lead 10-3 after four matches. 

184: No. 5 Bernie Truax PSU dec. No. 15 Jaden Bullock MICH, 4-1
Penn State 10, Michigan 3

— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST)

SECOND PERIOD: Truax starts on bottom to begin the second period, and he's out quickly. That's 1-0 lead for the Nittany Lion! Bullock takes a shot and nearly earns a takedown, but the refs wave it off. Two consecutive shots from Truax, but no takedowns yet in the match after the first five minutes. Another shot from Truax! He's in good position, and he gets it. Truax takes the 4-0 lead with 27 seconds to go in the second period. 

The call is under review. No takedown. Truax's escape will be the only point on the board. Ten seconds. Truax will carry his 1-0 lead into the third period. 

FIRST PERIOD: Penn State's Bernie Truax with an early shot, and he's nearly in on the takedown, but Bullocks defends him. Good poise from the Wolverine. No score after the first two minutes, but the activity rate has been much higher than in the 157 and 174 pound matches. Thirty seconds left. The first period ends scoreless. 

THIRD PERIOD: The wrestlers start neutral to begin the third. Shot from Barraclough! Griffith defends, but if the Wolverine is hit for stalling, that second stall call would tie the dual, given Barraclough's 1:10 of riding time. Griffith gets back to his feet. Ten seconds. Shane Griffith hangs on for the 2-1 win after Barraclough's riding time point is added. 

174: Griffith earns a 2-1 decision over Barraclough on the second-period reversal. He improves to 6-0 in dual action.

Penn State 7, Michigan 3

— Michigan Wrestling (@umichwrestling)

Penn State leads Michigan 7-3 after three bouts. 

SECOND PERIOD: Griffith will begin the second period in the bottom position. He's been active on the bottom, looking for a reversal, but Barraclough is riding hard. Barraclough pushes riding time up over a minute, but he's warned for stalling. Thirty seconds to go. Griffith with the reversal and nearly puts Barraclough on his back. That's what the Michigan fans wanted to see! The crowd erupts as time ticks down. Griffith will end the period on top after a tough first 90 seconds on the bottom. He holds the 2-0 lead heading into the third.

The referees are now reviewing the call to see if Griffith earned back points in that reversal. The call on the mat stands. Griffith's will settle for the 2-0 lead with three minute to go in the bout. 

FIRST PERIOD: Shane Griffith needs a win for Michigan here with the Wolverines trailing 7-0. He'll have a chance for bonus points against Penn State backup Terrell Barraclough, but, at the same time, Barraclough is not someone to be overlooked. If Griffith wants to send a message, he'll need to do it early and turn up the offense for the next seven minutes. Thirty seconds left. The first period will end 0-0. 

THIRD PERIOD: Lewan starts on the bottom to begin the third. Lewan is out, tying the bout 1-1. Riding time is not a factor. One minute to go. This has been a slow match to start this dual, but it will all come down to a takedown down. Thirty seconds. Will Lewan is hit with stalling for the second time, and Haines takes the 2-1 lead. Lewan takes a desperation shot, but Haines defends to take the win 2-1. 

157: No.1 Levi Haines 2, No.9 Will Lewan 1
Penn State 3, Michigan 0

— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST)

SECOND PERIOD: Haines begins the second period on bottom, but he escapes quickly before going in on a shot himself. Lewan holds him off, and both guys have reset on their feet. Haines lead 1-0 with that escape with one minute to go in the period. Twenty seconds. Haines will enter the third period with a one-point lead. 

FIRST PERIOD: This is a great opportunity for All-American Will Lewan to take on a national finalist in Levi Haines in front of Lewan's home crowd. Haines is known to be a big 165-pounder, so the decision to start this dual at 157 is a notable here, as it reduced Haines' time to refuel compared it what it would have been if the dual started at 125 pounds. We'll see if that has any impact on the bout.

The first 90 seconds pass without a shot from either wrestler. You can see the focus in their eyes, but not a ton of action so far. The ref hits both Haines and Lewan for stalling. That's a fair call. The first period ends 0-0. 

College wrestling on Big Ten Network starts NOW! 

Tonight's dual will start at 157 pounds, meaning we'll likely see No. 1 Levi Haines vs. No. 9 Will Lewan, if the probable lineups are correct, though neither team is expected to field all ten ranked starters this evening. 

All weighed in. Starting at 157 pounds tonight vs PSU. We about two hours out.

— Michigan Wrestling (@umichwrestling)

Let’s take a look at the probable lineups for each team: 

125 pounds: No. 14 Braeden Davis vs. No. 5  Michael DeAugustino

This first bout is a must-win for Michigan, as All-American Michael DeAugustino takes on true freshman Braden Davis in one of the three weights at which Michigan is favored. DeAugustino, a Northwestern transfer, is 6-1 on the year with a lone injury default loss to No. 15 Brett Ungar of Cornell at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. He made his Michigan Big Ten dual debut last weekend with two wins over Tommy Capul of Maryland and Tristan Lujan of Michigan State, but Braeden Davis will be a tougher test than both of those athletes.

No. 3 at 125 Michael DeAugustino closes out the victory with a home debut dub! 🙌

— Big Ten Wrestling (@B1GWrestling)

Davis, a Michigan native who was initially expected to redshirt this year and serve as a backup to Robbie Howard, is now 10-0 this season with 70%. His victory against All-American Brandon Kaylor of Oregon State showed that he's a podium threat, and he'll have a chance to notch another top win this weekend in his home state. 

133 pounds: No. 4 Aaron Nagao vs. No. 6 Dylan Ragusin

While Penn State had a lineup shuffle at 125 pounds this year, Michigan also shifted its starters, with the Wolverines making a big change at 133 pounds by pulling three-time NCAA qualifier Dylan Ragusin out of a redshirt last week. Ragusin replaces All-American Chris Cannon, another Northwestern graduate who transferred to Ann Arbor in the offseason. Cannon went down with an injury against Angelo Rini in mid-November and has not wrestled since. 

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Ragusin will have his hands full with Penn State's Big Ten finalist Aaron Nagao, but this is exactly the kind of challenge the Wolverine needs now if he's going to make a podium run this March. With a 13-0 record and now the two recent dual wins over Maryland's No. 21 Braxton Brown and Michigan State's Andrew Hampton, Ragusin has rocketed to sixth in the country. He's fast and tough, but his opponent, Nagao, is also known for his slickness. Nagao's best win so far this year is No. 26 Gabe Whisenhunt, but he also notched wins over All-Americans Kai Orine, Jesse Mendez, Lucas Byrd, Rayvon Foley and Taylor LaMont last year while representing Minnesota, before transferring to Penn State. The edge here belongs to Nagao, but we'll see what Ragusin can do to keep this close. 

141 pounds: No. 2 Beau Bartlett vs. No. 25 Sergio Lemley

This is one of two weights in this dual where Penn State's starter is ranked over 20 spots higher than his Michigan opponent in the rankings, and it's a weight where the Nittany Lions will be looking for bonus points, regardless of how the first two bouts go. 

Penn State's No. 2 Beau Bartlett comes into this bout 10-0 on the season with wins over national qualifiers Vince Cornell, Malyke Hines and Cleveland Bolton, and he's looking every bit like an All-American performer, and perhaps even a title contender, though he hasn't had to face anyone inside the top 10 yet. The match will have to wait, too, as Michigan's Sergio Lemley enters his meeting with Bartlett ranked No. 25 after a 10-3 start to his year. Lemley, a freshman, has proven himself to a valuable asset for the Wolverines this year, topping All-American Clay Carlson. He's tough, but topping some as defensively strong and fundamental as Bartlett will be a challenge. 

149 pounds: No. 12 Tyler Kasak vs. No. 6 Austin Gomez

The Wolverines have reloaded their roster since last season, and one of the latest additions is none other than All-American and 2022 Big Ten champion Austin Gomez at 149 pounds. After finishing off the medal stand at nationals last year due to injury, Gomez retired from college wrestling and moved to Ann Arbor to train for freestyle while on his quest to earn an Olympic spot at 65kg for Mexico. Months later, Gomez announced that he would actually be returning to college wrestling to compete in his final year of eligibility for the Wolverines. 

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The former Iowa State and Wisconsin wrestler is now 3-0 on the year with two ranked decision wins and a fall against Michigan State. He'll now meet Penn State freshman Tyler Kasak, a new addition himself after slotting in for All-American Shayne Van Ness after Van Ness' injury. Kasak has been stellar in his role for Penn State, posting a 6-1 record with his only loss coming against teammate Beau Bartlett down at 141 pounds. He'll have his chance against a title contender now, though, when he meets Gomez in Ann Arbor. 

157 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines vs. No. 9 Will Lewan

This 157-pound match between No. 1 Levi Haines and No. 9 Will Lewan is one of the few matches from last year's dual that we'll see again this year, as both Haines and Lewan are back looking for more All-American honors. In 2023, Haines squeaked out the victory over Lewan in this dual during a breakout moment for the trust freshman in sudden victory, and the Nittany Lion would go on to finish second at NCAAs while Lewan finished eighth.

The big question this year is less about where Haines stacks up against the Wolverine and more about the health of Lewan. The Michigan All-American has not wrestled since the Cliff Keen Invitational in early December where he took three consecutive losses to Peyton Robb, Ed Scott and Daniel Cardenas. Michigan fans want to see Lewan at full health because a healthy Lewan is a dangerous Lewan, but if he takes the mat feeling less than 100%, Haines could pose a real problem for the Michigan middleweight. 

165 pounds: No. 9 Mitchell Mesenbrink vs. No. 7 Cameron Amine

Michigan has the rankings advantage at 165 pounds, but, after Michigan's Cameron Amine's loss to Michigan State's Caleb Fish last weekend, and Mitchell Mesenbrink's 80% bonus rate this year, the Nittany Lion could be perceived as the favorite in this bout. Since making his Penn State dual debut on Dec. 5, Mesenbrink has scored at least five team points in every one of his bouts, teching Jake Logan and Matthew Olguin, pinning Matt Waddell and winning by injury default against Tyler Lillard. He's been slowing rising in the rankings and entered the top 10 for the first time in his career this week. Mesenbrink's trajectory suggests he's a title contender, but Amine will have experience and the home crowd on his side. 

One of the underrated aspect about Amine's wrestling history too is his ability to win big matches when it counts. He's navigated a tough 165-pound bracket the last three seasons to finish on the podium in back-to-back-to-back years, and he's found ways to avenge loses on that stage too. He's a clutch performer, and while the Fish loss is notable, Amine's track record suggests that, if he's healthy, he'll bounce back. Mesenbrink will be a tough rebound match for the Wolverine though. 

174 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci vs. No. 4 Shane Griffith

There's an argument to make that 174 pounds is the biggest weight of the dual. After all, it is the only weight where two NCAA champions — Michigan's Shane Griffith and Penn State's Carter Starocci — will face off against one another. But, that being said, it's hard to ignore just how dominant Carter Starocci has been against every single of his opponents this year when considering the competitiveness of this match. Starocci shutout 2019 NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis in the All-Star dual, he teched All-American Travis Wittlake in the Oregon State dual and he's bonused the other five foes he's faced. 

Griffith, meanwhile, has already taken a loss this year, as he dropped to Lorenzo Norman of Stanford at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Griffith's strength though is his calmness under pressure, and he'll need to be on his A-game to take on the pressure that Starocci is known to deliver. 

184 pounds: No. 5 Bernie Truax vs. No. 15 Jaden Bullock 

Jaden Bullock has been a Wolverine team guy for the last four years, starting as a freshman at 184 pounds and then serving as a backup at 174 and 184 pounds the following season before earning his spot against this year. He's strung together an impressive 11-4 record and looks to be on track to qualify for his first national tournament. The next obstacle in front of him on that journey though is a serious one: Penn State's Bernie Truax. 

A three-time All-American at Cal Poly, Truax transferred to Penn State for graduate school and is currently 5-1 on the year with his only loss coming to All-American Trey Munoz of Oregon State. Truax is skilled in all positions, and his experience and wrestling IQ make him particularly challenging to compete against. Michigan will want to avoid bonus points at all costs at this weight class before heading into 197 and 285 pounds, two weights where Penn State will be expected to field the No. 1-ranked wrestlers in the country. 

197 pounds: No. 1 Aaron Brooks vs. Bobby Striggow

Like 141 pounds, 197 pounds is a weight where Penn State will be looking to win with bonus. Three-time All-American Aaron Brooks of Penn State is undefeated on the year with 100% bonus, while his opponent Bobby Striggow of Michigan is 5-5 on the season. These two have never wrestled in their collegiate careers as Striggow is in his first year as a starter at 197 pounds and Brooks wrestled down at 184 pounds for his first three years as Penn State's rep. 

Striggow will also enter this dual on a two-match losing streak after dropping to Jaxon Smith of Maryland 5-2 and Kael Wisler of Michigan State 5-0. There's a toughness to Striggow's style that allows him to keep matches close, even against top-5 athletes like Smith, but Brooks is a different tier of talent. He's ended all of his matches early this year and averaged 19 points in each bout that did not conclude with a pin. He'll no doubt aim to keep this trend going against his Wolverine foe. 

285 pounds: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet vs. Lucas Davison

This might be the most interesting match of the dual. Penn State's Greg Kerkvliet is one of four No. 1-ranked Nittany Lions, but he'll have perhaps the hardest test of any of his teammates when he squares off against three-time NCAA All-American Lucas Davison. A transfer from Northwestern, Davison's biggest strength is his athleticism, a skill shared by Kerkvliet. These two big men know how to move. 

Kerkvliet is 6-0 with his best win of the year coming in the NWCA All-Star Classic when he bonused 2023 third-place national finisher Wyatt Hendrickson of Air Force. Davison, meanwhile is 9-1 with top-20 wins over Taye Ghadiali of Campbell and Hunter Catka, but he does have a loss to All-American Yonger Bastida on the year in what was a fun, crazy, impressive bout. Kerkvliet and Davison have met just once in their college careers with Kerkvliet pulling out the 5-3 win, and this match will be expected to be similarly close.