When all is said and done, there may be few accolades left to say for this Penn State squad; one thing that CAN’T be said, is that the domination is over. That’s evidenced by the fact that it’s senior day for PSU wrestling, and yet only one of the ten starters will be honored.
The final dual meet of this record-breaking season is against the Princeton Tigers, and the visitors have a very steep uphill climb to be competitive. They boast four ranked wrestlers and are a solid program (with former national
champ Anthony Ashnault on staff); in their last outing, they took three bouts off of Rutgers, including two upsets over ranked Scarlet Knight wrestlers.
The Tigers have had a relatively tough schedule and their last dual doesn’t make things easier, as it will take a lot to come away with team points tonight.
The Nittany Lions are looking to extend their dual match win streak after destroying Ohio State last week, and there will be more bout wins under seven minutes for Penn State in the dual than there will be takedowns scored by the Tigers. In any other year, that might be a bold prediction.
Not this year, and not this team. How blessed as fans are we?
How To Watch
What: #1 Penn State vs Princeton*
Where: Rec Hall, University Park, PA
When: Friday, February 20, 7pm EST
Audio: Free (via GoPSUSports)
Video: B1G+ ($)
Lineup
125
Luke Lilledahl solidified his Big Ten tournament ranking with his sudden victory win over the very strong Nic Bouzakis last week, and though his opponent this week is Princeton’s highest ranked grappler, this likely won’t be very close. I expect Luke to come out incredibly fast and strong, making another statement that he can get far more takedowns in regulation than the zero he got last week.
Prediction: Lilledahl by major decision
Score: PSU 4, PU 0
133 LBS
The reigning Big Ten freshman of the week had the second-best upset of last week’s dual, and showed that he can win in a different way than most expected. Blaze’s offense was stymied by Ben Davino (and likely his and his coaches’ own approach to this bout) and this week, he’ll notch a win in an entirely different manner. He’ll showcase his speed and strength against a ranked opponent – and I’d be surprised if this lasts all seven minutes.
Prediction: Blaze by tech fall
Score: PSU 9, PU 0
141 LBS
If (when?) Braeden faces Jesse Mendez next, the outcome may not ultimately be very different but the score undoubtedly will be. This week, his last bout leading up to a tournament where Davis has done historically well, he’ll have a chance to work out some final kinks and get to his offense. He’ll come out strong and the only thing standing in his way of ending this matchup early is likely his own momentum and adrenaline.
Prediction: Davis by major decision
Score: PSU 13, PU 0
149 LBS
Shayne’s late match heroics this season befit the joy with which he wrestles, as he seems to feed off of the energy his being on the mat brings. The Tiger is ranked which is the only reason I’m not predicting this to end early – but that may be a fool’s choice, with how Van Ness is wrestling.
Prediction: Van Ness by major decision
Score: PSU 17, PU 0
157 LBS
PJ Duke leads the Penn State team this year in falls, and why not predict another one tonight? He wrestled with seemingly his most joy all season last week, with an infectious grin as he left the mat (initially going in the wrong direction) and he’ll continue to rebound from his sole loss on the season three weeks ago, which he’s undoubtedly learned a ton from. He’ll look to inflict major damage tonight.
Prediction: Duke by pin
Score: PSU 23, PU 0
165 LBS
Consistency, thy name is Mitchell Mesenbrink – though he is one of two PSUers to score bonus in every bout so far this year. Perhaps the match I’m looking forward to the most at the Big Ten tournament in two weeks is Mitch’s potential matchup against Marcus’ brother, Joey, an NCAA finalist at 157 last year who’s up a weight and upset Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo last weekend. This week is just another tune up for Mitchell, practice for him to continue to go, go, go.
Prediction: Mesenbrink by tech fall
Score: PSU 28, PU 0
174 LBS
Two weeks ago at Michigan, Levi had his most impressive win of the season in a tech fall against one of the ranked Mantanona brothers. Last week, he faced a backup Buckeye and very nearly had him pinned before getting the tech (and only giving up one point). This week, I expect he gets both shoulders down.
Prediction: Levi by pin
Score: PSU 34, PU 0
184 LBS
The overarching theme of this year, in addition to dominance, seems to be joy. And that is evidenced by the huge grin that Rocco Welsh had on his face after his come-from-behind win last Friday night against a game ranked Buckeye; in this week’s media availability (his first, in this blogger’s memory, after joining the PSU program), Rocco spoke about how fantastic it was to wrestle in such an environment. That confidence and joy will propel him through this dual and into the post season, and he’ll come out firing on all cylinders this week.
Prediction: Welsh by tech fall
Score: PSU 39, PU 0
197 LBS
I keep speaking of how under the radar Josh Barr is, and I’m not sure that fact can be overstated; he’s the other wrestler on this team, with Mesenbrink, to score bonus in every bout. That continues tonight, as he’s up against one of two Tigers with a losing record on the year. The biggest question mark of this bout to me is if it gets out of the first period.
Prediction: Barr by pin
Score: PSU 45, PU 0
285 LBS
The most impressive performance last week, for me, was Cole Mirasola’s. The heavyweight’s defense showed up in a big way, and he was the aggressor for most of his bout against the then-#3 wrestler in the nation; he’ll build on that, too, and gain more confidence the deeper he goes into the upcoming tournaments. Before that, though, he takes on the other Princeton wrestler with a losing record, and I’m betting he’ll catch-and-release him to an early end.
Prediction: Cole by tech fall
Score: PSU 50, PU 0
Overall score prediction: Penn State 50, Princeton 0
*The Penn State athletic department, in its official capacity, uses Intermat’s Tournament Power Index in all its match literature; I’m using Intermat’s Dual Meet Rankings because this happens to be a dual. Penn State is #1 in both rankings; Princeton is unranked in both rankings.
