#1 Penn State vs. #23 Lehigh Preview and Predictions

On Sunday, No. 23 Lehigh will host No. 1 Penn State at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa. The Nittany Lions walk in as heavy favorites, as they do against almost all opponents, but there are still several intriguing individual contests across the 10 weights. The following is a bout-by-bout preview of the dual. 125: No. 15 Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) vs. No. 16 Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) Seymour came off redshirt last season and split time with Luke Stanich at 125 pounds. He went 13-5 on the year and actually picked up a victory over Gary Steen in last year’s edition of this dual. Seymour has gotten off to an 8-1 start to this season including a pair of victories over No. 17 Nick Babin (Pittsburgh) as well as a 12-0 major decision over Jakob Camacho (NC State). Lilledahl is yet another blue-chip recruit for the Penn State program, and he appears ready to make an immediate impact during his first season of college wrestling. On the high school level, he excelled in both folkstyle and freestyle. He won multiple Super 32 and Ironman titles, and he was also a multiple-time age-group world champion. Lilledahl is currently undefeated through four collegiate bouts. Only one of his opponents has avoided giving up bonus points and that was teammate Kurt McHenry. 125 has been an issue for the Nittany Lions for years. There have been some bright spots, but there has not been the consistent success that the Penn State fans have grown accustomed to at most weights. Lilledahl might be the one to hold this weight down for a few seasons. Seymour is a good early-season test, but he is also one that Lilledahl should be able to pass. Prediction: Lilledahl decision over Seymour Dual: Penn State 3, Lehigh 0 133: No. 1 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) vs. No. 10 Braeden Davis (Penn State) It looks like Crookham will return to the lineup for this match. He burst onto the scene last year as a redshirt freshman. He went undefeated in the regular season including an early season victory over eventual champion Vitali Arujau (Cornell). Although Crookham lost the rematch at the NCAA tournament and eventually finished third, he is considered one of the strongest contenders for the top of the podium at this weight. In his only action so far this season, he scored a 17-1 technical fall over Kevin Lopez of Morgan State. While 125 has been an issue in years past for Penn State, that was not the case for much of last season. Davis had a very impressive regular season and finished it off with a Big Ten title. He defeated Patrick McKee (Minnesota), Michael DeAugustino (Michigan), and Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) on his way to the title with the latter two victories coming in overtime. However, he surprisingly dropped a pair of his matches at the NCAA tournament and failed to place. Davis has moved up to 133 pounds this year after an injury to All-American Aaron Nagao. Crookham deserves to be the favorite in this contest, but it should be a very informative match for both wrestlers. It should be a good measure of how Crookham is doing returning from injury, while at the same time seeing how Davis will be able to hang against the larger opposition at 133 pounds. Prediction: Crookham decision over Davis Dual: Penn State 3, Lehigh 3 141: No. 22 Malyke Hines (Lehigh) vs. No. 3 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) Hines is a four-time NCAA qualifier who is looking to find his way onto the podium in his final year of eligibility. He came the closest to reaching All-American status at the 2023 NCAA tournament where he saw his run come to an end in the bloodround. In limited action this year, Hines has gone 2-2 with a pair of technical fall victories over Jacob Mann (Princeton) and Myrin Nixon (Morgan State). Bartlett has made a steady progression since joining the Nittany Lion starting lineup as a redshirt freshman in 2022. He qualified for the NCAA tournament that year, the following year he finished third, and then last season, he made the finals before falling against Ohio State’s No. 2 Jesse Mendez. In his only action so far this season, Bartlett won the Black Knight Invite with four-straight victories including a win over No. 25 Todd Carter (Gardner-Webb). These two have actually met twice before on the collegiate level. Not only has Bartlett won both matches, but he actually widened the gap. The Penn State wrestler won the first match by an 8-4 decision, while the rematch last season was a 15-3 major decision. Look for Bartlett to push for bonus points again. Prediction: Bartlett major decision over Hines Dual: Penn State 7, Lehigh 3 149: No. 29 Kelvin Griffin (Lehigh) vs. No. 2 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) Griffin was a somewhat surprising entry into the EIWA tournament last year for Lehigh. During his redshirt freshman season, he wrestled in only three duals, but he still earned the nod for the postseason. Griffin made the most of the opportunity as he finished third in the EIWA and qualified for his first NCAA tournament. To start his second season in the lineup, Griffin has been extremely active. He has already wrestled 12 matches, picked up nine wins, and scored an impressive eight falls. After finishing third as a redshirt freshman at the 2023 NCAA tournament, Van Ness sat out the vast majority of last season with an injury. He has returned to his role as the 149-pound starter this year. In his only action to date, he won the Black Knight Invite with victories over veterans Andrew Clark (Rutgers) and Richard Fedalen (Columbia). Van Ness wrestled only three matches last year before sitting out with an injury. One of those matches was against Griffin. The Penn State wrestler was able to score an early fall. While the match was only 90-seconds long, it should be the kind of physical edge that Van Ness should be able to expect in the rematch. Prediction: Van Ness technical fall over Griffin Dual: Penn State 12, Lehigh 3 157: Griffin Gonzalez (Lehigh) vs. No. 4 Tyler Kasak (Penn State) Gonzalez joined Lehigh last year after twice placing at the PIAA tournament on the high school level. He redshirted his first year with the program and competed in only three open tournaments. So far this season, he has gone 9-3 including a 20-3 technical fall over Shaymus Macintosh (Morgan State) in his dual debut. It appeared as if the original plan last year was for Kasak to redshirt. However, an injury to Van Ness opened up a spot for the true freshman. Kasak took full advantage of the opportunity. He posted a 24-5 record and finished third at his very first NCAA tournament. Kasak has continued to display his dominant form this year as he went 4-0 at the Black Knight Invite with a 5-2 victory over teammate Alex Facundo. Kasak has shown dynamic offense and scrambling since he burst onto the college scene last year. There is no reason to believe that trend will not continue here. Prediction: Kasak major decision over Gonzalez Dual: Penn State 16, Lehigh 3 165: Thayne Lawrence (Lehigh) vs. No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) Lawrence picked up a few spot starts last season at 174 pounds including a match against Penn State’s Carter Starocci. He appears to be the starter this year down at 165 pounds. To start his first year in the lineup, he has gone 6-4 including a 9-4 victory over Pittsburgh’s Kelin Laffey in his first dual action of the campaign. Mesenbrink was perhaps a program-changing recruit for Cal Baptist out of high school. However, he shut it down after only two matches in the 2023 season and eventually transferred to Penn State. Mesenbrink was brilliant during his first season in the lineup. He carried an undefeated record into the national finals and eventually dropped a one-point match against David Carr to finish second. Carr has since moved on, which makes Mesenbrink a clear favorite at the weight. The pace that Mesenbrink is able to put on opponents is going to be a problem for Lawrence. Even if he is not effective early, he will continue to attack and eventually break through. It is hard for most opponents to hold up. Prediction: Mesenbrink technical fall over Lawrence Dual: Penn State 21, Lehigh 3 174: Rylan Rogers (Lehigh) vs. No. 2 Levi Haines (Penn State) On the high school level, Rogers won a National Prep title for Blair Academy as well as several other top tournaments. His results earned him a top-20 spot in the recruiting rankings. Rogers eventually signed with Michigan where he spent his first two years of college wrestling. With the Wolverines, he went 17-8 overall but dropped all four of his dual matches while wrestling up at 197 pounds. After transferring to Lehigh, he has dropped down to 174 pounds and put together a 5-2 record to start his sophomore campaign. Haines enters his third season of college wrestling with two finals appearances under his belt. Last year, he went undefeated on the year and defeated Jacori Teemer, then of Arizona State, in the 157-pound final. This season, he made a big move up to 174 pounds. The results have been consistent with his performance at lower weights so far. Through four matches, he has picked up a pair of technical falls and a pair of falls. Only one opponent has made it to the third period against Haines. It will be interesting to see if the lower weight unlocks Rogers’ true potential, but this contest might be asking a little bit too much of him at this point of the season. Haines is relentless, but Rogers might be able to hang and prevent bonus points. Prediction: Haines decision over Rogers Dual: Penn State 24, Lehigh 3 184: Jack Wilt (Lehigh) vs. No. 1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) After a pair of seasons wrestling exclusively in open tournaments, Wilt earned a starting job for Lehigh at 184 pounds last season and represented the squad at the EIWA tournament. He finished with a 12-13 record and returns this year for his junior season. He won all three of his matches at the Journeyman Classic to start the season but then dropped a major decision against Reece Heller (Pittsburgh) in his first dual match. Starocci is looking to cement himself in the records book this season. After redshirting during the 2020 season, he won the next four NCAA tournaments at 174 pounds. He has moved up to 184 pounds this year. Thanks to the extra covid year, Starocci has a chance to be a five-time NCAA champion. The record will likely stand forever unless there is another life-changing event in our future. Of course, it was only an exhibition match at the NWCA All-Star Classic, but he has already defeated his biggest obstacle to the title in No. 2 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa). While Starocci has wrestled more tactically against top opposition throughout his career, he has turned it on when he sees he has a clear advantage. That will likely be the case in this one as he pushes for the technical fall late in the match. Prediction: Starocci technical fall over Wilt Dual: Penn State 29, Lehigh 3 197: No. 6 Michael Beard (Lehigh) vs. No. 23 Josh Barr (Penn State) Beard started his career at Penn State. After a redshirt year, he took over the starting job at 197 pounds for the injury-shortened 2021 season. He qualified for the NCAA tournament with a 3-3 performance at the Big Ten tournament and went on to become an All-American with a seventh-place finish. Despite the strong result, Beard found himself behind the eventual NCAA champion at the weight the following season. After a year sitting behind Max Dean, Beard transferred to Lehigh where he qualified once again for the NCAA tournament. Last year, he returned to the event and picked up his second All-American nod as he finished eighth. Beard has started his final run of college wrestling with an undefeated 9-0 record including wins over No. 10 Luke Geog (Ohio State), No. 13 Zach Braunagel (Illinois), and No. 15 Mac Stout (Pittsburgh). Barr went undefeated while redshirting last year. Most of his matches were in open tournaments, but he did earn a starting nod against Indiana. In that bout, he scored a major decision over Indiana’s Roman Rogotzke. In his only action this year, Barr won the Black Knight Invite. His toughest opposition in the event came against teammates Lucas Cochran and Connor Mirasola. Barr was able to score major decisions in both matches. Beard certainly has the experience edge and should be the favorite. However, would it really shock anyone if Barr pulled off the upset? Penn State often has their youngsters ready to go, so this will probably be one of the more closely contested matches of the dual. Prediction: Beard decision over Barr Dual: Penn State 29, Lehigh 6 285: No. 10 Owen Trephan/Calvin Lachman/JT Davis (Lehigh) vs. No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) Sources within the program indicate that NC State transfer Trephan will not be able to wrestle in this event. With last year’s starter Nathan Taylor already out for the season with an injury, that does not leave Lehigh with a lot of good options. Against Morgan State, true freshman Calvin Lachman got the call and dropped a major decision against Xavier Doolin. In the dual against Pittsburgh, JT Davis bumped up from 197 pounds. He acquitted himself quite well and dropped only a 1-0 decision against No. 14 Dayton Pitzer. Kerkvliet went undefeated with a 70% bonus rate last year, and he even scored a 13-4 major decision over Lucas Davison in the NCAA title match. It was his first championship after three previous All-American trips to the tournament. This season, he has gone 4-0 with three falls and a technical fall. Assuming that Davis gets the call here with the mission to keep it close, Kerkvliet should be able to put up bonus points here. When he has had a size advantage in the past, he has been able to be dominant. Look for him to score early and often here against either Davis or Lachman. Prediction: Kerkvliet technical fall over Davis Dual: Penn State 34, Lehigh 6

Sign In

#1 Penn State vs. #23 Lehigh Preview and Predictions

User Feedback

Recommended Comments

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in

Categories

Rankings

Browse

Activity

Support