2025 NCAA Championship Session III Thread

[Tom McAndrew]

Please use the thread for all pre-session, in-session, and post-session discussion for the Session III of the 2025 NCAA Championships.

When:
March 21, 12:00 pm EDT

Where:
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA

TV:
ESPNU

Video Streaming:
ESPN+. Please note that this is the only way to get access to multiple mats (They call it MatCast). Info about this is in the 1st thread in the Session I Thread.


Audio Streaming:
The radio PBP, with Jeff Byers at the mic, will be streamed for free. The pre-Session portion of the broadcast will begin at 11:40 am EDT, with the actual PBP of the matches taking place at 12:00 pm EDT. You can access the audio stream at:

Lion Vision

gopsusports.com

Once there, click on the arrow in the button to the left of "Wrestling: NCAA Championships (Philadelphia, PA) - Session 3

Team Scoring:
The best places for tracking the team scoring race is the Penn State Wrestling Club web site (for members), or TrackWrestling

PBP:
I'll be available for PBP for the entire session. @GregPickel will be in the Wells Fargo Center, and providing his thoughts from there. Hopefully, several of you will also step forward and provide some analysis, or some comments on each match. As always, I remind you to please include the score for the match, or provide some context (wrestler, school, and weight class) beyond just "that's not a takedown." It also helps to give folks a heads up as to what mat a PSU wrestler will be wrestling on. You can usually get that info from Ironhead's audio PBP, from Penn State Wrestling's twitter account, or from TrackWrestling.

PSU had a great day on Thursday, in Sessions I and II. Let's have have some fun following and discussing Session III.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

PSU's matchups in the Quarterfinals:

125 Qtr: #1 seed Luke Lilledahl vs. #8 seed Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh)

133 Qtr: #8 seed Braeden Davis vs. #1 seed Lucas Byrd (Illinois)

141 Qtr: #2 seed Beau Bartlett vs. #10 seed CJ Composto (Penn)

149 Qtr: #3 seed Shayne Van Ness vs. #6 seed Lachlan McNeil (UNC)

157 Qtr: #1 seed Tyler Kasak vs. #8 seed Joey Blaze (Purdue)

165 Qtr: #1 seed Mitchell Mesenbrink vs. #8 seed Cameron Amine (Okla St.)

174 Qtr: #2 seed Levi Haines vs. #7 seed Danny Wask (Navy)

184 Qtr: #1 seed Carter Starocci vs. #8 seed Jaxon Smith (Maryland)

197 Qtr: #4 seed Josh Barr vs. #5 seed Michael Beard (Lehigh)

285 Qtr: #3 seed Greg Kerkvliet vs. #6 Joshua Heindselman (Michigan)

 

[gimb14]

We’re in a ridiculous spot right now. All but Davis are favored in the quarterfinals. We all need to take a step back and appreciate what’s happening here. It’s insane

 

[ElDuce]

 

[BlueAndWhite86]

Absolutely blessed! We are witnessing something thing truly amazing. Think about the likelihood of Penn State going undefeated in two straight duel meets. Usually we would expect to give up a bout or two because of injury, illness or a very good wrestler. Penn State swept the equivalent of two duel meets in a single day at Nationals, and now they are favored in all but one bout to do it again in quarterfinals today. Cael has all of his boys peaking at the right time.

 

[gpsu88]

I remember when you could ignore the 125 class because we didn’t have anyone qualified. Having all 10 still in is insane and a lot of fun to watch

 

[PSU87]

PSU's matchups in the Quarterfinals:

125 Qtr: #1 seed Luke Lilledahl vs. #8 seed Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh)

133 Qtr: #8 seed Braeden Davis vs. #1 seed Lucas Byrd (Illinois)

141 Qtr: #2 seed Beau Bartlett vs. #10 seed CJ Composto (Penn)

149 Qtr: #3 seed Shayne Van Ness vs. #6 seed Lachlan McNeil (UNC)

157 Qtr: #1 seed Tyler Kasak vs. #8 seed Joey Blaze (Purdue)

165 Qtr: #1 seed Mitchell Mesenbrink vs. #8 seed Cameron Amine (Okla St.)

174 Qtr: #2 seed Levi Haines vs. #7 seed Danny Was (Navy)

184 Qtr: #1 seed Carter Starocci vs. #8 seed Jaxon Smith (Maryland)

197 Qtr: #4 seed Josh Barr vs. #5 seed Michael Beard (Lehigh)

285 Qtr: #3 seed Greg Kerkvliet vs. #6 Joshua Heindselman (Michigan)

Does the MM-Amine matchup result in a tear in the space time continuum?

 

[@jayhimes]

We’re in a ridiculous spot right now. All but Davis are favored in the quarterfinals. We all need to take a step back and appreciate what’s happening here. It’s insane

Yep. We have 10 in the quarter finals, OK State and NE 5 each. And at 184, they go head to head.

 

[JerryfisherPSU]

The most ridiculous stat is the fact that in those 20 matches, the Nittany Lions gave up just 1 takedown the entire time. Talk about having your team ready to wrestle, Sanderson is the GOAT when it come to getting a team ready for anything!

 

[Sunshinedynomite 1]

And I know it counts the same but it was a neutral danger TD not a traditional take down

let's go another 10-0.
50-0 has a nice ring to it!

 

[BeerLion]

Has there ever been another school that had all ten of their wrestlers make it to the quarterfinals before?

 

[JerryfisherPSU]

And I know it counts the same but it was a neutral danger TD not a traditional take down

let's go another 10-0.
50-0 has a nice ring to it!

Exactly I should have mentioned that!

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Has there ever been another school that had all ten of their wrestlers make it to the quarterfinals before?

Answered in the Session II thread (easier to point you there):

2025 NCAA Championship Session II Thread - Page 8 - Forums

I'm setting this up the night before so that everyone has the info, etc., and also so that I have one less thing to do tomorrow between sessions. Please use the thread for all pre-session, in-session, and post-session discussion for the Session II of the 2025 NCAA Championships. When: March...

www.on3.com

 

[Tom McAndrew]

 

[BeerLion]

Answered in the Session II thread (easier to point you there):

2025 NCAA Championship Session II Thread - Page 8 - Forums

I'm setting this up the night before so that everyone has the info, etc., and also so that I have one less thing to do tomorrow between sessions. Please use the thread for all pre-session, in-session, and post-session discussion for the Session II of the 2025 NCAA Championships. When: March...

www.on3.com

Thanks Tom! 11:45 was past my bedtime.

 

[GregPickel]

Has there ever been another school that had all ten of their wrestlers make it to the quarterfinals before?

We don’t believe so.

 

[GregPickel]

Penn State will have back to back matches on mat 3 to start day two of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Luke Lilledahl leads off opposite Sheldon Seymour of Lehigh in a 125-pound quarterfinal, then Braeden Davis follows opposite top seed Lucas Byrd of Illinois at 133.

 

[GregPickel]

Penn State will have back to back matches on mat 3 to start day two of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Luke Lilledahl leads off opposite Sheldon Seymour of Lehigh in a 125-pound quarterfinal, then Braeden Davis follows opposite top seed Lucas Byrd of Illinois at 133.

Other initial mat assignments:
Kasak will be the fifth match on mat 3.

Van Ness is the fourth match on mat 5.

Bartlett is match theee on mat 6.

 

[NittPicker]

Yep. We have 10 in the quarter finals, OK State and NE 5 each. And at 184, they go head to head.

Looks like the teams for the remaining wrestlers in contention for the individual championships are below. We'll see a lot of team score separation after Session #3. Upsets happen but IMHO, after Session #4 PSU may not mathematically have clinched the team title (or they might) but realistically nobody will be able catch them. Again, IHMO.

• Penn State - 10 (Nine seed favorites)
• Oklahoma State - 6 (Four seed favorites)
• Nebraska - 5 (Three seed favorites)
• Iowa -5 (Three seed favorites)
• Virginia Tech - 4 (Three seed favorites)
• Ohio St. - 4 (One seed favorite)
• Minnesota - 3
• Lehigh - 3
• Michigan - 3
• Cornell - 3
• Illinois - 3
• Northern Iowa - 2
• West Virginia - 2
• Purdue - 2
• Arkansas Little Rock - 2
• Navy - 2
• NC State - 2
• Indiana - 2
• 17 with just 1

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Other initial mat assignments:
Kasak will be the fifth match on mat 3.

Van Ness is the fourth match on mat 5.

Bartlett is match theee on mat 6.

smh, looks as though we'll be stretched to cover each of them.

 

[Psuproud]

Mat assignments

Mat 3 Bout 341	125 Quarterfinal Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) vs Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh)
Mat 3 Bout 345	133 Quarterfinal Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs Braeden Davis (Penn State)
Mat 6 Bout 352	141 Quarterfinal CJ Composto (Pennsylvania) vs Beau Bartlett (Penn State)
Mat 5 Bout 355	149 Quarterfinal Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) vs Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina)
Mat 3 Bout 357	157 Quarterfinal Tyler Kasak (Penn State) vs Joey Blaze (Purdue)
Mat 3 Bout 361	165 Quarterfinal Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) vs Cameron Amine (Oklahoma State)
Mat 6 Bout 368	174 Quarterfinal Danny Wask (Navy) vs Levi Haines (Penn State)
Mat 3 Bout 369	184 Quarterfinal Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs Jaxon Smith (Maryland)
Mat 4 Bout 374	197 Quarterfinal Michael Beard (Lehigh) vs Josh Barr (Penn State)
Mat 5 Bout 379	285 Quarterfinal Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs Joshua Heindselman (Michigan)

 

[Tom McAndrew]

 

[Tom McAndrew]

 

[BriantheLion]

smh, looks as though we'll be stretched to cover each of them.

I’m looking forward to hearing Jeff call three at a time!

 

[Tom McAndrew]

 

[DRoot4PSU]

Realistically, I think 7-3 could be a likely outcome. Could see 6-4 as well. It’s unfortunate Greg and Barr are banged up, they both could get picked off even though the rankings say otherwise if they tweak something mid-match.

If Bartlett doesn’t get to his offense and keeps playing with fire, we could see a repeat from B1Gs again also. SVN and Luke have been vulnerable as well.

regardless - this is just such a fun time to be a fan. 10-0 could happen. You just never know. Just trying to set the bar lower to not be disappointed.

 

[Pocono Lion]

I understand that Luke’s a much better wrestler now, but his bout with Seymour in the Lehigh dual was tight. It was 1-1 until Luke got a late TD on a counter shot.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

 

[GregPickel]

smh, looks as though we'll be stretched to cover each of them.

Yes, and all help from the community (and I know we don’t need to ask because you all are great) will be appreciated.

For this session I am setup in the bowels of the Wells Fargo Center to have access to the post QF media sessions, and those are going to be going fast and furious while other Penn State guys are going. So, we shall do the best we can.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Byers is up and running on LionVision

 

[hohmadw1978]

Lionvision is up and running.

 

[OhioLion]

Yes, and all help from the community (and I know we don’t need to ask because you all are great) will be appreciated.

For this session I am setup in the bowels of the Wells Fargo Center to have access to the post QF media sessions, and those are going to be going fast and furious while other Penn State guys are going. So, we shall do the best we can.

Sorry, Greg, your last line made me think of Sean Connery in The Rock. Just having fun.
Your 'best'! Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and f* the prom queen!**"

 

[WV lion]

I understand that Luke’s a much better wrestler now, but his bout with Seymour in the Lehigh dual was tight. It was 1-1 until Luke got a late TD on a counter shot.

I personally don't think it is going to be that close. Peterson scares me.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Yes, and all help from the community (and I know we don’t need to ask because you all are great) will be appreciated.

For this session I am setup in the bowels of the Wells Fargo Center to have access to the post QF media sessions, and those are going to be going fast and furious while other Penn State guys are going. So, we shall do the best we can.

lol. That's a great bonus you'll be adding, in terms of coverage. But it will make the PBP even more of a challenge.

I'll let folks know when it looks like matches are going to be run simultaneously, and ask the community to cover a match I won't be able to.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Looks like the same setup as Session II -- Consolations on Mat 1, 2, 7, & 8, and Championship on Mat 3, 4, 5, & 6.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

So in trying to map things out, in terms of coverage:

- I'll handle Lilledahl's match
- I'll handle Davis's match
- I'll probably be able to handle Bartlett's match -- depends on how things go on Mats 3 & 6 in terms of timing
- at that point, it could get messy. There's a good chance that some aspects of Van Ness's match and Kasak's match will overlap each other, and possibly SVN's match starting before Bartlett's match is over. Once I'm locked in on PBP for a match, I can't make a post to ask others to cover another match. So, if one or more of you that can provide some PBP can be ready for SVN and/or Kasak, that would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

For those watching via ESPN+:

 

[Karl_Havok]

So in trying to map things out, in terms of coverage:

- I'll handle Lilledahl's match
- I'll handle Davis's match
- I'll probably be able to handle Bartlett's match -- depends on how things go on Mats 3 & 6 in terms of timing
- at that point, it could get messy. There's a good chance that some aspects of Van Ness's match and Kasak's match will overlap each other, and possibly SVN's match starting before Bartlett's match is over. Once I'm locked in on PBP for a match, I can't make a post to ask others to cover another match. So, if one or more of you that can provide some PBP can be ready for SVN and/or Kasak, that would be greatly appreciated.

I can provide some PBP for them.

 

[Karl_Havok]

Did LL wrestle Seymour in the dual?

 

[Sloepoke20]

Did LL wrestle Seymour in the dual?

Yes. 4-1 win