Penn State wrestling clinches 2024 NCAA championship, its third in a row, on tournament's second day
Penn State wrestling has won its third consecutive NCAA team title. The Nittany Lions locked up the coveted award before the final session even started at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. In fact, they did it on Friday night. Head coach Cael Sanderson and his staff took 10 competitors to the annual event. They have eight All-Americans and numerous competitors in contention for an individual title when the tournament’s sixth and final session starts at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Before that, the medal round will be held at 11 a.m. ET. Penn State will start it with 148 team points. Michigan is in second with 64.5. Iowa is in third with 60. Arizona State and Iowa State have 59.5.
When the tournament started on Thursday, the Nittany Lions were heavily favored to win. They led after the first two sessions and had a 36-point advantage at the end of session three late Friday afternoon. When Carter Starocci beat Shane Griffith of Michigan 2-0 in one 174-pound semifinal, it clinched the team title for the Nittany Lions, as all other teams could not possibly catch Penn State, who had 124.5 points at that moment in time. It’s one of the earliest clinching moments for Penn State in the Sanderson era. It is the team’s 11th national title since 2011 and 12th all-time.
Can the Nittany Lions break the all-time scoring record?
The 1997 Iowa team scored 170 points, which is the current record. Can Penn State top it this year? The answer is yes. But will it? As of the time of this writing, Penn State has 147.5 team points. It can mathematically top the record number. But, it will need everything to go right on Saturday.
Who does each Penn State wrestler have on Saturday?
All matches are championship finals unless a placing bout is noted.
125 pounds: Braeden Davis is eliminated from the tournament after going 2-2. Finishes freshman season 22-4.
133 pounds: Aaron Nagao is eliminated from the tournament after going 3-2. Finished redshirt sophomore season 17-7.
141 pounds: No. 2 Beau Bartlett, Penn State vs. No. 1 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State
149 pounds: No. 7 Tyler Kasak, PSU vs. No. 1 Ridge Lovett, Nebraska (consolation semifinal)
157 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines, PSU vs. No. 2 Jacori Teemer, Arizona State
165 pounds: No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State vs. No. 3 Davis Carr, Iowa State
174 pounds: No. 9 Carter Starocci, PSU vs. No. 6 Rocco Welsh, Ohio State
184 pounds: No. 6 Bernie Truax, Penn State vs. No. 4 Trey Munoz, Oregon State (consolation semifinal)
197 pounds: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, PSU vs. No. 2 Trent Hidlay, N.C. State
285 pounds: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State vs. No. 10 Lucas Davison, Michigan
How can I follow Penn State in Saturday’s two sessions?
It’s not just the finals that will be held on Saturday. Penn State will also have wrestlers in the morning medal round. It starts at 11 a.m. ET on ESPNU. Those hoping to ensure they do not miss any Nittany Lion in action will want to visit ESPN+. ESPN’s streaming arm will allow viewers to flip around mat-by-mat.
Tyler Kasak, a 149-pound freshman, will be in a consolation semifinal first to figure out which placing bout he will be in after that. Graduate senior Bernie Truax, who wrestles at 184 pounds, is in a similar boat.
Longtime broadcaster Jeff Byers will be on the call from Kansas City starting at 10:40 a.m. ET. Click here to access the free LionVision feed from the Penn State Sports Network.
You can also follow along live and chat with other Penn State wrestling fans on Blue-White Illustrated’s The Wrestling Room forum. Access it by clicking here for live updates.
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