Penn State wrestling superlatives: Big question, bold prediction, top highlight, and more
Penn State wrestling scored its fourth consecutive undefeated since by parlaying a strong December and January portion of the 2023-2024 schedule with a massive February that featured wins over two top five teams and four top 15 foes. They helped lead the Lions to a 12-0 mark and Big Ten regular season title. Now, the postseason is here. Before it, we’re taking a look at some key superlatives from the month that was while looking ahead to what’s on the horizon in March.
Three stars from February
Beau Bartlett | 141 | Sr.
There is simply nowhere else to start this list. All Bartlett did in February was beat No. 3 Jesse Mendez of Ohio State 4-1 in sudden victory before taking out No. 2 Real Woods of Iowa in impressive fashion 7-2. The nation’s No. 1 ranked wrestler in this weight class then added a decision win over Max Hermes of Rutgers and beat top-10 foe Brock Hardy of Nebraska, 9-6. He closed things out by pinning Edinboro’s Jake Brennenman in the second period.
Levi Haines | 157 | So.
Haines gave Bartlett a good run for his money. The returning All-American kicked off the final month of the regular season with a major decision over Ohio State’s Isaac Wilcox. He then beat top-five foe Jared Franek of Iowa by major decision, 12-0, before beating Dylan Weaver of Rutgers by fall in 1:31. Haines then stopped familiar foe Peyton Robb of Nebraska 10-3 before beating Gannon Jaquay of Edinboro by fall in 4:38.
Aaron Brooks | 197 | Sr.+
This was a tough call between Brooks and redshirt freshman Mitchell Mesenbrink at 165 pounds. We give the edge slightly to Brooks, who scored wins by fall, technical fall (twice), major decision, and decision in February while keeping his record perfect.
Key February moment for Penn State
Penn State led Iowa 4-3 after two matches inside of Carver-Hawkeye Arena in early February when senior Beau Bartlett took the mat to take on then-top-ranked Hawkeye Real Woods. There was no doubt who earned the No. 1 spot after seven minutes, as the Nittany Lion cruised to a 7-2 decision triumph. The Lions would go on to win six of the next seven bouts en route to a 29-6 win that marked head coach Cael Sanderson’s 200th win at Penn State.
Highlight of the month
The history of Penn State wrestling is filled with stars and those who stuck around despite being good enough to compete elsewhere to instead be a reserve for the Nittany Lions. It’s why the highlight of the month was seeing backups Terrell Barraclough, a senior, and Lucas Cochran, a sophomore, both beat their opponents by decision at 165 pounds and heavyweight, respectively, as the Lions crushed Rutgers 35-3 for the program’s 1,000th all-time victory.
What is the big question facing the Lions now?
Going beyond the obvious one of whether or not multi-time All-American and national champion Carter Starocci will be available for the postseason after suffering a knee injury against Edinboro, the big question is how many Big Ten champs will Penn State have? We expect Beau Bartlett, Levi Haines, Aaron Brooks, and Greg Kerkvliet to end up on top. Starocci will, too, if he doesn’t step on the mat and forfeit twice to qualify for nationals, but otherwise, continue healing. The dark horse to win one is Mitchell Mesenbrink at 165 pounds.
Penn State postseason prediction
It’s understandable that fans are down on 184-pound starter Bernie Truax after he lost multiple times in February. But, this is still a former All-American who knows what it takes to win in the postseason, and that, as much as anything else, can lead a wrestler to new heights. So, we predict that Truax will not only hit the podium at nationals but also finish higher than fourth, which is where he’s placed three years in a row, at 174, 184, and 197 pounds, respectively, from 2021-2023.
