What's at stake for Penn State wrestling in Session III of the Big Ten Championships?

Penn State wrestling starts Sunday in pole position at the Big Ten Championships. The Nittany Lions, who have five finalists and all 10 wrestlers still alive, lead Nebraska, which has four finalists and seven grapplers still alive, 145-118.5. That means, barring catastrophe unlike any ever seen before in the Cael Sanderson era, it’s a matter of when, not if, his team will clinch its fourth straight conference crown.

“I thought overall it was a good day. It’s really a competitive tournament. We can always wrestle better but this is all preparation for the nationals,” Sanderson told reporters in Evanston, per PennLive. “We have to get through here and the guys are doing a good job, but it’s all preparation.”

Sunday’s action starts at 1 p.m. ET. B1G+ is streaming the consolation semifinals. Four Nittany Lions are in those. Braeden Davis will be on the mat first. The 133-pound Penn State sophomore and Big Ten four seed will face tournament three-seed Braxton Brown of Maryland. The match will have seeding implications for nationals. It is the first time the two are meeting this year. They are separated by just one spot in InterMat’s latest weight class rankings. Davis can finish as high as third with two more wins, and as low as sixth with two losses. The same goes for the rest of his teammates competing in this session.

After Davis takes the mat, Penn State senior Beau Bartlett will, surprisingly, do the same in this session. The tournament’s top seed at 141 pounds lost in the semifinals Saturday night. He draws Jordan Oliveri of Rutgers in a match that will be interesting for the team race: Bartlett has once beat the Scarlet Knight by major decision. Doing so again would boost the Penn State lead over Nebraska. If Bartlett wins, he could draw Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez in the third place match, which would have NCAA seeding implications.

More: How many Big Ten champs will Penn State have? 3 takeaways as the tournament rolls on

The next Nittany Lion in a consolation semifinal is Shayne Van Ness. The 149-pound junior lost in the semifinals Saturday night and now draws Andrew Clark of Rutgers for a spot in the third place match. The Nittany Lion beat the Scarlet Knight by technical fall back at the Black Knight Invite earlier this year. A repeat performance would boost Penn State in the team race.

Finally, at 197 pounds, redshirt freshman Josh Barr will be in action to close out session three for the Lions. He takes on Isaiah Salazar of Minnesota in one consolation final. It could have NCAA seeding implications. This weight is important to the team race, as Nebraska’s seventh-seeded Camden McDanel, who Barr already beat in this tournament, is on the other side opposite No. 5 Zac Braunagel of Illinois. Penn State fans will want to root for the Fighting Illini grappler in that matchup for team race purposes.

Update: Penn State goes two-for-two to start the Big Ten wrestling consolation semifinals. Braeden Davis was aggressive late and held off Maryland’s Braxton Brown to win 9-7. Beau Bartlett beat Rutgers’ Joey Oliveri 4-1. Both wrestle for third tonight.

Update: The Lions are three for three now in the consi semis as Beau Bartlett beats Andrew Clark of Rutgers by major decision, 12-1. He’ll go for third at 141 later today.

Update: Josh Barr suffered an injury in his consolation bracket semifinal. Read more here.