The opening weekend of conference duals in the Big Ten and the ACC brought dramatic matches and more history. Oklahoma State also added to its own with a Bedlam blowout.
Here’s what we learned from those key results this weekend:
No. 1 Penn State does it again with rout of No. 16 Rutgers
With a dominant 46-0 win over No. 16 Rutgers, No. 1 Penn State earned its 78th straight dual meet win, surpassing Division II’s St. Cloud State’s 77 wins for the most in NCAA history. The Nittany Lions earned three falls in the shutout.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING: How Penn State won its first 77 consecutive duals
No. 1 Shayne Van Ness notched the first pin of the night at 149 pounds when he topped Devon Magro in the second period. Fellow No. 1-ranked wrestlers Mitchell Mesenbrink and Levi Haines also earned falls at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, while top 197-pound wrestler Josh Barr earned a tech fall against No. 18 Remy Cotton. The most competitive match of the night came at heavyweight, where No. 14 Cole Mirasola finished off the shutout in decision fashion over No. 21 Hunter Catka, 4-2.
After passing Oklahoma State’s 76-win mark set from 1937 to 1951 before Christmas against Stanford, the Nittany Lions proved they are not slowing down soon. Next up, Penn State heads to No. 4 Iowa for a major Friday night dual.
Iowa, Minnesota capture victories in Big Ten openers
Both Iowa and No. 11 Minnesota opened Big Ten competition with wins, with the Hawkeyes defeating No. 18 Wisconsin, 23-12, and the Gophers besting No. 10 Illinois, 27-9.
The most notable result from Iowa’s win was a loss for the Hawkeyes when No. 4 Drake Ayala dropped a decision to No. 14 Zan Fugitt at 133 pounds, 6-5. Last season’s runner-up now sits at 4-4 so far this season.
Iowa did earn a sudden-victory win from No. 5 Ben Kueter at heavyweight against No. 9 Braxton Amos, but Wisconsin got one back from No. 17 Joseph Zargo, who defeated No. 7 Ryder Block at 149 pounds. The Hawkeyes finished the dual with wins from No. 3 Mikey Caliendo, No. 3 Patrick Kennedy and No. 1 Angelo Ferrari.
ALL-AMERICANS: Meet the 80 athletes who finished on the podium last season
Minnesota, meanwhile, performed strong in its bout with Illinois over the weekend as well, with a tech fall win from No. 6 Jore Volk at 125 pounds. Unranked 133-pound Gopher Brandon Morvari also held No. 1 Lucas Byrd to only a decision win, a promising sign for the backup sophomore against the national champ. The Gophers then won five of the next six contests, highlighted by a sudden-victory win at 174 pounds from No. 22 Ethan Riddle over No. 19 Colin Kelly. Minnesota also earned a major decision win from No. 10 Koy Hopke at heavyweight over Ryan Boersma, 9-1.
NC State and Virginia Tech prevail in close ACC regular season duals
Conference duals in the ACC began Friday, and the league’s top two teams were tested. No. 9 NC State faced a tough match against Virginia while No. 7 Virginia Tech took on No. 14 Pittsburgh.
At Reynolds Coliseum, Virginia took an early 10-0 lead with three wins, including an upset for Gable Porter over NC State’s No. 8 All-American Ryan Jack at 141 pounds. NC State slowly came back, using wins from No. 8 Koy Buesgens at 149, No. 12 Will Denny at 165 and No. 5 Matty Singleton at 174 pounds. A decision win by Steven Burrell Jr. at 184 pounds over No. 21 Patrick Brophy put the Cavaliers up four going into the final match of the night.
The punisher.
— NC State Wrestling 🤼♂️ (@PackWrestle)
Senior All-American No. 2 Issac Trumble needed at least a tech fall to win the Wolfpack the dual, but he did better by pinning No. 32 Brenan Morgan to close out a 19-17 win. The NC State faithful erupted, sending Reynolds Coliseum into a frenzy.
In Pittsburgh, the Hokies scored their 18 points in the first five matches of the evening, highlighted by a tech fall win from No. 3 All-American Eddie Ventresca over No. 30 Tyler Chappell to start the night at 125 pounds. The Panthers won the next five contests but only by decisions, finishing the night with a 1-0 win for No. 16 Dayton Pitzer over Virginia Tech’s No. 11 Jimmy Mullen at heavyweight. Virginia Tech prevailed, 18-15.
No. 5 Oklahoma State dominates No. 15 Oklahoma in Bedlam showdown
No. 5 Oklahoma State turned heads Sunday with a dominant showing in the Bedlam dual, shutting out No. 15 Oklahoma, 37-0. The win was highlighted by the debut of freshman Jax Forrest, who pinned Oklahoma’s Carter Schmidt at 133 pounds in the first period.
BEDLAM BLOWOUT: Here's how Oklahoma State shut out the Sooners on Sunday night
The rivalry win also featured a tech fall from No. 6 Landon Robideau, who beat Layton Schneider in the final match of the evening at 157 pounds. Kody Routledge and No. 18 Casey Swiderski also won by major decision, defeating Peyton Keller and Alex Braun, respectively. The Cowboys will now take on No. 19 Missouri, Utah Valley and No. 17 Northern Iowa before their next top-15 matchup against No. 3 Iowa State on Feb. 1. Forrest could wrestle in all four of those duals without losing his redshirt.
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