Allentown, PA - December 8, 2024: The top ranked and undefeated Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling team took on the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks Sunday afternoon at a sold out PPL Center with the Lions winning 9 of the 10 bouts to easily win the match 36-3.
Penn State’s Luke Lilledahl got things started at 125 pounds with a 4-1 decision over Sheldon Seymour. It was then Lehigh’s top ranked wrestler at 133 pounds, Ryan Crookham (Hellertown/Saucon Valley HS) who put the only points on the board for Lehigh with a 4-2 decision over Braeden Davis.
Penn State went on to win the next eight bouts in a row: Beau Bartlett won by decision over Carter Bailey 5-0, Shayne Van Ness won by major decision over Matt Repos 17-3, Tyler Kasak (Doylestown/Bethlehem Catholic HS) won by decision over Logan Rozynski 5-2, Mitchell Mesenbrink won by technical fall over Thayne Lawrence 18-3, Levi Haynes pinned Rylan Rogers, Carter Starocci won by major decision over Jack Wilt 15-1, Josh Barr won by major decision over Michael Beard 11-3, and Greg Kerkvliet won by technical fall over Calvin Lachman 15-0.
The upset of the match was Penn State’s Barr, who was ranked at 23rd in the country, over Michael Beard, who was ranked 6th. Lehigh’s Crookham continues to dominate and remains the top ranked wrestler at 133 pounds. Every one of Penn State’s wrestlers in the lineup today was ranked somewhere in the top twenty with five wrestlers being ranked either number one or two.
The Penn State Nittany Lions have won the NCAA team title eleven times out of the last thirteen years. They are favored once again in 2024-2025.
Lehigh will host the Sheridan Wrestling Tournament on December 20th at Stabler Arena.
The below photo shows Lehigh's Michael Beard and Penn State's Josh Barr wrestling in the 197 pound bout. For additional photos, please see our Instagram page.
