Photo: Kaela Belingon
No. 1 Penn State opened its season the way you'd expect, beating Bloomsburg 42-3 on Thursday night at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions won nine of 10 bouts, with five tech falls, a pin and two major decisions.
But the night was about the debuts.
Ono Time
Masa Ono finally made his college debut, and he was a lot of fun to watch. Ono scored six takedowns in the first period at 133 and rolled to a 20-9 major decision over Austin Pollard.
He faded a bit late, which makes sense in his first-ever college match and his first real test of a seven-minute folkstyle bout. But six first-period takedowns is a heck of a start, and it'll be exciting to see him keep adjusting and evolving as the season goes on.
That fits what Cael Sanderson said this week. Ono's goal is to be an NCAA champion, and Cael said he's put a lot of work into his folkstyle: "He can wrestle folkstyle. I don't see him get taken down too much."
Duke and Mesenbrink Look at Home Up a Weight
With Levi Haines not returning, PJ Duke moved up to 165 and Mitchell Mesenbrink moved up to 174, and both looked solid in their debuts at their new weights. Duke teched Morgan Schwarz 22-6, and Mesenbrink teched Mohamed Abdelhady 22-4. Both are ranked #1 by InterMat at their new weights.
No Blaze at 141
Marcus Blaze didn't wrestle at 141, which was expected. Cael said Tuesday that Penn State is still working on the timing of his debut after his World bronze in Astana. It was a little surprising not to see Nate Desmond up at 141, but instead Hayden Cunningham, son of Penn State assistant coach Casey Cunningham, got his shot in a dual. Bloomsburg's Scotty Johnson won that one 8-1 for the Huskies' only win of the night.
A Bigger Connor Mirasola
With his twin brother Cole away on a religious mission, Connor Mirasola started at heavyweight and majored #28 Mason Rebuck 14-4. Cael said this week that Connor is now bigger than Cole, and it showed. He's clearly put on some weight.
Elsewhere, #1 Luke Lilledahl, #1 Josh Barr and #2 Rocco Welsh all picked up tech falls, #4 Shayne Van Ness got a pin, and #1 Tyler Kasak won 8-1 at 157.
Full Results: Penn State 42, Bloomsburg 3
| Weight | Winner | Result | Loser |
|---|---|---|---|
| 125 | #1 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) | TF 19-5 | Justin Jones (BLOOM) |
| 133 | Masa Ono (PSU) | MD 20-9 | Austin Pollard (BLOOM) |
| 141 | Scotty Johnson (BLOOM) | Dec 8-1 | Hayden Cunningham (PSU) |
| 149 | #4 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) | Fall | Jay Chase (BLOOM) |
| 157 | #1 Tyler Kasak (PSU) | Dec 8-1 | Michael Turi (BLOOM) |
| 165 | #1 PJ Duke (PSU) | TF 22-6 | Morgan Schwarz (BLOOM) |
| 174 | #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) | TF 22-4 | Mohamed Abdelhady (BLOOM) |
| 184 | #2 Rocco Welsh (PSU) | TF 19-3 | Gavin Hannah (BLOOM) |
| 197 | #1 Josh Barr (PSU) | TF 15-0 | Wyatt Bush (BLOOM) |
| 285 | Connor Mirasola (PSU) | MD 14-4 | #28 Mason Rebuck (BLOOM) |
Rankings are from InterMat.