Takedown Report

Penn State Clinches Big Ten Regular Season Championship with 36-5 Rout over Ohio State in Record Setting BJC Dual

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.  – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (14-0, 8-0 B1G) routed visiting Ohio State (17-1, 6-1 B1G) 36-5 in the Bryce Jordan Center Friday night in the Big Ten dual meet finale for head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad. The win clinched the 2026 Big Ten Regular Season Championship for the Nittany Lions in front of 16,006 fans, a new NCAA and Penn State wrestling indoor attendance record.
This year’s regular season championship is the sixth straight for Penn State and the 12^th overall (all since Sanderson’s arrival as head coach for the 2009-10 season). Penn State also capped off its 11^th unbeaten/untied Big Ten regular season in school history. The new attendance record of 16,006 breaks the old mark of 15,998, also held by Penn State on three different occasions (the latest was last year vs. Iowa on Jan. 31, 2025). Penn State and the BJC are now the site of every top ten indoor attendance mark in NCAA history. The Nittany Lion line-up in tonight’s dual meet featured six underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores).
The dual began at 125. Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 1 at 125, battled No. 2 Nic Bouzakis through regulation, ending in a 1-1 tie. Lilledahl then turned a single into a scramble and a winning takedown in the extra period, posting the 4-1 (sv) win. True freshman Marcus Blaze, ranked No. 4 at 133, also went to extra time against No. 2 Ben Davino. After a 1-1 tie through regulation and sudden victory and a Davino escape in the tie-breaker, Blaze used a reversal to post a thrilling 3-2 (tb) win.
Junior Braeden Davis, ranked No. 12 at 141, lost a tough 18-2 (TF; 5:49) to No. 1 Jesse Mendez, cutting Penn State’s lead to 6-5. Junior Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 1 at 149, answered that result with a tech fall of his own. Van Ness tallied six takedowns in a 20-5 tech fall (6:17) over Brogan Fielding. True freshman PJ Duke, ranked No. 4 at 157, capped off an outstanding first half for Penn State with the dual’s first fall. … more at … https://gopsusports.com/news/2026/02/14/penn-state-clinches-big-ten-regular-season-championship-with-36-5-rout-over-ohio-state-in-record-setting-bjc-dual

February 16, 2026 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | college-football, ncaa, sports