The #1 ranked Penn State Lions return to the mat in Champaign Illinois, on Sunday February 16th against the Fighting Illini. The dual features 18 ranked wrestlers, with 8 head to head ranked matches. Including, 2 top 10 matchups. Illinois is 9-3 on the year, while Penn State, brings a perfect 13-0 record into the meet.
History: These two teams have met 38 times and Penn State leads the series 22-16 and is currently on a 7 match win streak against the Illini.
Don’t Miss: 149 and 184 will be absolutely amazing matches. The 133 match is also worth watching. I have been excited for 149 since the beginning of the season.
Keys To Victory: Penn State just needs to win the matches they are favored to win, nothing more. For Illinois, they need Penn State’s bus to break down on the way to Illinois.
125 Lilledahl, Luke #7 vs Ramazan Attasauov
133 #10 Davis, Braeden #7 vs Lucas Byrd #3
141 #3 Bartlett, Beau vs Danny Pucino #16
149 #2 Van Ness, Shayne vs Kannon Webster #17
157 Joe Sealey vs Jason Kraisser #27
165 #1 Mesenbrink, Mitchell vs Braeden Scoles #16
174 #2 Haines, Levi vs Danny Braunagel #22
184 #1 Starocci, Carter vs Edmond Ruth #12
197 #2 Barr, Josh vs Zac Braunagel #13
285 #1 Kerkvliet, Greg vs Luke Luffman #10
Conclusion: This is one of the best Penn State Teams I have ever seen, they have no weak links in the lineup, we could be seeing 10 All-Americans on this team, with who knows how many National Champions. In this dual I see Penn State winning 8 of the 10 bouts and claiming a 30-6 victory. Illinois squeaks out victories at 133 and 149. You can watch the dual on Big Ten+.