Lehigh's Sheldon Seymour, left, takes on Penn State's Luke Lilledahl in their 125-pound quarter finals match during the NCAA wrestling championships, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

UNIVERSITY PARK — In the annals of the Penn State-Lehigh wrestling rivalry, Sunday’s 36-6 Nittany Lion win won’t register among any of the memorable showdowns.

But, when five Mountain Hawk starters, including three ranked among the top five, aren’t available, Lehigh could hardly have been expected to challenge their top-ranked long-time rival.

Penn State won eight of 10 bouts, producing bonus points in six, and amassed a 26-5 edge in takedowns to improve to 3-0 on the season and extend its dual meet winning streak to 74.

Lehigh knew coming into the season, and coming into the match, that it would be an uphill struggle.

“We knew coming into the season we had three injuries. We knew the first semester we weren’t going to have some guys, but it’s next man up, right?” Lehigh coach Pat Santoro said.

“It doesn’t matter who we send out there, we’ve got to compete. I thought we competed in most matches, but there were certain moments when we had a little lull. That’s the frustrating part. But, it’s something we can learn from and get better from.”

Penn State knew that no matter the wrestler, Lehigh will always present a challenge.

“Lehigh does a really good job. We have a lot of love and respect for their program,” coach Cael Sanderson said. “They’re going to show you what you need to work on and we kind of count on that every year.”

With three frontline Mountain Hawk starters out of the front end of Lehigh’s lineup — Sheldon Seymour, Ryan Crookham and Luke Stanich — Penn State was able to win four of the first five bouts for a 20-3 lead at the intermission.

No. 2 Luke Lilledahl and No. 11 Marcus Blaze, at 125 and 133 respectively, each rolled up a technical fall. Lilledahl used four takedowns and a four-

point turn to dispatch Logan Wadle 17-2 in 3:21. Blaze recorded two takedowns in each period to help engineer a 19-4 win in 5:37.

Lehigh broke through for a win at 141 in a battle of backups. Carter Bailey made a first-period takedown hold up for a 4-1 win over Cael Nasdeo.

Penn State jumped back on the bonus point train at 149 as No. 1 Shayne Van Ness piled up 10 points in the third period and tacked on a riding time point for a 19-5 major decision over Owen Reinsel.

“I think after the first attack, I got into a little bit of a scramble and then just focused on hiding my ankles and finishing a little bit cleaner toward the end and getting pressure on that guy and moving forward,” Van Ness said.

Then, at 157, P.J. Duke turned an anticipated matchup of ranked wrestlers against No. 10 Logan Rozynski into a lopsided win. The true freshman led 14-3 when he tried to turn the Mountain Hawk, injuring his shoulder, and Rozynski was forced to injury default at the 5:46 mark.

Coming out of the break, three of the final five matchups were between ranked wrestlers, promising more competitive duals. A pair of top-ranked Nittany Lions, Mitchell Mesenbrink and Levi Haines, posted lopsided wins.

Mesenbrink exploited a clear advantage on his feet, picking up four takedowns on No. 7 Max Brignola in a 15-7 major decision. Then, at 174, Levi Haines scored two quick takedowns before turning Bekhruz Sadriddnov with a bow and arrow and then going chest to chest for a pin in 2:15.

Haines said he’s worked hard on his top wrestling and the bow and arrow is something that he has developed a feel for.

“It’s more of a feel thing,” he said. “I worked on it a lot in the offseason. I’m getting more comfortable with it and just finding different ways to get there.”

Fourth-ranked Nittany Lion 184-pounder Rocco Welsh was paired with No. 23 Rylan Rogers and the match came down to the waning seconds of the third period. Welsh converted a takedown with fewer than 30 second remaining and hung on for a 4-2 decision.

Connor Mirasola once again got the call at 197 as Josh Barr continues to rehab the rib injury he sustained in the U23 World Freestyle Championships. After a scoreless first, Mirasola was able to convert takedowns in the second and third periods in an 8-3 win over backup Remy Brancato.

Connor’s brother, 10th-ranked Cole, finished the dual with the challenge of taking on a much larger opponent, seventh-ranked Nathan Taylor. The Mountain Hawk senior was able to counter two Mirasola takedown attempts and turn them into takedowns of his own in a 7-2 win.

“Obviously, Taylor’s really good and he’s big,” Sanderson said. “They’re not going to be any bigger than him. He (Mirasola) was in deep a couple times. We’ve just got to figure out how to finish those shots. That’s good preparation for Cole. I think it’s a good match and something he can definitely take a lot from.”

Penn State traveled to Philadelphia on Friday to take on the Drexel Dragons and returned home with a dominating 42-3 win. The Nittany Lions won 9 of 10 bouts, earning bonus points in all nine and accumulating a 39-2 edge in takedowns.

Blaze and Duke, the freshman phenoms, produced pins. Van Ness, Mesenbrink and Connor Mirasola rolled up technical falls. Lilledahl, Haines and Cole Mirasola posted major decisions.

Penn State returns to the mat at 8 p.m. Saturday in Laramie, Wyoming, against the Wyoming Cowboys.

No. 1 Penn State 36, No. 14 Lehigh 6

125: No. 2 Luke Lilledahl, PSU, tech fall Logan Wadle, 17-2 (3:21). 133: No. 11 Marcus Blaze, PSU, tech fall over Mason Ziegler, 19-4 (5:37). 141: Carter Bailey, L, dec. Cael Nasdeo, 4-1. 149: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, maj. dec. Owen Reinsel, 19-5. 157: No. 15 P.J. Duke, PSU, won by injury default over No. 10 Logan Rozynski, 5:46. 165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, maj. dec. No. 7 Max Brignola, 15-7. 174: No. 1 Levi Haines, PSU, pinned Bekhruz Sadriddnov, 2:15, 184: No. 4 Rocco Welsch, PSU, dec. No. 23 Ryan Rogers, 4-2. 197: Connor Mirasola, PSU, dec. Remy Brancato, 8-3. 285: No. 7 Nathan Taylor, L, dec. No. 10 Cole Mirasola, 7-2.

Takedowns: Lehigh 5; Penn State 26.

Records: Lehigh 3-4; Penn State 3-0.

Next match: Penn State at Wyoming, 8 p.m. Saturday.