Six Penn State Nittany Lions will be wrestling for Big Ten championships on Sunday at the Big Ten Championships in Evanston, Illinois, at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Northwestern's campus.
The Nittany Lions saw six of their nine wrestlers in the semifinals on Saturday advance to the finals with Luke Lilledhal (125), Tyler Kasak (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), Carter Starocci (184), and Greg Kerkvliet (285) all advance.
In addition, the Nittany Lions are also sitting in first place in the team standings with 136 points, with 145 points, Nebraska sits in second with 118.5 points, and Iowa sits in third with 98 points.
Several Nittany Lions did suffer upsets on Saturday as Beau Bartlett (141), Shayne Van Ness (149), and Josh Barr (197) all suffered defeats and will be in the wrestle-backs, looking to finish in third place in their respective weight classes. Braeden Davis (133) had a strong Saturday after a Friday defeat and will also be vying for third place on Sunday.
All 10 wrestlers for the Nittany Lions have also qualified for the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center later this month.
f the six finals matchups featuring Nittany Lions, Penn State wrestlers will be favored at the 157, 165, 174, and 184 pounds while Luke Lilledahl at 125 and heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet will be underdogs to Nebraska's Caleb Smith and Minnesota's Gable Steveson respectively.
The heavyweight matchup between Greg Kerkvliet and Gable Steveson will be the premier matchup of the event as Steveson enters the match as a two-time NCAA Champion and three-time Big Ten champion. Steveson will also ride a 64-match winning streak entering Sunday's Big Ten Championship. Kerkvliet enters the match himself with a resounding 38-match winning streak over the past two seasons.
The first, third, and fifth place matches will begin on Sunday evening at 5:30 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network.
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