What Cael Sanderson thinks of Penn State wrestling, the Hodge Trophy
Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson gives his thoughts on Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez and Penn State wrestling winning the Hodge Trophy
- Penn State wrestler Josh Barr advanced to the NCAA Championship semifinals.
- Barr is the only wrestler in the nation to win every match this season with a bonus-point victory.
- He is one of eight undefeated Nittany Lions wrestlers in the tournament.
- Barr’s teammate, Mitchell Mesenbrink, had his season-long bonus-point streak end in the quarterfinals.
CLEVELAND — Josh Barr is now one-of-a-kind in the NCAA Championships and beyond.
The Penn State wrestling sophomore crushed his quarterfinal opponent Friday, March 20, in Rocket Arena. That not only advances him to Saturday night’s semifinals — one of eight Nittany Lions still undefeated — it makes him the only wrestler in the country with a 100 percent bonus rate this season.
Barr (22-0) is the nation’s only wrestler to win every one of his matches by major decision (five), technical fall (12) or pin (five). He dominated Stanford freshman Angelo Posada Saturday afternoon, earning his fifth tech fall in six postseason matches.
Penn State teammate Mitchell Mesenbrink had his season-long bonus streak stopped Saturday, only winning his quarterfinal match, 6-0, over North Carolina’s Bryce Hepner.
Barr certainly is one of the most successful and dominant wrestlers in the nation and maybe even a stronger candidate now for the Hodge Trophy, given to the nation’s top wrestler.
Barr, an NCAA finalist last year, lost some early matches to injury and has not appeared to get as much publicity in the Hodge race as Mesenbrink or Ohio State 141-pound undefeated senior Jesse Mendez, a two-time national champ.
Mesenbrink won a national title last year at 165 pounds and has lost just one bout during his Penn State career.
Barr will try to continue that stunning scoring streak tonight against Wyoming’s Joey Novak (20-3).
Semifinal action begins at 8 p.m.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State sports for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
