Josh Barr knew it would be a grind to make Penn State’s lineup as a freshman, but the former Michigan high school star was determined to be ready if the chance arose. 

That’s been a theme for a while in Happy Valley. A this point, it may even be considered protocol for the team’s most dedicated newcomers.

Like freshman teammates Braeden Davis, Tyler Kasak and Mitchell Mesenbrink, Barr has adhered well.

Barr got his first career win for the Nittany Lions during the team’s steamrolling of Indiana on Sunday. It was his Rec Hall debut, and he picked up where he left off in Army’s Black Knight Invitational in November. 

Filling in for senior Bernie Truax at 184, Barr majored Indiana’s Roman Rogotzke 13-4. It was his eighth win of the season after wresting unattached at Army and in the Journeyman Classic where he combined for four majors and two technical falls.

Truax was sick and is expected to be back in action when Penn State travels to Michigan and Michigan State this weekend.

“I think he's obviously confident and I think he would not hesitate to be the guy,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said of Barr. “And I think he probably wants to be that guy. It just doesn't make sense (with) a guy like Bernie there as a senior, but he's definitely ready to go. I mean, if the opportunity arises, he’ll be ready. He wants to wants to wrestle and compete.”

Barr still plans to wrestle in tournaments. Penn State is eyeing events at Lock Haven later this month and Edinboro in early February. 

He’ll continue to be on standby, a status Sanderson says no wrestler on the roster should take lightly, especially those still eligible for redshirts. 

The NCAA now allows athletes to compete in up to five events for their team and maintain their redshirt season. 

“I think one of the fun things about the five matches for the redshirts is they're just always on call where before, they’d kind of, I don't know if they’d check out, everyone’s a little bit different,” Sanderson said. “But sometimes people would look at it as a year off, where these guys don't know, they might be called up in a big match in two days or three days. So I think from that standpoint, it's been really good for them, and it keeps them focused and our kids always do better In school when they have had practice and have something for to keep them busy.”

Tough One Looming

Davis and Kasak got closer to seizing permanent spots in the lineup with convincing performances against Indiana.

Kasak is 3-0 in duals since replacing injured star Shayne Van Ness. He’s coming off his best win of the season with his toughest matchup to date on deck.

When the Nittany Lions travel to Ann Arbor on Friday, veteran journeyman Austin Gomez could be waiting. Gomez is an All-American and Big Ten champion at 149 and is looking not just to qualify for the postseason with his third different school, but win it all.

Kasak could make a lasting mark in his first year with a similar performance to the one he had on Sunday against another much more experienced wrestler. Kasak wrestled Indiana’s Graham Rooks to his back and nearly had him pinned before the first-period whistle. He pulled away to secure a 15-0 technical fall in 6:59.

“I think he's getting better each week,” Sanderson said. “He's a guy who can score a lot of points. He's just got to keep wrestling to score points. And, if he wrestles on Friday, he’ll have a great test and I think a multiple-time All-American in Gomez, so it’ll be a good opportunity for him to wrestle one of the title contenders in the weight.”

Move Of The Match

Davis keeps showing promise at 125, where he’s been a spark plug since breaking into the team’s dual-meet lineup.

He got things started again with a deft move against Indiana’s Michael Spangler that would set the tone for the slate of matches to come.

In the second period, Spangler worked out of a tie-up and pounced in deep on Davis’ right leg. The Indiana wrestler was able to elevate the leg and had Davis in trouble with just one foot on the mat.

But as Spangler tried to sweep Davis’ left foot for the finish, Davis floated backward, threw Spangler off balance and rolled into him for the counter takedown. 

It was the closest any Hoosier grappler would get to taking down a Nittany Lion. Penn State won the takedown battle 35-0 and the dual 46-0.

Believe it or not, that type of perfection isn’t necessarily pleasing for Sanderson and the rest of the staff.

“I don’t always always look at that as a great thing,” Sanderson said. “We want to make mistakes and learn from it. And that's how you get better and you can continue to climb the higher levels, but we also don't want to give up any unnecessary takedowns.”

Proving Stretch

A week ago, Cody Sanderson noted that a tough stretch awaited Mesenbrink and the team was eager to see how the talented redshirt freshman would handle a string of tough opponents.

So far, so good.

Mesenbrink kicked off what could be a stretch of five-straight bouts against Top 20 165-pounders with a strong start against Indiana’s Tyler Lillard. Mesenbrink notched the first takedown and was working for back points in the first when they were reset after officials called a potentially dangerous hold.

Moments later, Lillard appeared to hurt his left leg after Mesenbrink picked it up out of a scramble.

Lillard tried but couldn’t continue. Mesenbrink, who was up 6-1 at the time, won by injury forfeit.

If Mesenbrink goes in both matches this weekend, he’ll likely face a pair of Top 15 wrestlers in Michigan’s Cameron Amine and Michigan State’s Caleb Fish. They’ve combined for five NCAA tournament appearances and Amine is a three-time All-American.

Ohio State’s Bryce Hepner and Iowa’s Michael Caliendo also loom for Mesenbrink.

Or maybe it’s the other way around? So far, Mesenbrink leads a team that includes three-time NCAA champions Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks with 11 wins, six technical falls and 22 dual points scored.

Sanderson knew Mesenbrink would be good when he arrived in State College after signing with California Baptist, but he couldn’t have predicted this pace this early.

“We obviously didn't know he was going to be the killer that he is or we would have camped out in his front yard,” Cael Sanderson said. “But yeah, he's done really well and just a kid who wants to get better all the time. He is very, very coachable. He believes in the program and the system and he's competing to the way we like to do, to try to dominate and get better.”

Schedule Quirk

It’s been an unusual year of away matches for the Nittany Lions.

They had a rare cross-country trip to Oregon State last week and will take their only road trip for a Friday-Sunday slate this weekend.

By rule, teams may travel 15 wrestlers for two-match weekends and Penn State plans to bring its full allotment. 

“We'll just play it by feel,” Sanderson said. “Obviously, we've got to be ready to roll on Friday and then we'll we'll get ready for Sunday after that.”