Penn State will wrestle at the Collegiate Duals in Nashville, Tennesee on Sunday, December 22 against Binghamton, Little Rock, and Missouri. You can watch these duals live on Journeymen Wrestling’s Rokfin page but until then, check out the below article for the biggest storylines for Penn State’s wrestlers heading into the weekend. 

LEVI HAINES vs KEEGAN O’TOOLE

Who’s going to win the NCAA title this year at 174 pounds?! Obviously, we’ll have to wait another three months to find out the answer to that question but we could see an NCAA finals preview on Sunday between #1 Keegan O’Toole and #2 Levi Haines. This potential super match is one of the most anticipated matches of the season and it should be fantastic.

We currently have O’Toole ranked ahead of Haines based on his overall college resume but Haines defeated O’Toole on the freestyle mats at the World Team Trials in September. In that match, Haines displayed incredible power up in weight and won 6-0 off 2 takedowns, a step out, and a shot clock point. Despite that win, O’Toole has shown the ability to make significant adjustments after losing to an opponent. He notably defeated David Carr in the 2023 NCAA Finals after losing to him two previous times that year. This match could also look different from their WTT bout considering it’s folkstyle. Will the mat come into play at all for either wrestler considering both Haines and O’Toole are proficient top wrestlers? Will O'Toole's scrambling ability come into play this time around? Or will it just be another takedown battle? We'll find out on Sunday!

Levi Haine's win over Keegan O'Toole at the 2024 World team Trials:

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Is Josh Barr A Title Contender?

#6 Josh Barr is off to an incredible start in his freshman campaign for the Nittany Lions at 197 pounds. At the beginning of the season, many wondered if Barr would even make the starting lineup with Carter Starocci up at 184 pounds and blue chip recruit Connor Mirasola and a tough Lucas Cochran at 197. However, Barr established himself as the starter at the Black Knight Invite when he defeated both Mirasola and Cochran by major decision. Then Barr announced himself as a major threat to the rest of the country when he majored two-time All-American Michael Beard on December 8.

So now the question...Is Josh Barr a title contender? We could be closer to answering that question after this weekend. Barr has potential matches against 4-time All-American #3 Rock Elam and returning 7th-place finisher #5 Stephen Little. If Barr comes out of this weekend undefeated with wins over both Elam and Little, he’ll establish himself as a true national title contender at 197 pounds and continue to climb the rankings. 

Josh Barr's win over Michael Beard:

Braeden Davis vs Nasir Bailey

Braeden Davis is coming off a close loss to #1 Ryan Crookham and looks to be adjusting to the move up in weight just fine. On the other hand, Nasir Bailey suffered a surprising upset loss to Chattanooga’s Blake Boarman. This is a huge opportunity for both wrestlers. For Davis, it’s a great chance to prove himself against a returning 133-pound All-American. For Bailey, it’s a chance for him to “stop the bleeding” and prove his loss to Boarman was a fluke. Regardless of the outcome on the mat, we’ll likely find out a lot about both wrestlers in this matchup. 

Can Penn State Shut Out Everyone?

This might be crazy, but there’s a chance that Penn State shuts out Missouri, Little Rock, and Binghamton at the Collegiate Duals. Penn State is already coming off a 50-0 shutout against a very tough Wyoming squad. On top of that, the Nittany Lions will be favored in 26 of 30 potential matches against the three schools. While wild things always happen in duals, and there’s a potential we see some backups, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Penn State does the unlikely and blanks their opponents this weekend.

So Many Potential Ranked Matchups!

Out of the thirty individual matches that Penn State will have this weekend, 20 of them have the potential to take place between ranked wrestlers. Check out all of the potential ranked matches for the Nittany Lions below:

125: #16 Luke Lilledahl, Penn State vs #31 Reid Nelson, Little Rock

133: #7 Braeden Davis, Penn State vs #3 Nasir Bailey, Little Rock

133: #7 Braeden Davis, Penn State vs #32 Kade Moore, Missouri

141: #3 Beau Bartlett, Penn State vs #13 Josh Edmond, Missouri

149: #2 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State vs #13 Logan Gioffre, Missouri

149: #2 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State vs #17 Jordan Williams, Little Rock

157: #3 Tyler Kasak, Penn State vs #25 Matt Bianchi, Little Rock

157: #3 Tyler Kasak, Penn State vs #26 James Conway, Missouri

165: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State vs #12 Cameron Steed, Missouri

165: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State vs #24 Brendon Abdon, Little Rock

174: #2 Levi Haines, Penn State vs #1 Keegan O'Toole, Missouri

174: #2 Levi Haines, Penn State vs #13 Brevin Cassella, Binghamton

174: #2 Levi Haines, Penn State vs #30 Tyler Brennan, Little Rock

184: #1 Carter Starocci, Penn State vs #8 Colton Hawks, Missouri

184: #1 Carter Starocci, Penn State vs #10 Brock DelSignore, Little Rock

184: #1 Carter Starocci, Penn State vs #29 Will Ebert, Binghamton

197: #6 Josh Barr, Penn State vs #3 Rocky Elam, Missouri

197: #6 Josh Barr, Penn State vs #5 Stephen Little, Little Rock

285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State vs #18 Seth Nitzel, Missouri

285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State vs #19 Cory Day, Binghamton

Full Penn State Schedule At The Collegiate Duals

Sunday, December 22

• 3:00 pm - Penn State vs Binghamton

• 5:00 pm - Penn State vs Little Rock

• 7:00 pm - Penn State vs Missouri