Penn State wrestling drops another heartbreaker: Mitch Mesenbrink falls in NCAA finals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mitch Mesenbrink faced the toughest test of his young Penn State wrestling life.

And he just didn't have quite enough, no matter how hard he kept firing.

The dynamic-scoring, fast-flying rookie put his perfect record and national championship hopes on the line tonight against one of the hottest wrestlers in these entire NCAA Championships in the T-Mobile Center — Iowa State's David Carr.

Mesenbrink suffered the Nittany Lions' second heartbreaking loss of these finals, dropping a 9-8 decision in the 165-pound class on a riding time point.

Carr came into this match after knocking off the top seed in this bracket, Missouri's Keegan O'Toole.

So what did Mesenbrink do Saturday? He kept trying to fire away at a relentless pace but Carr always seemed to have an answer. Mesenbrink rallied to take a short-lived 8-7 lead before Carr got an escape and eventually that winning riding time advantage.

Despite the defeat, Penn State and coach Cael Sanderson stayed in the running to break the all-time team points record of 170 set by Iowa in 1997.

Penn State still has finalists Carter Starocci (174 pounds) and Aaron Brooks (197) to come. Each has the chance to tie the all-time NCAA record of four individual national titles.

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Frank Bodani covers Penn State sports for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Mitchell Mesenbrink loses, Penn State wrestling drives on in NCAA's