Beau Bartlett has never been in a better position to accomplish his goal of winning an NCAA championship. 

The Penn State senior will enter this weekend’s Big Ten championship after his second straight unbeaten regular season, riding a wave of confidence as the conference’s likely #1 seed at 141 pounds. For a moment earlier this week, the introspective Bartlett took a moment to stroll down memory lane, when his path wasn’t as certain as it now appears to be.

Bartlett was quickly bounced from the Big Ten tournament as a freshman in 2021 and didn’t qualify for NCAAs as a result. As a sophomore, he made it through the conference gauntlet only to be eliminated from the NCAA tournament just three matches in. 

But the last two seasons have seen Penn State’s resilient middleweight turn third- and second-place finishes at Big Tens into third and runner-up finishes at nationals.

“I think that puts it into perspective,” the two-time All-American said. “I continue with a big smile on my face, wrestling really hard. It didn’t happen overnight. I hope that resonates. Everyone’s on their own little journey and just keep getting better. That’s all you can hope for.”

Bartlett has always been one of the Nittany Lions’ more cerebral wrestlers. He’s outspoken, often volunteering to take on media responsibilities because he “likes to yap”. 

But often, Bartlett’s words serve as concrete examples that Penn State’s inward-focusing approach continues to work. During his freshman season, Bartlett said he never felt excited for the Big Ten or NCAA tournaments. Rather, he adopted a “serious”, business-like approach that didn’t end up working. 

This year, Bartlett has lightened up, enjoying the atmosphere before and after matches and taking more time to watch and revel in his teammates’ success. He’s also grown and maintained what he insists is the team’s “best mustache”.

“When I’m really tight and stressed out is not when I wrestle my best,” Bartlett said. “I wrestle my best when I’m having a blast and just letting it rip, and I’m having a blast right now, so it’s time to let it rip.”

Watching The Greats 

Mitchell Mesenbrink grew up watching Cael Sanderson’s earlier teams shred the competition and stack individual national championships seemingly with ease.

Among his favorites? Jason Nolf, Bo Nickal, Zain Retherford, David Taylor and Ed Ruth. 

Mesenbrink, who’ll likely begin the Big Ten Championships as the #1 seed at 165 pounds, said it’s “surreal” and “hard to explain” the realization that he’s now part of the lineup he grew up idolizing and has a chance to follow in the footsteps of his heroes. 

“Peaking at the right time, I’ve seen it literally my whole entire life,” Mesenbrink said. “I remember (watching) those guys, not just doing it at the end, but doing it every single time they stepped out there. No matter if it’s freestyle or folkstyle, they’re always bringing it and that’s what I want to do too.”

So does he feel like he’s in position to inspire future generations of college wrestlers with his relentlessly attacking style like Nolf, Nickal, Retherford, Taylor and Ruth?

He might have a different answer to that question in the future.

“I think sometimes that maybe clicks for like a second, but I feel like our job is to be humble,” Mesenbrink said. “I think it’s an ever-going process of constantly getting better and that’s why I think you see guys not just winning NCAA titles, but winning World titles and Olympic medals and Olympic gold medals, bringing it when it always matters.”

Everyone Contributes 

Behind every wrestler chasing postseason glory is a workout partner, or two, or three, who’s pushed them in the room all season. 

For Penn State, this applies to so many wrestlers that it’s often tough to decide who will accompany the 10 tournament entries as workout partners. There’s no formula and coach Cael Sanderson said it’s not always about bringing the strongest backup or trickiest scrambler.

“You can only take so many people so it’s not always an easy thing,” Sanderson said. “There’s kids that maybe have been in the program longer that are guys that you might throw out there if you’re competing, and there’s other guy that are better at warming guys up and taking that role on, and then there’s guys that are just positive.”

He used the example of current team general manager Clay Steadman, who made postseason trips with the team as an upperclassman even though his career had been cut short by a neck injury.

Of course, Penn State’s starters rely on each other, too.

Bartlett has worked extensively with 149-pound teammate Shayne Van Ness this season to get in regular tilts with a stronger opponent than he usually sees. He’ll also roll around with 125-pounder Luke Lilledahl to put himself at a speed and scrambling disadvantage against the smaller, nimbler lightweight. 

Both offer vastly different looks and neither counts against the team’s travel allotment since they are qualified for the tournament. 

“We trust our training partners, they’re really selfless, they’re showing up every day,” Bartlett said. “They want to see us win because we win, we all win together. We get rings. We’re the national champs. It’s really cool. So there are a lot of people involved.”

Back In Time

Braeden Davis and Tyler Kasak battled injuries down the stretch, but Sanderson believes both have made good use of their time recovering behind the scene.

Davis missed three duals after Penn State’s win against Rutgers on Jan. 24. He returned for the final two Big Ten duals and split his last two, beating Ohio State’s Nic Bouzakis 8-5 on Feb. 14 before falling 7-1 to Illinois’ Lucas Byrd two days later.

Sanderson hinted that Davis has spent time working with the team’s athletic training staff to better protect and prevent whatever was ailing him.

“He’s looking good. He’s doing good, feeling good,” Sanderson said. “I think this’ll be the healthiest he’s been since before the season started.” 

Davis won the Big Ten at 125 pounds last year before bowing out of the NCAA tournament with a 2-2 record. Sanderson is confident Davis can make a deep run, but the coaching staff has had to find a healthy balance of giving Davis time to recover and mixing in practice work to keep his head in the right place.

“I think that’s just part of sports and a lot of times it’s not even the physical, it’s more the mental, making sure they stay sharp mentally and that they believe that they’re ready,” Sanderson said. “If they’re used to training a certain way, now they have to adjust things. But we don’t get too worried about those things. History kind of shows sometimes that guys being off the mat ends up being a blessing. You just don’t know. It’s up to the kids. They’re the ones that kinda get out there and make it happen.”

Kasak, meanwhile, will also be entering the tournament after clearing concussion protocol last month. The sophomore was hurt against Maryland on Feb. 9. He returned to action in the team’s final dual against American and pinned Devon Capato in 2:19.

“These guys have all competed in big tournaments and had big moments throughout their career,” Sanderson said. “But I think the big thing as coaches, there’s not anything we can do or say, it’s just, you’ve gotta bring the energy you want to have and we’ve got to be positive. We’ve got to be excited about it.”