UW’s Hamiti stopped by Mesenbrink
Dean Hamiti’s run to a second straight Big Ten wrestling championship was stopped by a former Arrowhead High School standout who has found a home in Happy Valley.
Mitchell Mesenbrink, a redshirt freshman at Penn State who started his college career at Grand Canyon University, defeated Hamiti, 13-11, in the 165pound final Sunday at the INFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland.
Messnbrink, who is ranked fifth in Division I in the weight class by Inter
Mat, trailed fourth-ranked Hamiti, 6-1 and, 9-2, before making his comeback. Mesenbrink took control of the match late with an escape, a takedown and a three-point nearfall.
The performance helped Messenbrink (25-0) claim Big Ten freshman of the year and helped Penn State win the team title.
Wisconsin finished eighth with 46.5 points. In addition to Hamiti, the Badgers had four other wrestlers automatically qualify for the NCAA championships, which will be held March 21-23 in Kansas City, Missouri:
Eric Barnett (125 pounds): The Greenville native makes his fourth
NCAA appearance and seeks All-American distinction for the third time. Barnett lost in the quarterfinals but went 2-1 in the consolation bracket to finish seventh.
Joseph Zargo (149): The junior lost in the quarterfinals to former Badger Austin Gomez, who competes for Michigan, and eventually took eighth.
Max Maylor (174): The grad student lost to his former Michigan teammate Shane Griffith, 6-1, in the quarterfinals but wrestled back to take seventh.
Shane Liegel (184): The former Division III All-American lost his opening round match but came back to finish eighth.