Jesse Mendez defeats Penn State's Beau Bartlett in last-second fashion to win an NCAA championship at 141 pounds, Ohio State's first title since Kyle Snyder in 2018.
It was the third time this season that Mendez and Bartlett faced off on the mat. Bartlett bested Mendez in sudden victory, 4-3, during Ohio State and Penn State's dual in the regular season, but Mendez knocked off the top-seeded Bartlett in the Big Ten championship match at 141 pounds. At the conference tournament, Mendez was relentless in a 4-1 win and earned his first Big Ten title – and the Buckeyes' only conference crown in 2023-24.
Rocco Welsh, the Buckeyes' NCAA championship representative at 174 pounds, also competed for a national title on Saturday. The freshman phenom faced off with Penn State's Carter Starocci in the final. While Welsh persevered with three sudden victories to reach the final, Starocci outmatched the Ohio State wrestler in their seven-minute dual. The Nittany Lion wrestler secured a 2-0 decision and his fourth NCAA championship.
Mendez, Welsh and Nick Feldman received All-American honors for their performances in the NCAA championship. Feldman took fifth place in the heavyweight division, with his only loss coming to Penn State's Greg Kerkvliet, the No. 1 overall seed in the class.
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