Although he’s made it look like it, this season hasn’t been easy for Penn State’s Josh Barr.

One could make the case that the redshirt freshman, who’s anchored the Nittany Lions’ lineup for the first time at 197, has endured one of the toughest stretches for any wrestler at any weight in the country. And while he joked earlier this week that the man he replaced in the team’s lineup, former Hodge Trophy winner Aaron Brooks, still “bounces my head off the mat like a basketball” when they practice, Barr has looked every bit like a seasoned veteran facing four NCAA qualifiers, including the two top-ranked wrestlers in his weight, over his last five matches.

Barr knew months ago that if he could earn the spot at 197 pounds in Penn State’s lineup, he’d get a good taste of what the postseason could offer with potential back-to-back bouts with Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan and Michigan’s Jacob Cardenas coming later in the team’s regular-season stretch.

“Number 1, Number 2 guy in the country, it’s just like nationals where you’ve got to beat those guys to win,” Barr said. “So I think that my main perspective on it, going into the season, once we got our schedule and everything, I kinda had those dates circled. Obviously, I’m just focused on the next thing, but I knew those were the two big ones for me.”

The redshirt freshman followed up a 4-1 loss to Buchanan with a 3-2 tiebreaker win over Cardenas two days later. Barr has gone 3-0 in matches since and outscored Maryland’s Chase Mielnik, Ohio State’s Seth Schumate and Illinois Zach Braunagel 42-11.

Penn State has one dual left. The Nittany Lions will host American on Friday where Carston Rawls, who’s struggled at 5-12 this season, will likely await. 

Afterward, Barr will take the next two weeks to prepare for his first Big Ten tournament. He plans to make the best use of that time, as he’s done all year. With a redshirt season under his belt, Barr has made strides in his training. He might be one of Penn State’s most physically fit wrestlers and his endurance has been evident in most of his bouts this season. 

Especially the ones that’ve ended in massively lopsided scores. 

Barr has three tech falls that stretched into the final minute of bouts. He’s also turned in four major decisions wherein his opponents have failed to finish an attack.

“I train hard every day and I think that when I get tired in in a match, those guys are a lot more tired than I am, so I’m just looking to get tired pretty much every single time I wrestle and if that happens, good things usually happen,” Barr said. “I think it all adds up and it just reassures me that I’m on the right path for being in good shape and wrestling hard, seven minutes, 10 minutes, whatever it is I’m ready to go.”

Be Ready

Penn State coach Cael Sanderson knows he’s got a deep roster but only so may opportunities to showcase the individuals therein. 

The Nittany Lions have been mostly healthy all season. They’ve been able to use all 10 starters in eight of 14 duals so far. In three of the four duals they needed to call in backup, Sanderson and his staff have only had to make lineup decisions at two spots.

So who gets to go?

“It just depends on who’s ready and who’s kind of been preparing for it,” Sanderson said. “We have a handful of guys that could’ve jumped in there.”

This past weekend against Ohio State and Illinois, it was Joe Sealey and Cole Mirasola filling in.

Sealey, listed at 165, bumped down to replace Tyler Kasak while Mirasola hopped in for a sick Greg Kerkvliet.  

Sealey, who made his dual-meet debut, fell 10-1 to Brandon Cannon of Ohio State and lost 2-1 to Jason Kraisser of Illinois. Mirasola also made his first dual appearance against the Buckeyes. He fell 10-3 to Buckeye Nick Feldman who finished fifth at NCAAs last season. Mirasola lost Illinois’ two-time NCAA qualifier Luke Luffman on Sunday.

Despite the losses, Sanderson was encouraged that both freshman were up for the challenge of debuting in hostile environments against tough oppponents. 

“We’re not gonna put them out there if we don’t think they’re going to be able to represent themselves in a good way,” Sanderson said. “But obviously, we have a lot of confidence in them or we wouldn’t have put them out there.”

Sealey’s availability was especially promising for the program as Sanderson announced he had a “minor surgery” earlier in the season.

“Sealey hasn’t wrestled all year,” Sanderson said. “That experience wasn’t easy for him probably, but he didn’t hesitate. He wanted to wrestle and we’re happy to give him that opportunity.”

Kerkvliet is out of eligibility at the end of this season, opening up a spot for Mirasola to potentially earn next season.

Barr has worked with both Mirasola and his twin brother, Connor, as Connor Mirasola is at Barr’s weight class. He’s seen Cole embrace one of the literal biggest challenges a rookie coming in from high school can face. 

Packing on size to face the biggest guys in the country.

“When I came in as a 174, 184-pounder, that adjustment from high school to college was really big,” Barr said. “I can’t even imagine the adjustment coming in, Cole was a little bigger than me when he got here, and having to grow into college heavyweight is a big adjustment, so I think he’s just growing.”

Meanwhile, senior Kurt McHenry, freshman Cael Nasdeo, sophomore Connor Pierce and redshirt freshman Kyison Garcia have also filled in this season.

“It’s great experience to see where you’re at,” Sanderson said. “We were grateful they both got that opportunity to wrestle.”

On The Mend

Kasak was forced into concussion protocol after his Feb. 9 match against Maryland’s Ethan Miller. It was a little over a week after he outclassed Iowa’s Jacory Teemer, suffering a nasty forehead cut in the process.

Despite the setback, Sanderson said Kasak has made progress, but stopped short of saying he’d be back for Friday’s dual against American.

Penn State will have two weeks before the Big Ten tournament begins on March 8.

“He’s doing really well,” Sanderson said. “He’s a tough kid, just a tough, physical specimen. He’s bouncing back really fast. We’re trying to hold him back.”