Penn State Wrestling Star Sounds Off on Mitchell Messenbrink Olympic Trials Cheap Shot

Because in the end all of these athletes are the ultimate competitors and sometimes the heat of the moment gets to them.

Late in his quarterfinals match against Jordan Burroughs, Mitchell Mesenbrink was trailing 8-3.

And if Nittany Lions fans know anything about Mesenbrink, it’s that he’s always going to fight until the very end and give it everything he has. However the following unfolded.

What Led to Cheap Shot

As you can see in the first video, Burroughs was taking his sweet time getting back to several resets.

Clearly, he was trying to use every second to his advantage to catch his breath in between wrestling. But that’s exactly what Mesenbrink was doing in the second video. He was using every second in the match to try and score. Plain and simple.

Is it possible Mitchell didn’t hear the whistle? Sure. There’s no way he heard the final whistle and kept on trying. That’s just not who he is.

Well obviously Burroughs took exception to this and he did what no other Penn State or Nittany Lion Wrestling Club wrestler would do.

These things happen, however, the Bryce Jordan Center crowd didn’t let Jordan’s slip-in judge go. Not at all.

The boos rained down from the packed house for what seemed like several minutes. And I can’t really blame them. But whether or not you like it, these things happen. Mitchell, always being the consummate decent human being, was quick to say he was fine with it and let’s move on. Good on him and it’s a true testament to what the Nittany Lions really have with him in the wrestling room.

As for Jordan Burroughs, well let’s just say Jason Nolf wasn’t going to let him get off easy.

But the drama in the BJC didn’t end there. As Burroughs was walking off the floor this happened.

Penn State Wrestling Star Carter Starocci Sounds Off on Jordan Burroughs

It didn’t take long for Nittany Lions standout Carter Starocci to come to the defense of his Penn State Wrestling teammate.

Starrocci didn’t hold back, on Burroughs, with scathing comments in the event’s aftermath.

“I’d like to see him do something like that to me or (Aaron) Brooks,” Starrocci told reporters. And see how tough he is.”

Brooks later went on to take down Penn State legend David Taylor to punch his ticket to Paris and earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team.

Even if events unfold on the mat that wrestling fans sometimes don’t like, this is something that should never happen. Period.