UNIVERSITY PARK — What the 111th edition of the Penn State vs. Lehigh mat rivalry lacked in drama, was more than made up for by the individual excitement that two new Nittany Lions provided.

Mitchell Mesenbrink and Bernie Truax impressed in their Rec Hall dual meet debuts as Penn State won seven of 10 bouts to cruise past Lehigh 30-10 Sunday, the Nittany Lions’ 45th consecutive dual meet win.

Truax, ranked second at 184, exploited a clear advantage on his feet against Mountain Hawk backup Jack Wilt. The Nittany Lion recorded five takedowns in a 19-4 technical fall in seven minutes.

“For me, the energy in there is so different compared to a lot of places I’ve wrestled at,” Truax said. “At first, I was nervous, of course. But once Carter (Starocci) had wrestled his match and everyone stood up and celebrated, I felt an extra energy and I felt free. It was a lot of fun going out there and competing.”

Mesenbrink, too, used his takedown game to earn a 17-2 technical fall in 6:13 over No. 32 Jake Logan. Mesenbrink scored five takedowns in his win.

“Being a combat athlete, you want to make sure that the arena or the place that you’re wrestling isn’t really affecting your wrestling, even if it’s for you,” he said. “After the match I was kind of overwhelmed. I started smiling because I’ve never been here. The first time I ever got to be at a dual I was wrestling in it, which was really cool.”

Robert Howard (125), Shayne Van Ness (149) and Aaron Brooks (197) sat out for Penn State. Head coach Cael Sanderson provided no explanation for the absences. With both teams sending out jumbled lineups, the Mountain Hawks grabbed wins at the first two weights.

In a battle of backups, Lehigh’s Sheldon Seymour benefited from a video review as time expired to earn a takedown and 3-1 win over Gary Steen.

In the marquee matchup of the day, Lehigh’s fifth-ranked Ryan Crookham parlayed two second-period takedowns into a 6-4 win over No. 3 Aaron Nagao. After a scoreless first, Crookham converted two low singles in the second. Nagao rode Crookham the entire third, coaxing a stall point and earning another for riding time but it wasn’t enough.

“Ryan usually gets better as the match goes on. Ryan had some better scrambles as the match went on,” Lehigh coach Pat Santoro said. “We have to figure some things out on bottom, but I think we will. We got to feel it and he’s (Nagao) probably the one of the best kids on top, if not the best.”

Sanderson didn’t seem too concerned with Nagao’s loss.

“I think Aaron will be fine. I mean, that’s a tricky match. It’s a tough opponent, but I’m glad we were able to get that match. That gives us an opportunity to get better prepared for that in the future. But yeah, Aaron’s as solid as they come. He’ll be perfectly OK,” he said.

The Nittany Lions bounced back with wins at 149 and 157. Backup Tyler Kasak used two first-period takedowns and an escape to hold on for a 7-5 win over Drew Munch.

Then, at 157, top-ranked Lion Levi Haines shook off an early takedown by No. 24 Max Brignola and notched a workmanlike 12-6 decision.

Coming out of the break, Penn State won four of the final five bouts and earned bonus points in all four. Mesenbrink’s win was the first of three lopsided wins for the Nittany Lions.

Starocci won his 52nd consecutive match, scoring three quick takedowns on Thayne Lawrence before pinning him in 2:23.

After Truax’s tech fall, Lehigh won its final match of the day. Tenth-ranked Michael Beard, the former Nittany Lion, rolled to a 20-6 major decision over backup Lucas Cochran.

Finally, at 285, top-ranked Greg Kerkvilet scored a takedown in each period to dominate No. 12 Nathan Taylor 11-1.

“The whole Lehigh program, I think, is one of my favorite teams outside of Penn State,” Sanderson said. “You know, I like those guys. They are good people and I think they do things the right way and they always compete hard. We always have tough matches with them. Today was no exception.”

No. 1 Penn State 30

No. 20 Lehigh 10

(Sunday at University Park)

125: Sheldon Seymour, L, dec. Gary Steen, 3-1.

133: No. 5 Ryan Crookham, L, dec. No. 3 Aaron Nagao, 6-4.

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett, PSU, maj. Dec. Carter Bailey, 14-6.

149: Tyler Kasak, PSU, dec. Drew Munch, 7-5.

157: No. 1 Levi Haines, PSU, dec. No. 24 Max Brignola, 12-6.

165: No. 16 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, won by tech. fall over No. 32 Jake Logan, 17-2 (6:13).

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU, pinned Thayne Lawrence, 2:23.

184: No. 2 Bernie Truax, PSU, won by tech. fall over Jack Wilt, 19-4 (7:00).

197: No. 10 Michael Beard, L, maj. Dec. Lucas Cochran, 20-6.

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, maj. Dec. No. 12 Nathan Taylor, 11-1.

Attendance: 6,623.

Ridge Riley Award winner: Carter Starocci.

Takedowns: Lehigh 11; Penn State 25.

Records: Lehigh 0-2; Penn State 1-0.

Next match: Hofstra at Penn State, 1 p.m. Sunday.