EVANSTON, Ill. — For the second straight season, a true freshman from Penn State is the 125-pound Big Ten champion. Luke Lilledhal didn’t think there would be that many opportunities to score against Nebraska’s Caleb Smith in the Big Ten 125-pound finals, so when one came, he showed why he’s called Lightning Luke.

Penn State's Josh Barr, the nation's second-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, was injured during the consolation round at the Big Ten Championships.

Penn State wrestling star Tyler Kasak is a Big Ten champion. Kasak, seeded second, took care of Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon, who made a Cinderella run to the finals as a No. 8 seed. It was a close bout for most of it,

The Big Ten is the nation’s best conference and Penn State, despite two surprising semifinal losses, put six wrestlers into Sunday’s championship round (5:30 p.m./BTN) and built a 145-118.5 lead over Nebraska in the fight for the prestigious team title. The Huskers have four finalists.

Penn State is after another conference crown, and the effort is now underway at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships in Evanston, Illinois. The Nittany Lions are trying to win their fourth straight conference title and the ninth under coach Cael Sanderson.

Penn State wrestling true freshman Luke Lilledahl is a Big Ten champion. Similar to Braeden Davis last season, Lilledahl earned Penn State’s starting spot at 125 pounds and ended up winning the Big Ten title at that weight class.

Penn State wrestling took a commanding lead after Session 1 of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, sending nine wrestlers to the semifinals and going 11-1 in the first two rounds. All 10 Nittany Lions qualified for the NCAA Wrestling Championships,