The No. 11 Penn State wrestling team (14-5, 5-3 Big Ten) entered the state of Michigan Friday looking to continue its momentum for the Big Ten Championships next month and left yesterday confident with two more conference wins over Michigan and Michigan State.

Yesterday, the Nittany Lions took down No. 22 Michigan State (3-10, 2-6 Big Ten), 27-12, in East Lansing to close out their Big Ten dual season.

"The kids wrestled hard [yesterday]," Penn State head coach Troy Sunderland said. "They really wrestled well. It's nice to come away from the weekend with two big wins."

Starting the dual off at 174 pounds, Penn State got off to an early 3-0 lead courtesy of senior co-captain James Yonushonis.

The No. 5-ranked senior from Philipsburg, Pa., completed his perfect record against Big Ten opponents in dual meets this season, bringing his conference record to a spotless 8-0.

Yonushonis was not the only Penn State wrestler to finish with an undefeated record in Big Ten competition, however.

After reclaiming his No. 1 national ranking at 197 pounds last week, Phil Davis once again proved why he deserved the top spot, as he recorded a pinfall on Michigan State's Nick Palmieri in four minutes and four seconds.

The Lions also saw a big contribution from their freshmen as well against the Spartans, as the trio rattled off three consecutive wins in the final three matches.

"[The freshmen] wrestled outstanding today," senior Aaron Anspach said. "They all wrestled with determination and they keep getting better each week."

At 149 pounds, No. 16 Dan Vallimont managed a 15-2 major decision over Jeff Wimberly.

Bubba Jenkins followed up Vallimont's win with a victory at 157 pounds and Dave Rella closed the match with a decision over Rex Kendle to seal Penn State's 27-12 dual meet win.

"[The freshmen] are getting used to the battles and trials of Big Ten wrestling," Sunderland said. "They had good attitudes with the wins [yesterday]. They're starting to gain some confidence and are really starting to make adjustments."

On Friday, after coming off a bye week, the Lions defeated No. 23 Michigan (2-9-1, 1-6 Big Ten), 21-16.

Penn State jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first three matches.

The dual started off at heavyweight with Penn State senior Aaron Anspach securing an, 11-5, decision over Michigan's Casey White.

"We haven't beat Michigan since I've been in school," Anspach said. "It was a total confidence booster for the team and everyone as an individual."

The lightweights would follow Anspach in the dual and build off the No. 3-ranked heavyweight's momentum.

At 125 pounds, junior Mark McKnight broke himself out of a recent slump to land a 13-4 major decision over Mike Watts.

Sophomore Jake Strayer, wrestling at 133 pounds, mirrored McKnight's performance as he scored a major decision of his own over Chris Diehl.

Penn State will be off until March 3 when it returns to East Lansing to compete in the Big Ten Championships.