TODAY'S ACTION
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lions (11-2, 8-1 B1G), ranked No. 2 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index, will host American University (*3-7) on Sunday, Feb. 23. The dual, set for 2 p.m. in Rec Hall, is the regular season finale for the Nittany Lions and will serve as Senior Day for Penn State.
Penn State is coming off a 20-16 victory over No. 3 Ohio State in the 2020 BJC Dual last Saturday night. The Nittany Lions got big wins from its highest-ranked wrestlers and used bonus point to secure the victory over the third-ranked Buckeyes. Penn State, 11-2 overall, wrapped up the Big Ten dual slate with an 8-1 record.
Freshman Brandon Meredith is 12-12 overall at 125 for Penn State, earning the starting spot early in the season. Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young, ranked No. 2 nationally by InterMat, is 16-1 at 133. Junior Nick Lee is 17-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 nationally at 141. Sophomore Jarod Verkleeren is 14-6 at 149 and ranked No. 17 nationally. Junior Luke Gardner is 6-2 at 149 and 157 this season. Sophomore Brady Berge returned to the mat Saturday night for the first time since November and is 1-1 in limited action while Bo Pipher sports a 9-11 record at 157.
Senior Vincenzo Joseph, ranked No. 1 at 165, is 12-0 on the year. Senior Mark Hall leads Penn State in wins with his 19-1 record and is ranked No. 2 at 174. True freshman Aaron Brooks is 11-1 on the year and is ranked No. 6 nationally at 184. Senior Shakur Rasheed is 4-4 on the season and is ranked No. 18 at 197. True freshman Seth Nevills is 12-3 overall and is ranked No. 17 at 285.
American University enters the week with a 3-7 dual meet record. The team is at George Mason on Thursday, Feb. 20, post-press. Junior Kizhan Clarke leads the charge for AU. He sports a 35-3 record at 149 and is ranked No. 8 in the nation. Former Michigan Wolverine Sal Profaci, now a senior at American, is 24-6 at 141. Junior Gage Curry is 24-7 at 125 and junior Tanner Harvey is 19-6 at 184. Sophomore Niko Camacho is 15-10 at 285 as well.
Penn State and American have never met in a dual meet, making this the debut event in the series.
All rankings listed are InterMat, the long-standing official wrestling ranking service of the Big Ten Conference. InterMat's rankings are available for free with no pay wall at www.intermatwrestle.com.
Penn State will head to Piscataway, N.J., and Rutgers University for the 2020 Big Ten Championship. The event is set for Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, in the RAC.
Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
#2 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (11-2, 8-1 B1G)
125 Brandon Meredith Fr. Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford 12-12
133 #2 Roman Bravo-Young So. Tucson, Ariz./Sunny Side 16-1
141 #1 Nick Lee Jr. Evansville, Ind./Homeschool 17-0
149 #17 Jarod Verkleeren So. Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield 14-6
Luke Gardner Jr. Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville 6-2
157 Brady Berge So. Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville 1-1
Bo Pipher Jr. Paonia, Colo./Paonia 9-11
165 #1 Vincenzo Joseph Sr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic 12-0
174 #2 Mark Hall Sr. Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley 19-1
184 #6 Aaron Brooks Fr. Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown 11-1
197 #18 Shakur Rasheed Sr. Coram, N.Y./Longwood 4-4
285 #17 Seth Nevills Fr. Clovis, Calif./Clovis 12-3
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY (*3-7)
125 Gage Curry Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills 24-7
133 Joshua Vega Fr. Albuquerque, N.M./Volcano Vista 5-11
141 Sal Profaci Sr. Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township 24-6
149 #8 Kizhan Clarke Jr. Gibsonton, Fla./Riverview 35-3
157 Ethan Karsten Jr. Platte City, Mo./Platte County 12-12
165 Tim Fitzpatrick Fr. Somers Point, N.J./Holy Spirit 11-13
174 Conner Allshouse Jr. Largo, Fla./Indian Rocks Christian 6-11
184 Tanner Harvey Jr. Elkton, Ore./Lowell 19-6
197 William Jarrell Fr. Lincoln, Mass./Buckingham Browne & Nichols 5-21
285 Niko Camacho So. Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic 15-10
*AMERICAN IS AT GEORGE MASON ON THURSDAY, 2/20, POST-PRESS
Rankings listed are InterMat TPI/InterMat Individual as of 2/18/20
THIS WEEK
Penn State (11-2, 8-1 B1G) hosts American University (3-7) on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall. The dual will serve as Senior Day for Penn State.
UP NEXT
Penn State heads to Rutgers University for the 2020 Big Ten Championships on Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, in the RAC.
ON THE AIR
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Radio - WRSC (93.3 FM) or, occasionally, WQWK (103.7 FM)
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NICK LEE ROLLS TO WIN OVER #1 PLETCHER; EARNS 2ND-STRAIGHT B1G WoW HONOR
Junior Nick Lee gave up an early takedown to #1 Luke Pletcher of Ohio State in Penn State's BJC Dual win over the Buckeyes on Feb. 15 and then dominated the rest of the bout to hand Pletcher his first loss of the season. Lee posted an 8-4 win including 1:50 in riding time to help lead Penn State to a 20-16 victory over the Buckeyes in front of 15,995 fans in a sold out Bryce Jordan Center. Lee was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the second straight time for his performance.
JOSEPH, HALL, BROOKS GET RANKED BONUS WINS IN BJC DUAL VICTORY OVER #3 OHIO STATE
With Nick Lee (141) and Roman Bravo-Young (133) getting big first half win in Penn State's BJC Dual against #3 Ohio State on Feb. 15, a trio of Lion upper weights blew the dual open with bonus point victories against ranked opponents. The trio helped spark Penn State to a 20-16 victory over the Buckeyes in front of 15,995 fans in a sold out Bryce Jordan Center. Vincenzo Joseph posted a 13-5 major over #16 Ethan Smith at 165, Mark Hall pinned #7 Kaleb Romero in just 0:46 at 174 and Aaron Brooks rolled to a 15-4 major over #12 Rocky Jordan at 184.
LEE PINS #5 McKEE TO LEAD LIONS OVER #6 MINNESOTA; NAMED B1G WoW
Junior Nick Lee pinned #5 Mitch McKee in just 1:56 to lead Penn State to a 31-10 road win over Minnesota on Feb. 9 in Minneapolis. Lee was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (2/11) for his performance in the McKee pin and his victory at Wisconsin two days earlier. Joining Lee with key wins over the Gophers was Mark Hall, who downed #8 Devin Skatzka, Vincenzo Joseph who majored Bailee O'Reilly, Roman Bravo-Young who teched Boo Dryden and Aaron Brooks who posted a major over Owen Webster.
BALL AND SHUNK WIN TITLES AT MESSIAH OPEN
True freshmen Donovon Ball and Baylor Shunk both won titles at the Messiah Open on Feb. 8. Shunk posted a 2-0 record at 125 to win the title, including one technical fall. Ball went 4-0 with two majors, a tech and a pin to win the 184-pound crown.
LEE, VERKLEEREN, JOSEPH WITH RANKED WINS AS LIONS ROLL AT #4 WISCONSIN
Nick Lee, Jarod Verkleeren and Vincenzo Joseph posted impressive wins over ranked opponents in Penn State's 29-10 dual victory at #4 Wisconsin. Lee majored #7 Tristan Moran 14-1 with 4:29 in riding time at 141. Verkleeren posted a 3-2 win over #15 Cole Martin at 149. Joseph rolled to a lopsided 8-0 major over #3 Evan Wick with 4:08 in riding time. In addition, Mark Hall got a pin at 174. Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young, ranked #2 at 133, lost a thrilling 6-5 battle to #1 Seth Gross in the dual.
JOSEPH AND HALL'S DUAL MIXERS LEAD LIONS OVER TERPS
Seniors Vincenzo Joseph and Mark Hall both hit mixers within minutes of each other to help spark Penn State to a 40-3 dual meet win over Maryland in Rec Hall on Feb. 2. Joseph used the move to pin Kyle Cochran at 165 in the second period, getting the fall at the 4:01 mark. Hall then mirrored the move to get a fast fall over Phillip Spadafora at 174, getting a first period pin at 0:51.
PIPHER AND HOOPES POST DUAL FIRSTS IN MARYLAND WIN
Junior Bo Pipher picked up his first Big Ten dual meet win by downing Jahi Jones 3-0 at 157 in Penn State's 40-3 dual meet victory over Maryland on Feb. 2. Sophomore Austin Hoopes, getting the call at 197 later in the dual meet, then grabbed his first dual meet win as a Nittany Lion, posting a 3-2 victory over Niko Cappello.
BRAVO-YOUNG, LEE, JOSEPH AND BROOKS IMPRESSIVE IN DUAL AT #1 IOWA
A classic Big Ten dual came down to the wire but in the end, Penn State dropped its first conference dual meeting in nearly five years (Feb. 8, 2015), losing 19-17 at Iowa on Jan. 31. Roman Bravo-Young was leading #2 Austin DeSanto 5-0 in the first period before receiving an injury default victory at 133, Nick Lee posted a 20-5 tech fall (5:53) over Carter Happel at 141, Vincenzo Joseph notched a 7-5 win over #2 Alex Marinelli at 165 and Aaron Brooks rolled to an 7-3 win over #6 Abe Assad at 184.
STAROCCI WINS EDINBORO OPEN
True freshman Carter Starocci won yet another open tournament, wrestling unattached at 174. Starocci went 4-0 with two majors and a tech fall, plus a win over a non-collegiate foe, to win the crown. Classmate Terrell Barraclough went 4-0 with a loss to a non-collegian in the finals at 149 to place second. True freshman Adam Busiello went 3-0 with two losses to non-collegiate foes at 149, picking up two pins and a major in his first unattached open action for the Lions.
LIONS DOWN #7 NEBRASKA FOR B1G ROAD WIN
Penn State split the dual 5-5 with Nebraska but won the bonus point battle to post a thrilling 20-18 victory in Lincoln in front of a Cornhusker record crowd of nearly 6,000 fans. Roman Bravo-Young majored #13 Ridge Lovett 11-3 at 133, Nick Lee majored #8 Chad Red Jr. 9-1 at 141, Vincenzo Joseph dominated #5 Isaiah White 5-1 at 165 and Mark Hall pinned #6 Mike Labriola at the 6:52 mark at 174. With the Lions trailing by one, true freshman Nick Nevills then controlled #15 Christian Lance for the entire bout to post a 4-0 win at 285 and secure Penn State's 20-18 dual victory.
BRAVO-YOUNG, RASHEED NOTCH RANKED WINS IN DUAL VICTORY OVER RUTGERS
Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young and senior Shakur Rasheed recorded wins over ranked opponents in Penn State's 38-6 victory over Rutgers in Rec Hall on Jan. 19. Bravo-Young used a last second takedown in the second sudden victory period to post a 4-2 (sv2) win over #9 Sammy Alvarez at 133 while Rasheed dominated #18 Jordan Pagano, rolling to a 6-0 victory.
BROOKS AND NEVILLS RECORD FIRST PINS IN REC HALL
True freshmen Aaron Brooks and Seth Nevills each recorded their first career pins in Rec Hall during Penn State's 38-6 dual meet victory over Rutgers on Jan. 19. Brooks pinned Billy Janzer at the 4:36 mark while Nevills capped off the dual by pinning Alex Esposito at 2:24 in the first period.
LIONS ROLL OVER WILDCATS, EDSELL MOVES UP TO 184 AND GRABS FIRST BIG TEN DUAL WIN
The Penn State Nittany Lions won seven of ten bouts to rout #12 Northwestern on Jan. 12. With a handful of starters out, redshirt freshman Creighton Edsell moved up to 184 pounds and picked up his first Big Ten victory. Edsell, stepping in for Aaron Brooks, posted a convincing 4-1 win over Wildcat starter Jack Jessen. Penn State had three tech falls in the dual (Roman Bravo-Young, Nick Lee, Mark Hall) and one pin (Vincenzo Joseph).
NEVILLS, RASHEED LEAD LIONS TO WIN OVER #24 ILLINOIS
True freshman Seth Nevills made his Penn State debut in fine fashion, picking up a 6-3 win over Illinois' Luke Luffman to help lead Penn State to a 22-16 victory over visiting Illinois on Jan. 10. With defending NCAA Champion Anthony Cassar out for the year, Nevills got the nod and came up big for Penn State. Senior Shakur Rasheed also competed for the first time all season, getting a 3-0 win over Matt Wroblewski at 197. Mark Hall picked up an impressive DQ win over #8 Joey Gunther at 174, rolling up 17 points before Gunther stalled out of the bout with a fifth stall. Junior Nick Lee also majored #16 Dylan Duncan 13-5 at 141.
KIRKVLIET AND SHUNK SHINE AT HITCHCOCK
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team had seven wrestlers competing at Millersville University's Floyd 'Shorty' Hitchcock Memorial. Penn State had grapplers competing both attached and unattached at the event and five of the seven wrestlers placed. True freshman Greg Kirkvliet (on the 285-pound title, wrestling unattached at 285. The Minnesota-native went 4-0 with three pins and had an addition win against a non-collegiate wrestler. True freshman Baylor Shunk went 2-1 unattached at 125. The central Pennsylvania native placed third at the event.
DEFENDING CHAMPION TOP RANKED ANTHONY CASSAR AND ALL-AMERICAN KYLE CONEL LOST FOR THE SEASON
Head coach Cael Sanderson announced on Tuesday, Jan. 7, that top-ranked senior heavyweight Anthony Cassar will miss the remainder of the year with an injury and that All-American transfer senior Kyle Conel will also be out the rest of the year due to injury.
SEVEN LIONS WIN TITLES AT WILKES OPEN
Penn State sent 22 wrestlers, both attached and unattached, to the Wilkes Open on Sunday, Dec. 22. The Lions came away with seven titles at the open tournament. Penn State had 19 of its 22 competitors place in the top five at the event. The Nittany Lions had seven champs, four runners-up, one third-place, four fourth-place and three fifth-place finishes. Freshman Brandon Meredith (125), sophomore Roman Bravo-Young (133), sophomore Jarod Verkleeren (149), true freshman Joe Lee (165), senior Mark Hall (174) and true freshman Michael Beard (197) all won titles.
STAROCCI WINS AT 174, BEARD AND LEE SHINE AS UNATTACHED FRESHMEN AT THE SCUFFLE
Penn State had three true freshmen competing unattached at the 2020 Southern Scuffle. The two-day event took place in Chattanooga on Jan. 1-2. All three Lions placed at the tournament with Carter Starocci winning the 174-pound crown. Starocci went 6-0 with a pin, a tech and two majors to win yet another tournament title. Michael Beard went 3-2 with two majors and two wins over top-six ranked foes to take fourth at 197 and Joe Lee went 5-2 with ranked wins, two techs and a pin to take fifth at 165.
MEREDITH DOWNS #10 COLAIOCCO, BROOKS WINS BY TECH FALL IN PSU'S 33-7 VICTORY OVER PENN
Redshirt freshman Brandon Meredith downed #10 Michael Colaiocco of Penn 8-5 to spark Penn State to a 33-7 victory over Penn in sold out Rec Hall on Dec. 8. True freshman Aaron Brooks posted a 19-4 tech fall over Penn's Jesse Quatse at the 6:03 mark as well. Both Lions were making their Rec Hall dual debuts.
MARK HALL WINS 100TH CAREER MATCH
Senior Mark Hall posted a 19-4 technical fall over Penn's Neil Antrassian on Dec. 8, 2019, to win his 100th match as a Nittany Lion. Hall's victory helped spark the Lions to a 33-7 win over the Quakers and improved his career mark, at the time, to 100-5.
AARON BROOKS MAKES DUAL DEBUT WITH WIN AT LEHIGH
True freshman Aaron Brooks made his Penn State dual meet debut in the Nittany Lions' 23-10 dual victory at Lehigh on Dec. 6. Brooks rolled to a 10-5 win over Mountain Hawk junior Chris Weiler, notching three early takedowns to set up the win.
HALL HAMMERS #2 KUTLER TO LEAD LIONS IN BIG WIN AT #14 LEHIGH
Senior Mark Hall dominated #2 Jordan Kutler in Penn State's rousing 23-10 victory at #14 Lehigh on Dec. 6. Hall rolled to a 7-2 victory as the Nittany Lions won seven of ten bouts in front of a record-setting sellout crowd in Lehigh's Stabler Arena.
STAROCCI DOWNS #12 HARVEY TO WIN GMU OPEN TITLE
True freshman Carter Starocci claimed the 174-pound title with a win over a nationally ranked foe in the finals. Starocci went 4-0 with two pins to win his second open tournament title of the year, having already won the Clarion Open earlier this season. Starocci took on Army's Ben Harvey in the finals and posted a 3-2 victory. Harvey entered the tournament ranked No. 12 nationally by InterMat at the time.
TRIO OF LIONS WIN MAT-TOWN OPEN TITLES
Seven members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team took part in the Mat-Town Open at Lock Haven University on Sunday, Dec. 1, in Lock Haven, Pa. All seven wrestled unattached and three true freshmen won individual titles at their respective weight classes. True freshman Aaron Brooks went 3-0 at 184 to win Penn State's first title of the day. Brooks had one pin along the way to the 184-pound crown. True freshman Michael Beard went 3-0 at 197 to win his title. Beard had two tech falls and a major decision. True freshman Seth Nevills went 3-0 at 285 to win the heavyweight crown. Nevills had two pins in his three victories.
RBY, JOSEPH, HALL, CASSAR PICK UP RANKED WINS & LEE GETS TF IN DUAL AT #6 ARIZONA STATE
Penn State, wrestling down two starters and giving up a forfeit victory, split bouts with Arizona State 5-5 but had its 60-dual win streak (dating back to the end of the 2014-15 season) snapped in a close 19-18 loss at #6 Arizona State on Nov. 22. Wrestling in front of an ASU record crowd of over 8,500, the Lions won five of the nine matches wrestled, all in impressive style. #3 Nick Lee rolled to an 18-3 tech fall at 141, #3 Roman Bravo-Young posted a 7-6 win over #16 Josh Kramer at 133, #1 Vincenzo Joseph notched a strong 7-4 win over #5 Josh Shields at 165, #1 Mark Hall rolled to an 11-3 major over #8 Anthony Valencia at 174 and #1 Anthony Cassar dominated #5 Tanner Hall in a 9-5 victory. But ASU had four bonus points to Penn State's three and grabbed the dual victory in Tempe.
PENN STATE CROWNS 4 CHAMPS AT BLACK KNIGHT INVITE
Penn State dominated action at the 2019 Army West Point Invite on Nov. 17 in West Point, N.Y. Fifteen Penn Staters competed at nine weights and the Nittany Lions came away with four champions with 11 total place-winners. The Nittany Lions four champions were Roman Bravo-Young at 133, Nick Lee at 141, Jarod Verkleeren at 149 and Mark Hall at 174. Luke Gardner was runner-up at 149 as well, dropping a tough bout in an all-Penn State final at that weight.
NITTANY LIONS ROLL UP 11 OF 15 PLACE WINNERS AT BLACK KNIGHT INVITE
Penn State had 15 competitors at the Army West Point Black Knight Invite on Nov. 17 and 11 of Penn State's competitors placed at the event. Roman Bravo-Young (133), Nick Lee (141), Jarod Verkleeren (149) and Mark Hall (174) all won titles while Luke Gardner (149) lost to Verkleeren in the finals for second place. Brody Teske took third at 125, Konner Kraeszig took third at 165, Brandon Meredith placed fifth at 125, Bo Pipher was fifth at 157, Creighton Edsell was fifth at 184 and Austin Hoopes was sixth at 197.
FOUR PINS, FOUR DEBUT WINS, A SHUTOUT OVER NAVY
Penn State opened up its 2019-20 season by shutting out Navy 45-0 on Nov. 10 in front of yet another sold-out Rec Hall crowd. Four Lions picked up falls in the victory and four grapplers earned victories in their Nittany Lion dual debuts. Junior Luke Gardner got a fall at 149 in his Lion dual debut, junior Nick Lee picked up a pin at 141, senior Mark Hall got a fast fall in just 0:58 at 174 over #17 Spencer Carey and Anthony Cassar picked up a pin at 285. In addition to Gardner's debut win at 149, redshirt freshman Brody Teske got a victory at 125 in his Lion debut, classmate Creighton Edsell picked up a win at 184 in his first Lion dual and graduate transfer Kyle Conel picked up the victory at 197 in his Nittany Lion dual debut.
LIONS SEND 3 TO BINGHAMTON OPEN
While the Penn State Nittany Lions were opening up their dual season in a raucous Rec Hall by shutting out Navy on Nov. 10, three true freshmen ventured to the Binghamton Open unattached. Donovon Ball and Ritchie Heywood competed at 184 while Keagan Carmenatty went at 285. Heywood picked up his first open tournament victory with a pin while Carmenatty had a fall at heavyweight as well.
JOE LEE, STAROCCI WIN TITLES AT CLARION OPEN
Eleven members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team competed both attached and unattached at the Clarion Open in the first open tournament of the new season. Three true freshmen advanced to the finals at their respective weights, with Joe Lee and Carter Starocci winning titles. Lee rolled to a 4-0 record including three majors to win the 165-pound title in his first open tournament. Fellow true freshman Starocci also went 4-0 at 174 and won his weight class with two majors as well. True freshman Michael Beard advanced to the finals 197 before losing a close decision, going 2-1 with a major to place second. Redshirt freshman Brandon Meredith had a good showing at 125. Meredith went 4-1 overall with two majors and a tech fall to place third. True freshman Terrell Barraclough also placed third in his first open tournament. Barraclough went 5-1 at 149 with two majors to take third place.
MILESTONES
A number of team and individual records and milestones are in play as of now:
* 100 career win plateau
Mark Hall -- 112 wins, tied 20th all-time
Vincenzo Joseph -- 86 wins
* Overall winning % (min. 30 matches)
Mark Hall -- 7th at 94.9 (112-6)
* Falls in PSU history
Mark Hall -- 7th at 40
Shakur Rasheed -- 19th at 28
Vincenzo Joseph -- nearing top 20 at 24
PENN STATE HOSTING 2020 OLYMPIC TRIALS IN THE BJC
Bryce Jordan Center on the campus of Penn State University in University Park, Pa. has been selected to host the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wrestling on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5. Penn State University is serving as the local organizing committee. The champions from the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wrestling will become eligible to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, August 2-8. In the two-day format, Saturday, April 4 will include start of the Challenge Tournament in all 18 weight classes. Included in Saturday's action will be the Challenge Tournament finals, which will determine one athlete in each weight class who advances to the Final X Championship Series on Sunday. On Sunday, April 5, all 18 best-of-three Final X Championship Series will be held, which determines the U.S. Olympic Team Trials champions in each weight class. This series will feature the top seed and the Challenge Tournament champion, as determined by the 2020 Olympic Games Team Selection Procedures. In addition, the completion of the consolation rounds of the Challenge Tournament will be held on Sunday.
