THIS WEEK'S ACTION:
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lions (8-0, 0-0 B1G), ranked No. 1 in InterMat's tournament power index (TPI), open up Big Ten action this weekend. Penn State visits Maryland (3-2, 0-0 B1G) on Friday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m. and then hosts Indiana (2-0*, 0-0 B1G) in Rec Hall on Sunday, Jan. 9, at 2 p.m. Indiana is at Rutgers on Friday night, post-press. Both Penn State dual meets will stream live on B1G Network+.
Penn State is coming off a perfect 3-0 performance on Dec. 20-21 in Niceville, Fla., at the Collegiate Duals. The Nittany Lions beat No. 22 Northern Iowa 29-9, No. 9 Cornell 21-16 and No. 3 Arizona State 29-10 to improve to 8-0 on the year.
The Nittany Lions feature a talented line-up with eight ranked wrestlers and experienced wrestlers at each weight. Senior Jake Campbell or new Nittany Lion, two-time All-American Drew Hildebrandt, could get the call at 125. Senior Roman Bravo-Young is ranked No. 1 at 133 with a 7-0 record and senior Nick Lee is No. 1 at 141 with a 7-0 mark as well. Sophomore Beau Bartlett is ranked no. 20 at 149 with a 5-2 mark. Junior Tony Negron, sophomore Terrell Barraclough and sophomore Joe Lee have each seen action at 157 for Penn State. Junior Creighton Edsell is ranked No. 24 at 165 with a 5-3 mark. Sophomore Carter Starocci is ranked No. 1 at 174 with an 8-0 mark and junior Aaron Brooks is 6-0 at 184 and ranked No. 1 as well. Sophomore Greg Kerkvliet is ranked No. 4 at 285 with a 6-0 record.
Maryland enters the dual on Friday with a 3-2 mark overall. The Terrapins are led by two ranked wrestlers. Jaron Smith is ranked No. 31 at 197 and Zach Schrader is ranked No. 26 at 285. Penn State leads the all-time series with Maryland 44-1-2, including the last 28. Penn State won 44-0 on Feb. 22, 2021 last year in Rec Hall in Penn State's lone home dual during the shortened season. The Lions won 47-3 in the last dual at Maryland on Jan. 21, 2018 as well.
Indiana heads into the weekend with a 2-0 record. The Hoosiers are led by a trio of ranked wrestlers. Jacob Moran is No. 25 at 125, Brock Hudkins is No. 19 at 133 and D.J. Washington is No. 8 at 184. Penn State own's a 21-0-1 lead in the all-time series including wins in the last eight meetings. Penn State won 24-15 last year on Jan. 30, 2021, in a dual wrestled at Northwestern. The Lions won the last meeting here in Rec Hall, 44-3, on 12/17/17. The Hoosiers are at Rutgers on Jan. 7 while Penn State is at Maryland.
Penn State hosts Rutgers on Sunday, Jan. 16, at 5 p.m. in dual aired nationally on ESPN/2/U from Rec Hall in its next outing.
All rankings listed are InterMat individual/InterMat TPI. The 2021-22 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. 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.
#1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (8-0, 0-0 B1G)
125 Jake Campbell Sr. Pottstown, Pa./Boyertown 0-4
Drew Hildebrandt Sr.+ Granger, Ind./Penn 0-0
133 #1 Roman Bravo-Young Sr. Tucson, Ariz./Sunnyside 7-0
141 #1 Nick Lee Sr.+ Evansville, Ind./Homeschooled 7-0
149 #20 Beau Bartlett So. Tempe, Ariz./Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) 5-2
157 Tony Negron Jr. North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon 0-3
Terrell Barraclough So. Kaysville, Utah/Layton 4-4
Joe Lee So. Evansville, Ind/Evansville 2-3
165 #24 Creighton Edsell Jr. Wyalusing, Pa./Wyalusing 5-3
174 #1 Carter Starocci So. Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep 8-0
184 #1 Aaron Brooks Jr. Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown 6-0
197 #2 Max Dean Jr. Lowell, Mich./Lowell 8-0
Michael Beard So. Pottstown, Pa./Malvern Prep 8-1
285 #4 Greg Kerkvliet So. Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley 6-0
MARYLAND TERRAPINS (3-2, 0-0 B1G)
125 Zach Spence So. Wilmington, Del/Salesianum School
133 King Sandoval Jr. Waldorf, Md./St. Mary's Ryken
141 Danny Bertoni Sr. Jefferson, Md./Middletown
149 Michael North So. Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth
157 Lucas Cordio Jr. Lancaster, Mass./Nashoba Regional
165 Gaven Bell Fr. Huntington, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor
174 Dominic Solis So. Laurel, Md./McDonogh School
184 Kyle Cochran Sr. Paramus, N.J./Paramus
197 #31 Jaron Smith Gr. Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills
285 #26 Zach Schrader Sr. Manhattan Beach, Calif./Army-Navy Acad.
INDIANA HOOSIERS (*2-0, 0-0 B1G)
125 #25 Jacob Moran So. Portage, Ind. 4-2
133 #19 Brock Hudkins Gr. Danville, Ind. 5-0
Noah Gochberg Fr. Austin, Texas 2-2
141 Cayden Rooks Jr. Columbus, Ind. 5-2
149 Graham Rooks Jr. Columbus, Ind. 3-3
157 Kasper McIntosh Jr. Portage, Ind. 3-2
Derek Gilcher So. Novi, Mich. 1-1
165 Sammy Cokeley Sr. Eudora, Kan. 0-2
174 Sean Grim Jr. Columbus, Ohio 0-3
184 #8 D.J. Washington So. Portage, Ind. 6-0
197 Nick Willham Jr. Greenwood, Ind. 4-1
285 Jacob Bullock Jr. Cahokia, Ill. 2-2
Andrew Irick So. Fishers, Ind. 2-4
Rankings listed are InterMat (as of 1/4/22)
*Indiana is at Rutgers on 1/7 while Penn State visits Maryland, pre-press
THIS WEEK
#1 Penn State (8-0, 0-0 B1G) visits Maryland (3-2, 0-0 B1G) on Friday, Jan. 7, for a 7 p.m. dual to start Big Ten action. The Nittany Lions then host Indiana (*2-0, 0-0 B1G) on Sunday, Jan. 9, at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall. *Indiana is at Rutgers on Friday, Jan. 7, post-press.
UP NEXT
Penn State hosts Rutgers on Sunday, Jan. 16, at 5 p.m. in a dual that will air nationally on ESPN/2/U.
ON THE AIR
TV - Both (B1G+ streaming)
Radio online - Free all year via Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com
Live Web Video - Both (B1G+ streaming)
NOTES:
BEARD TAKES SECOND AT SOUTHERN SCUFFLE TO LEAD 10-MAN PENN STATE CONTINGENT
Sophomore Michael Beard was the No. 2 seed at 197 at the Southern Scuffle and took second at the two-day event. Beard began the tournament with three wins on Saturday. He posted technical falls over Duke's Kaden Russell (18-2; 2:36) and Eli Sheeren of Buffalo (17-2; 5:36) to begin the tournament and closed out Saturday with a 9-2 win over Navy's XJaxon Smith in the quarterfinals. Beard beat No. 20 Cameron Caffey of Michigan State in the semifinals and then took an injury default loss during the first period of the finals to No. 4 Rocky Elam of Missouri. Junior Brandon Meredith competed at 133 and advanced to the quarterfinals before losing his first match. He went 3-1 overall plus one loss to a non-collegiate wrestler. Sophomore Joe Lee wrested at 157 and won his first two matches to advance to the quarterfinals. He ended the tournament with a 2-2 mark overall. Junior Seth Nevills took to the mat at 285 for the first time this year. Nevills went 3-2 overall with a pin in his first action of the season.
BARTLETT'S WIN OVER #5 PARCO HIGHLIGHTS LOPSIDED 29-10 WIN OVER #3 ARIZONA STATE
Sophomore Beau Bartlett posted a thrilling 3-1 sudden victory decision over #5 Kyle Parco to spark Penn State in a 29-10 win over #3 Arizona State in the Blue Pool Final of the Collegiate Duals in Niceville, Fla. Bartlett's takedown in extra time was one of many highlights as Penn State dominated the Sun Devils, winning seven of ten bouts. Roman Bravo-Young beat #14 Michael McGee 6-2 at 133, Nick Lee majored #15 Jesse Vasquez 14-3 at 141, and Max Dean majored #8 Kordell Norfleet at 197 in other ranked victories for Penn State.
NITTANY LIONS OUTLAST #9 CORNELL IN FLORIDA
Penn State won six of ten bouts to outlast #9 Cornell 26-11 at the Collegiate Duals in Niceville, Fla. Penn State got four straight wins over ranked wrestlers to close out the dual for the victory. Carter Starocci beat #12 Chris Foca 3-2 at 174, Aaron Brooks majored #155 Jonathan Loew 15-3 at 184, Max Dean downed #19 Jacob Cardenas 4-2 at 197 and Greg Kerkvliet shutout #18 Lewis Fernandes 5-0 at 285.
BROOKS TAKES DOWN #4 KECKEISEN AS LIONS TOP UNI
Junior Aaron Brooks downed #4 Parker Keckeisen to lead Penn State to a 29-9 win over #22 Northern Iowa in the first of three duals for Penn State at the Collegiate Duals in Niceville, Fla. Brooks' win was one of seven for Penn State in the win, which included Roman Bravo-Young pinning #31 Kyle Biscoglia, Nick Lee majoring #26 Cael Happel and Beau Bartlett beating #28 Triston Lara.
LEE'S 100TH CAREER WIN SPARKS PENN STATE IN WIN OVER LEHIGH
Senior Nick Lee dominated Lehigh's Connor McGonagle, rolling to a 13-6 win with 3:36 in riding time to earn the 100th victory of his illustrious Nittany Lion career. Lee's win helped spark a short-handed Penn State team to a 23-16 victory over the visiting Mountain Hawks in sold out Rec Hall on Dec. 5.
EDSELL, BALL COME UP BIG IN WIN OVER LEHIGH
With multiple starters out in Penn State's dual vs. Lehigh on Dec. 5, junior Creighton Edsell and sophomore Donovon Ball came up with big wins as Penn State outlasted visiting Lehigh 23-16 in Rec Hall. Edsell used a riding time point to notch a 2-1 win over No. 27 Brian Meyer at 165 and Ball downed J.T. Burkhart 5-3 at 184 for his second win in three days.
STAROCCI AND BARTLETT GRAB RANKED WINS AS LIONS WIN AT PENN
With three starters out in Penn State's dual at Penn on Dec. 3, Sophomores Carter Starocci and Beau Bartlett notched big ranked wins to lead Penn State to a hard-fought 20-16 win in Philadelphia. Starocci dominated #21 Nick Incontrera 13-3, adding 2:53 in riding time during his major decision victory at 174. Bartlett used an escape in extra time to notch a 4-3 (TB) win over #23 Anthony Artalona at 149 as well.
BEAU BARTLETT DOWNS #20 P.J. OGUNSANYA TO LEAD LIONS TO 32-7 WIN OVER ARMY WEST POINT
Sophomore Beau Bartlett posted a thrilling 3-1 (sv) win over #20 P.J. Ogunsanya to help lead Penn State to a rousing 32-7 win over Army West Point on Nov. 18 in sold out Rec Hall. The dual meet was wrestled in front of nearly 6,500 fans in a sold-out Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions have wrestled in front of 56 straight sellouts in Rec Hall and 62 of 64 including six of eight sellouts at the 16,000-seat Bryce Jordan Center). The dual also marked the first time Penn State wrestled in front of its home fans since Feb. 23, 2020, when Penn State beat American in Rec Hall.
GREG KERKVLIET NAMED BIG TEN W.O.W. (11/16)
Sophomore Greg Kerkvliet was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the week ending Nov. 14, 2021. Kerkvliet went 2-0 in Penn State's season-opening action at Spooky Nook in Manheim, Pa., on Nov. 13. The Lion heavyweight picked up a pin in Penn State's 47-3 win over Sacred Heart and then dominated No. 24 Gary Traub of Oregon State, rolling to a 16-0 tech fall (4:15) in Penn State's 32-7 victory over the Beavers.
LEE, BARTLETT, KERKVLIET NOTCH RANKED WINS IN 32-7 WIN OVER OREGON STATE
Senior Nick Lee dominated #10 Grant Willits in Penn State's 32-7 win over Oregon State on Nov. 13, rolling to an 11-4 victory at 141. Lee's win was one of three ranked victories for the Lions in the win. Sophomore Beau Bartlett posted a 1-0 win over #24 Cory Crooks at 149 and sophomore Greg Kerkvliet rolled to a 16-0 tech fall (5:58) over #24 Gary Traub at 285. Penn State won eight bouts in the dual. Aaron Brooks had a pin and Max Dean had a major as well.
SHUNK, DEAN WIN PENN STATE DEBUTS IN 47-3 SEASON-OPENING WIN OVER SACRED HEART
Sophomore Baylor Shunk and junior Max Dean each won their Penn State dual meet debuts in Penn State's 47-3 win over Sacred Heart on Nov. 13, the dual opener for the Lions. Shunk posted an 18-0 tech fall (4:15) over Kyle Randall and Dean rolled to an identical 18-0 tech fall (3:00) over Dante Del Bonis. Penn State won nine of ten bouts in the victory. Roman Bravo-Young, Nick Lee, Carter Starocci, and Greg Kerkvliet all had pins; Shunk, Dean, and Aaron Brooks had tech falls; and Beau Bartlett and Creighton Edsell had majors.
BEARD GOES 3-0 AT JOURNEYMEN COLLEGIATE
Sophomore Michael Beard posted a 3-0 record to win his round-robin pool at the Journeymen Collegiate in Manheim, Pa., on Nov. 14. Beard majored JT Davis of Lehigh 22-8, teched Lock Haven's Parker McClellan 15-0 and majored #20 JT Brown of Army.
MATT LEE RUNNER-UP AT BEARCAT OPEN
Freshman Matt Lee led a contingent of seven wrestlers at the Bearcat Open in Binghamton, N.Y., on Nov. 14. Lee went 3-1 (plus one victory over a non-collegiate wrestler) with a tech fall to place second at 165. David Evans went 3-0 at 133 and placed fourth while Jack Kelly posted a 4-2 mark to finish sixth at 174. Aurelius Dunbar went 4-2 at 157, Brian Borden with 2-2 at 165 and Levko Higgins went 2-2 at 197.
EVANS TAKES 2ND AT CLARION OPEN; THREE OTHER LIONS PLACE
Eight members the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team took part in the Clarion Open on Nov. 6 in the first open tournament of the 2021-22 season. For Penn State, the Clarion Open is the first open tournament in almost two years after last season's abbreviated campaign. Redshirt freshman David Evans led the way with a second-place finish at 133. Evans went 3-1 with a pin, advancing to the finals before dropping his first match. True freshman Alex Facundo rolled up five wins with three majors and two pins and placed fifth. The true freshman's only loss was a tie-breaker defeat. Classmate Brian Borden placed sixth at 165, going 5-1 as well with a pin and three majors. True freshman Lucas Cochran finished fifth at 197, posting a 5-1 record with two majors and a pin. True freshman Shayne Van Ness began the tournament with two wins at 149. Van Ness picked up a major and a pin in just :54 before taking a medical forfeit (not a loss) and ending his action with a 2-0 mark. True freshman Sean Wang went 2-2 with a major at 141. True freshman Jack Kelly went 1-2 at 174. True freshman Gary Steen also competed at 125.
PARKING CHANGES THIS YEAR FOR ALL PENN STATE ATHLETIC EVENTS AT REC HALL
Parking for Penn State Wrestling duals in Rec Hall will be available at the following locations beginning two hours prior to the start of each event.
• Nittany Deck, West Deck (No charge with a valid Penn State parking permit; $5.50 prepaid through ParkMobile (season package available for $5 per game; Note: does not include BJC Dual) - https://psu.parkmobile.io/rec-hall; $10 day-of-event without a valid permit or prepayment (must use ground level or in-lane pay station after the event)
• Rec Hall and Lion Shrine ADA Parking; Available on a first-come, first-served basis with a valid Penn State permit, ParkMobile prepayment ($5.50) or day-of-event ParkMobile app payment ($10 – zone no. 95105); Note: The Rec Hall and Lion Shrine parking areas are not selectable prepayment options. Fans must elect Nittany Deck or West Deck.
REC HALL PARKMOBILE PREPAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS
• Visit https://psu.parkmobile.io/rec-hall; Select game or season package at the bottom of the page; Select parking area; Enter the license plate information for the vehicle being driven to the event; Note: If a different vehicle must be driven than the one registered at purchase, users must contact ParkMobile Member Support through the ParkMobile website or app (Settings – Chat Support) to request a vehicle change for that reservation.; Purchase parking for the event
• Note: Prepayment is required by 11:59 p.m. the night before each event or the day-of-event rate will apply; If the Rec Hall and Lion Shrine ADA parking areas are not available upon arrival, fans must park at the lot selected on the ParkMobile website at the time of purchase; Guests must scan their ParkMobile QR code (from mobile device or printed copy) at Nittany Deck and West Deck in-lane machines to enter and exit.; Head-in parking is required at the Nittany and West decks.
MILESTONES
Individual records and milestones that are in play as of now:
* 103 Career victories
Nick Lee, 100
* 200 Career coaching wins (overall career)
Cael Sanderson, 210
* 100 Career Big Ten coaching wins
Cael Sanderson, 88
* 175 Career coaching wins at Penn State
Cael Sanderson, 166
