UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Sophomore Lucas Cochran snatched Yara Slavikouski's right leg in the opening period of the heavyweight clash and went into attack mode. The Bryce Jordan Center crowd erupted as Cochran tallied a takedown en route to a signature top-10 upset. He didn't even know he was going to wrestle at the start of the dual.
Cochran filled in for senior Greg Kerkvliet and surrendered over 50 pounds to Slavikouski who entered ranked eighth in the country at heavyweight. Cochran didn't anticipate wrestling going into the night but was unbothered by the theatrics and pyrotechnics that lit the Bryce Jordan Center aglow and created fireworks of his own on the mat.
"I didn't know I was gonna wrestle until like halfway through the dual, but I was just ready to go," Cochran said. "I'm just feeling grateful that I had the opportunity to wrestle. Moments like those, like Coach Cael [Sanderson] always says, moments like those come and go quickly so you got to take advantage of those opportunities."
Cochran's upset was the bookend of a dominant night where Penn State secured its illustrious 1,000th win as a program in a 35-3 victory over Rutgers. Moving up to 285 unfazed the sophomore who seized his moment and relied on his mentality of "stay ready so you don't have to get ready" to get in the zone and block out the noise.
Responding to adversity became the mantra of the night as Sanderson relied on his sophomore to replace Kerkvliet who was out due to illness. Cochran relied on his training and his trust in the "process" established both within and from the coaches to make an impact on a big stage.
"Opportunities come up and Lucas [Cochran] was ready to jump in there and wrestle up a weight class, weigh in, obviously at 97 and it's a great experience for these guys," Sanderson said. "I mean, they're super valuable members of this team and a big part of what we're doing and I think everything has kind of worked out."
Senior Terrell Barraclough was the other Nittany Lion grappler to move up a weight class on Monday night and elevated his game to the 174 ranks where he faced off with 13th ranked Jackson Turley.
Barraclough has battled ranked wrestlers during his Penn State career, but achieved the first top-15 win of his career in an electrifying match. Barraclough trailed 3-1 after the first period but capitalized with a reversal and an escape to ride out Turley and pick up the riding time point to win 4-3.
"I just know I'm ready whenever coach Cael [Sanderson] needs me and tonight was that night," Barraclough said. "I'm always ready to go no matter what. That's the mindset I have and you don't want to be thinking about 'oh, I'm not gonna be wrestling.' There's a more excellent way to think about things. You can either choose to be a Debbie Downer about it but you're just not going to get any better in my opinion if you're just going into practice thinking every day, Oh, what's this for?'"
Barraclough's positivity on the mat was noticeable as he grinned from ear-to-ear when the clock struck zero and achieved the extra point. The Kaysville, Utah, product recognized how the "national champ caliber" of his teammates allows him to thrive in key moments and take down ranked opponents like Turley.
Barraclough expressed how he's developed a sense of "full faith" in his training and himself. This has further developed his competitiveness on the mat and appreciation for teammates like redshirt freshman Mitchell Mesenbrink who achieved a tech fall win. "He might know it but I look up to him in the way that he competes because that makes me want to follow up and just keep climbing with him," Barraclough said.
Sanderson shared how the people around the program create a "fun" environment. That was on full display Monday night where Barraclough and Cochran were feeling the full support from their teammates. That continuity provided Barraclough the confidence to wrestle with a chip on his shoulder.
"I've been bumping up a weight, making close to 65 pretty much every time and just to know that the guy thinks that he's bigger than me and stronger than me and faster than me and just beating him, I'm like yeah, 'in your face," Barraclough said. "It was fun and kind of like when he started getting tired I was like, 'oh, here we go.'"