#1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (1-0, 0-0 B1G)
125 Devin Schnupp So. Lititz, Pa./Warwick 0-1
Justin Lopez So. Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers 2-2
133 Roman Bravo-Young Fr. Tucson, Ariz./Sunny Side 1-0
Scott Stossel Sr. Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny 0-0
141 #4 Nick Lee So. Evansville, Ind./Homeschool 1-0
Dominic Giannangeli Jr. Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional 1-2
149 Jarod Verkleeren Fr. Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield 1-0
#15 Brady Berge Fr. Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville 0-0
Luke Gardner So. Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville 4-2
157 #1 Jason Nolf Sr. Yatesboro, Pa./Kittanning 1-0
Bo Pipher So. Paonia, Colo./Paonia 2-2
165 #1 Vincenzo Joseph Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic 1-0
174 #2 Mark Hall Jr. Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley 1-0
Mason Manville Fr. Lorton, Va./Wyoming Seminary 3-2
184 #4 Shakur Rasheed Sr. Coram, N.Y./Longwood 1-0
Francisco Bisono Jr. Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge 0-0
197 #1 Bo Nickal Sr. Allen, Texas/Allen 1-0
James Hoeg Fr. Mattituck, N.Y./Mattituck 1-2
285 Anthony Cassar Sr. Rocky Hill, N.J./Montgomery 1-0
#2 Nick Nevills Sr. Clovis, Calif./Clovis 0-0
TEAMS PARTICIPATING...
PENN STATE
Appalachian State
Drexel
Duke
Franklin and Marshall
Harvard
Penn
Rider
Sacred Heart
VMI
Rankings listed are InterMat TPI/Intermat Individual as of 11/13
THIS WEEK
#1 Penn State (1-0, 0-0 B1G) will head to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for the 2018 Keystone Classic on Sunday, Nov. 18. The event, held at the Palestra, starts at 10 a.m. and is a team-scored event.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions make the trek to Lewisburg, Pa., to battle the Bucknell Bison on Friday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. and then host Lehigh in Rec Hall on Sunday, Dec. 2, at 1:30 p.m.
ON THE AIR
TV - None
Radio - ESPN Radio 1450
Radio online - Free all year via Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com
Live Web Video - ESPN+ ($) at http://www.espn.com/watch/espnplus
TODAY'S ACTION
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Nov. 6, 2018 -- The Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0, 0-0 B1G), ranked No. 1 in the InterMat Tournament Power Index, will head to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for the 2018 Keystone Classic on Sunday, Nov. 18. The event, held at the Palestra, starts at 10 a.m. and is a team-scored event. For the first time, all six mats will stream live on ESPN+.
Penn State is coming off resounding 52-3 win over No. 24 Kent State in its season opener last Sunday in sold out Rec Hall. The victory was Penn State's 46th-straight dual meet victory. The Lions tallied seven pins and two technical falls in the victory, including falls from two freshmen making their Penn State dual debuts. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (133) and redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren (149) both got falls in front of the Rec Hall faithful to spark Penn State.
Penn State could be sending up to 20 wrestlers to compete at the team-scored tournament. Sophomores Devin Schnupp and Justin Lopez are listed at 125 while true freshman Bravo-Young and senior Scott Stossel will battle at 133. Sophomore Nick Lee, ranked No. 4 by InterMat, and junior Dominic Giannangeli will go at 141 as well. At 149, three Nittany Lions could make the trip. Redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren and classmate Brady Berge, ranked No. 15 nationally, as well as sophomore Luke Gardner are potential competitors.
Senior Jason Nolf, ranked No. 1 nationally, and sophomore Bo Pipher will compete at 157 while junior Vincenzo Joseph, ranked No. 1 at 165, will battle at 165. Junior Mark Hall, ranked No. 2 at 174, and redshirt freshman Mason Manville will battle at 174. Senior Shakur Rasheed, ranked No. 4 at 184, and junior Francisco Bisono will wrestle at 184. Senior Bo Nickal, ranked No. 1 at 197, will go at 197 as will redshirt freshman James Hoeg. At heavyweight, look for senior Nick Nevills, ranked No. 2, and classmate Anthony Cassar to compete for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions have won the last year's Keystone Classic, outdistancing second place Northwestern. Penn State went seven-for-seven in the individual finals last season.
Other teams scheduled to compete in the one-day, team-scored tournament are Appalachian State, Drexel, Duke, Franklin and Marshall, Rider, Sacred Heart and VMI. Among the top competitors who could compete at the event are Duke's Mitch Finesilver, ranked No. 8 at 149; Duke's Matt Finesilver, ranked No. 18 at 174; Drexel's Stephen Loiseau, ranked No. 10 at 197; and Drexel's Joey Goodhart, ranked No. 14 at 285.
The Nittany Lions return to action in two weeks, making the short trip to Lewisburg, Pa., to face off against Bucknell on Friday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m.
The 2018-19 Penn State wrestling season is sponsored 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.
NOTES
LIONS USE SEVEN PINS TO DOMINATE #24 KENT STATE
Penn State opened up the 2018-19 season in stellar fashion, rolling to a 52-3 victory over #24 Kent State in sold out Rec Hall on Nov. 11. The Lions won nine of ten bouts, including seven pins and two technical falls. Penn State got pins from two freshmen in their collegiate debuts. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young got a pin at 133 and redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren got a fall at 149. Also picking up pins were Jason Nolf at 157, Vincenzo Joseph at 165, Mark Hall at 174, Shakur Rasheed at 184 and Bo Nickal at 197. Nick Lee (141) and Anthony Cassar (285) got the tech falls.
GARDNER AND MANVILLE PLACE AT BEARCAT OPEN
Seven members of the Penn State Nittany Lions competed at the 2018 Bearcat Open in Binghamton, N.Y., today. Two Nittany Lions came away as place-winners at the day-long event at Binghamton. Wrestlers competed both attached an unattached at the open tournament. Sophomore Luke Gardner and freshman Mason Manville led the Nittany Lions, each placing fourth at their respective weight classes. Gardner went 4-2 with a major and a pin to finish fourth at 149. Manville went 3-2 at 174, earning fourth place as well. Sophomore Bo Pipher went 2-2 with a pin at 157 as well.
5 LIONS BEGIN OPEN TOURNEY SEASON AT CLARION
Five members of head coach Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lion wrestling team competed at the Clarion Open today, officially opening up the 2018-19 open tournament season. Every Nittany Lion competing came away with at least one victory. Sophomore Alex Nicholas posted the most victories for Penn State, going 3-2 with a technical fall at 285. Sophomore Brian Friery went 2-2 with a tech fall at 157 as well. Sophomore Justin Lopez posted a 2-2 mark at 125 while red-shirt freshman Scott Obendorfer went 1-2 with a pin 141. Redshirt freshman Austin Hoopes went 1-2 at 184.
LIONS BEGIN THE YEAR RANKED NO. 1 ACROSS THE BOARD
The Penn State Nittany Lions are ranked No. 1 in InterMat's Tournament Power Index (TPI). Eight Nittany Lions are ranked individually, including seven ranked in the top four. Sophomore Nick Lee, who placed fifth at 141 last year to become a true freshman All-American, begins the season ranked No. 4 at 141. Red-shirt freshman Brady Berge, who wrestled unattached in open tournaments, begins the season ranked No. 15 at 149. Senior defending NCAA Champion Jason Nolf is ranked No. 1 at 157. Junior defending NCAA Champion Vincenzo Joseph is ranked No. 1 at 165. Junior two-time finalist and '17 NCAA Champion Mark Hall is ranked No. 2 at 174. Senior Shakur Rasheed, who earned his first All-America honor with a seventh place finish at 197 last year, is ranked No. 4 at 184. Senior defending 184-pound NCAA Champion Bo Nickal is ranked No. 1 at 197. Senior heavyweight Nick Nevills, who earned his second All-America honor with a seventh place finish last year, is ranked No. 2 at 285. Penn State is also ranked No. 1 as a team (either TPI or dual) by every other major wrestling outlet. The Lions are also a unanimous No. 1 in the preseason NWCA Coaches Poll.
NATIONAL TV DATES SET FOR 2018-19 SEASON
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, winner of seven of the last eight NCAA titles, will have a bevy of games air nationally on the Big Ten Network and ESPN2 this season. All times listed are Eastern. Please note that all dates and times are subject to change. Penn State's home dual with Lehigh on Sunday, Dec. 2, will air nationally on the BTN. The dual will take place in Rec Hall and starts at 1:30 p.m. Arizona State comes to Penn State for a dual in Rec Hall on Friday, Dec. 14, for a 6 p.m. dual that will air live nationally on ESPN2. The 2018 BJC Dual against Michigan on Friday, Feb. 1, will air on the BTN. The dual in the 16,000-seat venue begins at 7 p.m. The Nittany Lions trek to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 8, at 8:30 p.m. and the dual will also air on the BTN. In addition, the Big Ten Network will air the Big Ten Championships live on Sunday, March 10. The entire two-day tournament will also stream live on BTN2go/BTN-Plus. ESPN and its family of networks will once again air the entire three-day NCAA Championships on March 23-25 from Pittsburgh's PPG Paints Arena. ESPN will announce details of its ever-expanding coverage later. All eight of Penn State's duals will stream live online as well. Check the Penn State wrestling schedule at GoPSUsports.com for a complete listing. BTN2go/BTN-Plus ($) and Lionvision (free) will be available for seven of the dates. ESPN typically streams much of its live ESPN/2/U contents as well and streaming of the PSU/ASU dual in December will be confirmed later.
FORMER LION GREAT DAVID TAYLOR A WORLD CHAMP!
Former Penn State wrestling great David Taylor roared through the world's best to win the 2018 World Championship at 86 kg. The four-time All-American, four-time NCAA finalist and two-time NCAA Champion went 5-0 in a two-day run in Budapest, Hungary, to win his first world championship. Taylor began his title run by going 4-0 on day one of the event. The former Nittany Lion opened up one of the tournament's toughest draws by downing former World and Olympic Champion Hassan Yazdanicharti of Iran 11-6. He then rolled to a 10-0 technical fall over Hajy Rajabau of Belarus. Taylor posted an 8-0 decision over Cuba's Yurieski Torreblanca in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Taylor met Russia's Dauren Kuruglieve and, after taking a kick to the head in the first period, fell behind 5-1. But in typical Taylor fashion, the former Lion roared back in the second period, reeling off six straight unanswered points to post a 7-5 victory and advance to Sunday's World Championship bout. Taylor, the tournament's No. 2 seed, met No. 1 seed Fatih Erdin of Turkey in the championship match. Taylor left no doubt to his dominance by bolting out to a quick 4-0 lead and rolling to a 12-2 technical fall over his Turkish opponent.
