UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State wrestling team is ready for the start of the 2018-19 season. Winners of seven of the last eight NCAA titles, the top-ranked Nittany Lions are once again looking to be the best team in the nation.
The Lineup
The Nittany Lions lost three starters from last season, but are confident in their replacements. 125-pound graduate transfer Carson Kuhn and 133-pound transfer Corey Keener have left a vacancy at the top of the lineup, and one of Penn State's greatest all-time wrestlers, 149 pounder Zain Retherford has left a large gap, but head coach Cael Sanderson is confident in this year's group.
On Sunday, Devin Schnupp will get the start at 125 pounds. Schnupp wrestled to a 1-14 record last season and will be battling with a group of freshmen for the starting spot.
"We're planning on wrestling Schnupp this weekend," Sanderson said. "Schnupp has put a great effort in this summer and has worked hard, but we have five months. For now, we're going to roll with Schnupp and see what he can do."
At 133 pounds Penn State will see a new face, freshman Roman Bravo-Young, a Tucson, Arizona native.
"He's been here since June, been home a few times, but he's done really well," Sanderson said. "He's very competitive, really an incredible athlete, great speed, he's got the tools but he's got the mindset as well to be very successful. I'm excited, he's going to be a lot of fun to watch. We'd like to have 10 of those guys where no one is going to leave their seat when he's about to come up because he's pretty special."
Nick Lee, who placed fifth at NCAAs after having his redshirt removed after the Southern Scuffle, adds an experienced presence to the top of the Penn State lineup. The sophomore finished last season 32-7 overall with an 8-1 record in duals and five pins.
This weekend redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren will get the start at 149 pounds, but throughout the season he'll be competing with redshirt freshman counterpart Brady Berge for the spot.
"That's a match that hasn't wrestled off yet," Sanderson said. "Both are very good wrestlers. Berge's probably not quite ready to wrestle-off. I think we'll probably see him for the first time at the Keystone Classic. Verkleeren is very good, he has gotten better and better. I'm excited to watch him wrestle, he's a fun wrestler to watch."
Berge won Bronze this summer wrestled in the Junior World Championships at 70 kilograms.
Sanderson says you can expect to see both leading up to the Southern Scuffle.
Penn State also returns two-time national champion and three-time All-American Jason Nolf. Nolf again will wrestle at 157 pounds after winning last year's title on an injured knee.
"Jason Nolf is one of a kind," Sanderson said. "What do you say about Jason Nolf. You watch him, him returning and winning a national title under the conditions that he did last year was nothing short of a miracle in my mind."
Sanderson says that Nolf's injury helped him get back to the basics, working more strategically and cautiously, but the senior is ready to get back to his high-flying ways.
"I agree with what he said," Nolf said. "It's a little bit boring to wrestle that way but it's what I had to do. Just learning to wrestle in different situations and facing different adversity."
Redshirt junior Vincenzo Joseph will be Penn State's starter at 165 pounds. The two-time national champion was the first Nittany Lion to ever win a national championship in his freshman and sophomore year.
Along with Bo Nickal and Jason Nolf, the trio is trying to join Ed Ruth and Zain Retherford as Penn State's only three-time champions.
Junior Mark Hall will start at 174 pounds for Penn State. Last year's runner-up and the 2017 national champion took the summer off from competition to improve.
"I'm just going to try and put my best self out there every time," Hall said. "I've been working on a lot of things throughout the summer, especially with not competing. I didn't really have any obligations."
The final three spots of the Penn State lineup look a bit different from last year.
Last year's 197-pound starter, Shakur Rasheed, who put together an All-American NCAA tournament will wrestle at 184 pounds this year.
"The biggest challenge is what I've always struggled with and that's just staying healthy," Rasheed said. "Other than that, I'm going to win a national title. I just do what my coaches tell me to do and continue to improve."
Last season, Rasheed battled with teammate Anthony Cassar for the starting nod after wrestling at 165 pounds in the 2015-16 season.
One of Penn State's most exciting wrestlers to watch, two-time national champion Bo Nickal jumps to 197 pounds after wrestling at 184 pounds the last two seasons.
"I didn't really think about it until the summer," Nickal said. "It was kind of a team decision that I sat down and talked with a lot of people about."
Nickal is excited for the opportunity to compete against new faces.
"I like competing against new guys, being able to wrestle some new faces because when you wrestle the same guys all the time it gets old," Nickal said. "They just try to hold you off. I'm excited to have some new competition."
According to Sanderson, Anthony Cassar will get the start on Sunday at heavyweight but will continue to work for the spot with last year's starter Nick Nevills.
"We have two very good heavyweights," Sanderson said. "Anthony Cassar is big and strong and very much committed, he always has been. We feel like we have two heavyweights there that are two of the best in the country. We'll see how that plays out as that goes along here."
First Match
The Nittany Lions host No. 24 Kent State to open the season at 2 pm on Sunday.
