UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0, 2-0 B1G), ranked No. 3 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index, will head directly to Madison, Wis., to get ready for a dual with the Wisconsin Badgers (1-3, 1-3 B1G) on Tuesday, Feb. 2. Please note that InterMat rankings listed are as of 1/26/21, with new rankings due on the day of this dual meet.
The dual was to be part of a tri-meet at Michigan on Feb. 7, but the Wolverines have paused all athletic activities. With Penn State in Chicago after winning two duals at Northwestern, the team will now head to Madison to take on the Badgers on Tuesday afternoon at 5 p.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. Central (local).
Penn State is 2-0 on the year after winning two duals at Northwestern yesterday. The Lions beat Indiana 24-15 and downed host Northwestern 29-13 in the tri-meet's finale.
The Nittany Lions had six wrestlers go 2-0 in its duals last weekend in Evanston. Junior Roman Bravo-Young went 2-0 at 133 with a decision and a pin; senior Nick Lee went 2-0 with a technical fall and a major at 141; junior Brady Berge went 2-0 with two decisions at 157; freshman Joe Lee made his Lion dual debut at 165 with two decisions; sophomore Aaron Brooks was 2-0 at 184 with a major and a tech fall; and sophomore Seth Nevills went 2-0 at 285 with a pin and a tech fall. Freshman Carter Starocci went 2-1 on the day, splitting his dual action and picking up a tech in the extra bouts at 174.
Wisconsin is 1-3 on the season, having lost a close dual at Nebraska this afternoon, falling to the Cornhuskers 21-15. The Badgers also fell to Illinois and Ohio State earlier in the season and own a victory over Purdue. Wisconsin is being led by Lehigh-transfer Chris Weiler, who is unbeaten at 184 and is ranked No. 11 by InterMat.
Penn State owns a 17-8 lead in the all-time series with the Badgers, including the last eight straight. Penn State won 29-10 on Feb. 7, 2020 in Madison last season and also won the last match-up in Happy Valley, a 24-13 victory on Jan. 13, 2019.
Penn State's next schedule dual meet is on Friday, Feb. 12, when the Lions welcome Iowa to Rec Hall. The dual is set for 9 p.m. Eastern and will air live on the Big Ten Network.
The Big Ten released its schedule on New Year's Eve day. Every Big Ten team will host three dual meets and each team will compete only against conference opponents, totalling nine duals. Penn State will host the 2021 Big Ten Championships on Saturday and Sunday, March 6-7. The 2021 NCAA Championships will take place on March 18-20 in the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo.
All dates, including the post-season, are subject to change. Start times and television broadcast designations for wrestling events will be released at a later date. Under current Big Ten guidance, public tickets will not be sold for 2020-21 Penn State wrestling home matches.
All rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat TPI as of Jan. 12, 2021. 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.
#3 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (2-0, 2-0 B1G)
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 Baylor Shunk R-Fr. Centre Hall, Pa./Penns Valley 0-0
Robert Howard Fr. Cranford, N.J./Bergen Catholic 0-0
133 #3 Roman Bravo-Young Jr. Tucson, Ariz./Sunnyside 2-0
141 #2 Nick Lee Sr. Evansville, Ind./Home schooled 2-0
141/149 Beau Bartlett Fr. Tempe, Ariz./Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) 3-0
149 #10 Jarod Verkleeren Jr. Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield 0-2
149 Terrell Barraclough R-Fr. Kaysville, Utah/Layton 1-1
149 Luke Gardner Sr. Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville 2-0
149/157 Bo Pipher Sr. Paonia, Colo./Paonia 0-1
157 #11 Brady Berge Jr. Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville 2-0
165 #6 Joe Lee R-Fr. Evansville, Ind./Mater Dei 2-0
165/174 Mason Manville So. Lorton, Va./Wyoming Seminary 0-0
174 #5 Carter Starocci Fr. Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep 2-1
174 Creighton Edsell So. Wyalusing, Pa./Wyalusing 3-0
184 #3 Aaron Brooks So. Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown 2-0
197 #13 Michael Beard R-Fr. Pottstown, Pa./Malvern Prep 0-0
285 #5 Greg Kerkvliet R-Fr. Grove Heights, Minn./Simley 0-0
Seth Nevills So. Clovis, Calif./Clovis 2-0
Rankings listed are InterMat Indiv./Team Ranking InterMat TPI (1/26/21)
** PLEASE NOTE NEW RANKINGS ARE EXPECTED ON THE DAY OF COMPETITION **
THIS WEEK
#3 Penn State (2-0, 2-0 B1G) will take on Wisconsin (1-3, 1-3 B1G) in a single dual in Madison, Wis. The event was to be part of a tri-meet at Michigan but the Wolverines have paused all athletics. The dual is set for Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 5 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Central/Local).
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions welcome the Iowa Hawkeyes to Rec Hall on Friday, Feb. 12, for a dual meet set to start at 9 p.m. that will air nationally on the Big Ten Network.
ON THE AIR
TV - None
Radio - WRSC (93.3 FM) or, occasionally, WQWK (103.7 FM)
Radio online - Free all year via Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com
Live Web Video - B1G Network+
NOTES:
NITTANY LIONS ROUT #16 NORTHWESTERN TO CLOSE OUT TRI-DUAL IN EVANSTON.
Penn State won seven of ten bouts to roll through No. 16 Northwestern in the final dual at a tri-meet in Evanston on Jan. 30, grabbing a 29-13 victory. Carter Starocci picked up his first dual win as a Nittany Lion at 174 and classmate Joe Lee capped off a 2-0 debut day with another win at 165. Roman Bravo-Young notched a pin at 133 and Nick Lee grabbed a major at 141. Brady Berge notched a decision at 157. Aaron Brooks (184) and Seth Nevills (285) both picked up tech falls to close out the action.
LIONS TAKE DOWN INDIANA 24-15 IN SEASON OPENER
The Penn State Nittany Lions won six of ten bouts in the season opener against Indiana, posting a 24-15 victory in the first dual at a tri-meet hosted by Northwestern on Jan. 30. Frsehman Joe Lee picked up a win at 165 in his Lion dual debut. Roman Bravo-Young notched a win at 133, Nick Lee got a tech fall at 141, Brady Berge posted a decision at 157, Aaron Brooks opened his season with a major at 184 and Seth Nevills capped off the dual with a pin at 285.
PENN STATE PICKS UP 13 WINS IN TRI-MEET EXTRA BOUTS
Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad took advantage of a day of wrestling in Evanston, Ill., as the squad totalled 13 wins in extra bouts wrestled during the Penn State/Indiana/Northwestern tri-meet on Jan. 30. Penn State went 13-3 overall during extra action, going 7-0 against Indiana and 6-3 vs. Northwestern. True freshman Beau Bartlett went 3-0 at 141 in the first action of his collegiate career. Sophomore Konner Kraeszig went 3-0 at 165 and sophomore Creighton Edsell went 3-0 at 174. Luke Gardner went 2-0 at 149 and Terrell Barraclough picked up a win at 149 as well.
PENN STATE'S DUAL WITH WISCONSIN MOVED TO FEB. 2 AS TRI-MEET AT MICHIGAN POSTPONED
The University of Michigan paused all athletics activities on Jan. 23 for two weeks, postponing Penn State's tri-meet at Michigan which would have features a dual with Wisconsin. The Penn State/Wisconsin dual is now set for Tuesday, Feb. 2, at Wisconsin. The match-up will begin at 5 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Central (local).
PENN STATE'S FIRST TWO DUALS POSTPONED
On Wednesday, Jan. 13, Penn State wrestling paused all team-related activities due to positive COVID-19 results among Tier 1 personnel. Due to the pause, the Nittany Lions' match at Rutgers scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 16, was postponed. The next weekend, the home opener against Michigan State was postponed. The Big Ten conference will work to reschedule both dual meets.
NITTANY LIONS RANKED #3 ON INTERMAT'S TPI; NINE INDIVIDUALS RANKED AS WELL
The Penn State Nittany Lions are ranked No. 3 on InterMat's Tournament Power Index (TPI) and have nine wrestlers ranked by InterMat, all in the top 13. Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young heads into the opener ranked No. 3 at 133 and senior Nick Lee is ranked No. 2 at 141. Junior Jarod Verkleeren is ranked No. 10 at 149 and sophomore Brady Berge is No. 11 at 157. Redshirt freshman Joe Lee is ranked No. 6 at 165 while classmate Carter Starocci is ranked No. 5 at 174. Sophomore Aaron Brooks heads into the campaign ranked No. 3 at 184. Redshirt freshman Michael Beard is ranked No. 13 at 197 and redshirt freshman Greg Kerkvliet is ranked No. 5 at 285.
PENN STATE HAS FIVE DUALS LIVE NATIONALLY ON THE BIG TEN NETWORK; ALL OTHERS ON B1GN+
The Penn State Nittany Lions will be featured on the Big Ten Network five times with its other four duals streaming live on B1GN+. Penn State's dual at Rutgers, it's Feb. 7 dual at Michigan, the Feb. 7 home battle with Iowa, the Feb. 19 match-up at Ohio State and the Feb. 21 home finale with Maryland will all air live nationally on the network. The Feb. 21 dual could be moved to Monday, Feb. 22, for live broadcast as well. The duals with Michigan State on Jan. 24, at Northwestern and vs. Indiana on Jan. 30 and vs. Wisconsin at Michigan on Feb. 7 will stream live on B1GN+.
