TODAY'S ACTION
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0, 3-0 B1G), ranked No. 3 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index, will take on No. 2 Michigan (3-0, 3-0 B1G) in a battle of two of the nation's top squads on Sunday, Feb. 14 The dual was rescheduled from its original date two weeks ago and begins at 11:00 a.m.
The dual will air nationally on the Big Ten Network. Michigan hosts Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 12, post-press.
Penn State will enter the weekend with a 3-0 mark and has not wrestled since Feb. 2. The Lions went 3-0 on a five-day swing through the Midwest that saw them down Indiana, Northwestern and Wisconsin by a combined score of 87-34. Head coach Cael Sanderson's crew is being led by a trio of returning All-Americans. Two-time All-American Roman Bravo-Young is 3-0 at 133 witih a pin; three-time All-American Nick Lee is 3-0 at 141 with two technical falls and a major; and All-American Aaron Brooks is 3-0 at 184 with a technical fall and two majors. Junior Brady Berge is 3-0 at 157 with a major; freshman Joe Lee is 3-0 at 165 with a major; freshman Carter Starocci is 3-1 at 174; freshman Michael Beard is 1-0 with a tech at 197; and sophomore Seth Nevills is 3-0 at 285 with a technical fall and a pin.
Penn State has nine ranked wrestlers in the latest InterMat rankings: Bravo-Young, #3 at 133; Nick Lee, #2 at 141; Jarod Verkleeren, #19 at 149; Brady Berge, #9 at 157; Joe Lee, #6 at 165; Carter Starocci, #8 at 174; Aaron Brooks, #3 at 184; Michael Beard, #14 at 197; and Seth Nevills, #7 at 285.
Michigan will enter this weekend with an identical 3-0 mark, coming off a two-week pause. The Wolverines host Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 12, post-press. Michigan opened its season with wins over Rutgers (26-10), Maryland (38-3) and Indiana (32-6). Michigan has nine ranked wrestlers: Dylan Ragusin, #8 at 125; Stevan Micic, #2 at 133; Drew Mattin, #20 at 141; Kanen Storr, #6 at 149; Will Lewan, #8 at 157; Cameron Amine, #16 at 165; Logan Massa, #2 at 174; Myles Amine, #1 at 184; and Mason Parris, #2 at 285.
Penn State owns a 32-24 lead in the all-time series between the two schools. The Nittany Lions have won nine straight, including the last meeting, a 25-11 victory in the Bryce Jordan Center on Feb. 1, 2019. Penn State also won the last match-up in Ann Arbor, a 25-12 win on Jan. 12, 2018.
The Nittany Lions will visit Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 19 and host Maryland on Monday, Feb. 22, next weekend.
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 (3-0, 3-0 B1G)
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 3-0
141 #2 Nick Lee Sr. Evansville, Ind./Home schooled 3-0
141/149 Beau Bartlett Fr. Tempe, Ariz./Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) 4-0
149 #19 Jarod Verkleeren Jr. Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield 0-2
149 Terrell Barraclough R-Fr. Kaysville, Utah/Layton 2-1
149 Luke Gardner Sr. Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville 3-0
149/157 Bo Pipher Sr. Paonia, Colo./Paonia 1-1
157 #9 Brady Berge Jr. Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville 3-0
165 #6 Joe Lee R-Fr. Evansville, Ind./Mater Dei 3-0
165/174 Mason Manville So. Lorton, Va./Wyoming Seminary 0-0
174 #8 Carter Starocci Fr. Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep 3-1
174 Creighton Edsell So. Wyalusing, Pa./Wyalusing 4-0
184 #3 Aaron Brooks So. Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown 3-0
197 #14 Michael Beard R-Fr. Pottstown, Pa./Malvern Prep 1-0
285 #7 Seth Nevills So. Clovis, Calif./Clovis 3-0
Greg Kerkvliet R-Fr. Grove Heights, Minn./Simley 0-0
Rankings listed are InterMat Indiv./Team Ranking InterMat TPI (2/9/21)
THIS WEEK
#3 Penn State (3-0, 3-0 B1G) will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on the #2 Michigan (*3-0, 3-0 B1G) in a battle of two of the nation's top squads on Sunday, Feb. 14 The dual was rescheduled from its original date two weeks ago and begins at 11:00 a.m. *Michigan hosts Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 12, post-press.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will visit Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 19, in a Big Ten Network telecast and then host Maryland on Monday, Feb. 22, in another B1G Network dual.
ON THE AIR
TV - Big Ten Network
Radio - WRSC (93.3 FM) or, occasionally, WQWK (103.7 FM)
Radio online - Free all year via Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com
Live Web Video - none
PENN STATE'S HOME DUAL VS. IOWA POSTPONED DUE TO COVID ISSUES WITHIN IOWA'S PROGRAM
Penn State's home dual meet with Iowa scheduled for Feb. 12 has been postponed due to Covid issues within the Iowa program.
PENN STATE'S HOME DUAL WITH MARYLAND OFFICIALLY MOVED TO MONDAY, FEB. 22, FOR B1G Net!
Penn State's home dual with Maryland has officially been moved to Monday, Feb. 22, in order to air live on the Big Ten Network. The dual meet with the Terrapins is set for 6 p.m. and airs nationally on the B1G Network.
BROOKS MAJORS #10 WEILER AND BEARD SHINES IN DEBUT AS PENN STATE WINS AT WISCONSIN
Sophomore Aaron Brooks took care of #10 Chris Weiler of Wisconsin in a marquee match-up at 184 to lead Penn State to a 34-6 win in Madison on Feb. 2. The Lions won all nine contested bouts and went 4-0 in extra matches to go 13-0 in live action and 13-1 overall (giving up a forfeit at 125). True freshman Michael Beard made his collegiate debut in fine fashion as well, posting an 18-2 technical fall over Andrew Salemme at the 4:43 mark. Beard tallied four takedowns, three two-point turns and a four-point tilt to grab the win.
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. Freshman 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. 19 at 149 and sophomore Brady Berge is No. 9 at 157. Redshirt freshman Joe Lee is ranked No. 6 at 165 while classmate Carter Starocci is ranked No. 8 at 174. Sophomore Aaron Brooks heads into the campaign ranked No. 3 at 184. Redshirt freshman Michael Beard is ranked No. 14 at 197 and sophomore Seth Nevills is ranked No. 7 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+.
Big Ten Announces 2020-21 Wrestling Schedule; Penn State to Face Nine Conference Opponents
The Big Ten Conference announced the 2020-21 wrestling schedule this afternoon and the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team now knows who it is facing in the upcoming season. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad will take on nine Big Ten opponents in five traditional dual meets and two tri-meets.
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.
MILESTONES
Individual records and milestones that are in play as of now:
* 100 Career victories
Nick Lee, 86
* 200 Career coaching wins (overall career)
Cael Sanderson, 199
* 100 Career Big Ten coaching wins
Cael Sanderson, 85
* 175 Career coaching wins at Penn State
Cael Sanderson, 155
