NEW ORLEANS, La.; Dec. 19, 2022 – Penn State (5-0, 0-0 B1G) rolled up seven pins against Central Michigan (0-3) to post a 50-3 win in its first dual meet at the 2022 Collegiate Duals. The Nittany Lions dominated the Chippewas in day one of the event, held at the Morial Convention Center, winning the dual's final nine bouts, all by pin or major. The Lions are set to take on No. 24 North Carolina immediately following the CMU dual.
Redshirt freshman Gary Steen lost 5-4 to Anthony Walker at 125 to start the dual, giving CMU an early 3-0 lead. Penn State flexed its muscles. Roman Bravo-Young got things started at 133, starting a string of four straight pins. Bravo-Young pinned Vince Perez in the first period, getting the fall at the 2:07 mark. Beau Bartlett followed suit at 141, pinning Jimmy Nugent at 4:09 in the second stanza to give the Nittany Lions an 12-3 lead.
Shayne Van Ness took Johnny Lovett in a marquee match-up at 149 and made short work of the ranked Chippewa. Van Ness, ranked No. 17, pinned Lovett, ranked No. 20, at the 4:47 mark in the second period to give the Lions an 18-3 lead. True freshman Levi Haines made his Nittany Lion dual debut against No. 31 Corbyn Munson and notched Penn State's fourth straight fall, pinning the ranked Chippewa in the first period at the 1:38 mark. Penn State led 24-3 at the dual's midway point.
Alex Facundo rolled up seven takedowns in a 16-7 major over Tracy Hubbard at 165 to continue Penn State's winning ways. Carter Starocci then began a string of three falls by pinning Alex Cramer in the first period, getting the fall at the 2:21 mark. Aaron Brooks notched another first period pin at 184, taking Ben Cushman to his back for the fall at 1:18. Max Dean then notched Penn State's seventh pin of the dual meet at 197. Dean pinned Cam Wood in the second period, getting the fall at 3:21. Seth Nevills made his season dual debut for Penn State at 285 and finished off the 50-3 dual meet victory with a strong 17-6 major over Bryan Caves.
Penn State won the takedown battle 28-4. The Nittany Lions rolled up a whopping 23 bonus points. The Nittany Lions had seven pins (Bravo-Young, Bartlett, Van Ness, Haines, Starocci, Brooks, Dean) and two majors (Facundo, Nevills). All nine Lion wins were for bonus. The Nittany Lions also won both extra bouts (official matches but not counting towards the dual meet score). Donovon Ball majored Logan Badge 12-3 at 184 and Lucas Cochran pinned Cade Dallwitz at the 2:30 mark at 197.
The Nittany Lions are now 5-0 on the year while Central Michigan falls to 0-3. Penn State will battle North Carolina on Monday, Dec. 19, at 9 p.m. Eastern, immediately following this action with the Chippewas. The event continues on Tuesday, Dec. 20, with match-ups and times to be determined.
The 2022-23 Penn State Wrestling season is presented 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.
#1 Penn State 50, Central Michigan 3
December 19, 2022 – Morial Convention Center – New Orleans, La.
125: Anthony Walker CMU dec. Gary Steen PSU, 5-4 0-3
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young PSU pinned Vince Perez CMU, WBF (2:07) 6-3
141: #5 Beau Bartlett PSU pinned Jimmy Nugent CMU, WBF (4:09) 12-3
149: #17 Shayne Van Ness PSU pinned #20 Johnny Lovett CMU, WBF (4:47) 18-3
157: Levi Haines PSU pinned #31 Corbyn Munson CMU, WBF (1:38) 24-3
165: #14 Alex Facundo PSU maj. dec. Tracy Hubbard CMU, 16-7 28-3
174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU pinned Alex Cramer CMU, WBF (2:21) 34-3
184: #1 Aaron Brooks PSU pinned Ben Cushman CMU, WBF (1:18) 40-3
197: #5 Max Dean PSU pinned Cam Wood CMU, WBF (3:21) 46-3
285: Seth Nevills PSU maj. dec. Bryan Caves CMU, 17-6 50-3
Extra bouts (official collegiate results-do not count in dual score):
184: Donovon Ball PSU maj. dec. Logan Badge CMU, 12-3
197: Lucas Cochran pinned Cade Dallwitz CMU, WBF (2:30)
Records: Penn State (5-0, 0-0 B1G); Central Michigan (0-3)
Up Next for Penn State: vs. No. 24 North Carolina, tonight (12/19/22), 9 p.m.
DUAL MEET BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: Gary Steen took on Anthony Walker at 125. Steen set the tempo on offense early, forcing a first stall warning on Walker at the 1:45 mark. The match continued in neutral as the clock moved below the 1:00 mark as Steen continued to set up his offense. The Nittany Lion freshman fought off a first shot from Walker and then nearly scored on a counter effort, but action moved out of bounds with :40 on the clock. Tied 0-0 after one, Walker chose down to start the second stanza and escaped to a 1-0 lead. Walker countered a Steen shot and took the Lion down for the bout's firs takedown with 1:16 left in the period, opening up a 3-0 lead. Steen escaped quickly to a 3-1 score and went to work as the clock moved below 1:00. Steen forced a good scramble with a low shot, but Walker scrambled his way out of trouble to maintain his lead. Steen forced a second stall, picking up the point and cutting the lead to 3-2 in the final seconds of the period. Trailing by one, Steen chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 3-3 tie. Walker worked his way in on a high shot at 1:20 and finished off the takedown to open up a 5-3 lead on the Lion freshman. Steen quickly escaped to a 5-4 score and turned in on offense, looking for a go-ahead takedown with 1:05 left in the bout. Steen snagged a low single with :10 left, and Steen appeared to scramble his way to a go-ahead takedown, but none was called. The Penn State corner challenged the call as the clock expired but the call on the mat stood and Steen lost 5-4.
133: Roman Bravo-Young, ranked No. 1 at 133, met Vince Perez. Bravo-Young took Perez down quickly to open up a 2-0 lead and cut him loose at the 2:20 mark. Bravo-Young added a second takedown seconds later and led 4-2, then a third to lead 6-3 after cutting Perez loose at 1:15. Bravo-Young collared Perez as the clock moved to the 1:00 mark, locked him up and turned him to his back. He settled in chest-to-chest and finished off the first period pin at the 2:07 mark.
141: Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 5 at 141, took on Jimmy Nugent. Bartlett paced the center of the mat early, working his offense over the first minute. He worked a single into a takedown midway through the period and took a 2-0 lead. He worked his riding time up to over a minute and added four late near fall points to lead 6-0 after one. Nugent chose neutral to star the second period and Bartlett made him pay. The Lion locked his shoulders and turned him to his back in the opening seconds of the period. He spent the next :30-plus working Nugent's shoulders flat and notched the second period pin at the 4:09 mark.
149: Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 17 at 149, battled No. 20 Johnny Lovett in one of the dual's marque match-ups. Van Ness came out and set a fast tempo on offense, forcing Lovett into defense and notching the first takedown at the 1:58 mark. He spent the rest of the period working from the top position. He forced two stall calls and led 3-0 after one. Lovett neutral to start the second period and Van Ness quickly took him down for a 5-0 lead. He cut Lovett loose, took him down again and picked up another stall point to lead 8-1. Van Ness, dominating the action, built his riding time up to nearly 3:00, picked up a fourth stall and led 10-1 after two penalty points. He then worked Lovett's shoulders to the mat on the outside circle and picked up the pin at the 4:47 mark.
157: Levi Haines made his Penn State dual meet debut at 157 and met No. 31 Corbyn Munson. He took the Chippewa down early and turned him to his back for four back points before cutting him loose to a 6-1 score. Haines continued to press on offense, took Munson down once more and rolled the Chippewa to his back. He settled in and picked up the first period fall, his first as a collegian, at the 1:38 mark.
165: Alex Facundo, ranked No. 14 at 165, met Tracy Hubbard. Facundo scored early, taking Hubbard down and cutting him loose for an early 2-1 lead. The Lion freshman paced the middle of the mat against the fifth-year senior and picked up a second takedown at the period's midway point to lead 4-2 after a Hubbard escape. Facundo worked his way in on a high single at the :30 mark but Hubbard was able to force a stalemate and Facundo settled for a 4-2 lead after the first period. Facundo chose down to start the second period and steadily worked his way to his feet and an escape with 1:25 on the clock. Leading 5-2, Facundo went to work on offense. He used a slick duck-under at the 1:00 mark to open up a 7-2 lead and cut the Chippewa loose. He slid down to a low double as Hubbard looked to slide out of bounds and picked up another takedown to lead 9-4 after cutting him loose again. His relentless pressure forced a stall warning, and he added another takedown as the period ended to lead 11-4. Hubbard chose down to start the third period and Facundo went to work on top. He built his riding time up to :50 before cutting Hubbard loose then quickly too him down to lead 13-5. With his riding time over 1:00, Facundo cut Hubbard loose on a reset. Facundo continued his takedown show, tacking on one more takedown as the bout ended. Facundo picked up another point on 1:26 riding time and rolled to a 16-7 major decision.
174: Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 174, took on Alex Cramer. Starocci notched the bout's first takedown less than a minute in and led 2-1 after a cut. He continued to pressure on offense and turned a low single into a takedown as Cramer tried to flee the mat, opening up a 4-2 lead after cutting him loose on the reset. Starocci picked up a third takedown and then locked up a cradle. Starocci finished off the bout with a first period pin, getting the fall at the 2:21 mark.
184: Aaron Brooks, ranked No. 1 at 184, met Ben Cushman. Brooks set a fast tempo to start the match. The Lion junior took Cushman down early and cut him loose to a 2-1 score. Back to work on offense, Brooks turned a solid single into a second takedown and went to work on top. The Lion built up a small time edge before looking to let Cushman up. He then quickly moved in on a cradle as Cushman went to escape, locked it up and picked up the first period fall at the 1:18 mark.
197: Max Dean, ranked No. 5 at 197, battled Cam Wood. Dean took Wood down quickly, opening up a 2-1 lead after a quick cut. He turned a fast shot into a second takedown after action returned to neutral and then turned the Chippewa for four back points to open up an 8-1 lead at the :20 mark. Leading 8-1, Dean chose down to start the second period. Dean quickly escaped to a 9-1 score and went back to work on his feet. He bulled through a double and notched a third takedown to lead 11-1. Dean went to work on top and worked the Chippewa to his back once more and ended the bout with a fall at the 3:21 mark.
285: Seth Nevills made his first appearance of the season for Penn State, stepping in at 285 to take on Bryan Caves. Nevills took Caves down early and went to work on top. The Nittany Lion big man then put together a dominant ride. He turned Caves for two back points, reset himself and turned him for four more before cutting him loose to an 8-1 lead. Nevills added a late takedown and carried a 10-1 lead with 2:32 in riding time into the second period. Nevills chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to an 11-1 lead. The duo worked neutral for the bulk of the second period and Nevills' escape the lone score of the middle period. Caves chose down to start the third, escaped and then notched a quick takedown to cut Nevills' lead to 11-4. Nevills escaped quickly and moved in on offense, picking up a penalty point on a second Caves stall as the Chippewa fled the mat. Caves added a second takedown, but Nevills quickly got to his feet, escaped and took the Chippewa down one final time. He finished the bout on top and, with 1:47 in riding time, rolled to the 17-6 major decision.
