THIS WEEK'S ACTION:
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State (3-0, 0-0 B1G), ranked No. 1 on the InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI), returns home for the first time in a month when it hosts Oregon State (2-1) on Sunday, Dec. 11. The dual begins at 2 p.m. and will be an ESPNU national telecast from Rec Hall.
Penn State is coming off a 2-0 road swing last weekend. The Nittany Lions downed Rider 37-3 at CURE Arena last Friday night and then beat Lehigh 24-12 in front of a sold out Stabler Arena crowd on Sunday. The wins improved Penn State to 3-0 on the year.
Redshirt freshman Gary Steen brings a 4-3 overall mark at 125 into this weekend's action after picking up his first dual win as a Lion last Friday. Roman Bravo-Young is ranked No. 1 at 133 and is 2-0. Beau Bartlett is ranked No. 9 at 141 and is 7-0 and redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness is 6-0 and ranked No. 17 at 149. Terrell Barraclouhg is 5-2 and ranked No. 30 at 157. Redshirt freshman Alex Facundo is 6-0 and No. 15 at 165. Carter Starocci is 3-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 at 174 while Aaron Brooks is 2-0 at 184 and ranked No. 1 at as well. Max Dean is 5-2 and ranked No. 5 at 197 and Greg Kerkvliet is 3-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 at 285.
Oregon State is coming off an eighth place showing at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev., on Dec. 2-3.The Beaver line-up features seven ranked wrestlers. Brandon Kaylor is No. 12 at 125, Jason Shaner is No. 16 at 133, Matthew Oguin is No. 24 at 165, Aaron Olmos is No. 28 at 174, Trey Munos is No. 13 at 184 and Tanner Harvey is No. 11 at 197. Penn State leads the all-time series 2-0, including a 32-7 last year in Manheim on Nov. 13, 2021.
Penn State will head to New Orleans, La., for its next action, taking part in the Collegiate Wrestling Duals on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 19-20 at the Morial Convention Center. The Nittany Lions will face Central Michigan on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. and North Carolina at 9 p.m. (Eastern). Action at the event continues on the 20th.
All rankings listed are InterMat individual/InterMat TPI. 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 NITTANY LIONS (3-0, 0-0 B1G)
125 Gary Steen Fr. Hermitage, Pa./Reynolds 4-3
133 #1 Roman Bravo-Young Sr.+ Tucson, Ariz./Sunnyside 2-0
141 #9 Beau Bartlett Jr. Tempe, Ariz./Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) 7-0
149 #17 Shayne Van Ness Fr. Somerville, N.J./Blair Academy 6-0
157 #30 Terrell Barraclough Jr. Kaysville, Utah/Layton 5-2
165 #15 Alex Facundo Fr. Essexville, Mich./Davison 6-0
174 #1 Carter Starocci Jr. Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep 3-0
184 #1 Aaron Brooks Sr. Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown 2-0
197 #5 Max Dean Sr. Lowell, Mich./Lowell 5-2
285 #1 Greg Kerkvliet Jr. Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley 3-0
OREGON STATE BEAVERS (2-1)
125 #12 Brandon Kaylor Jr. Bonney Lake, Wash./Bonney Lake 13-3
133 #16 Jason Shaner Sr. Hood River, Ore./Hood River 12-3
141 #24 Cleveland Belton Jr. Corona, Calif./St. John Bosco 11-2
149 Hunter Eveland So. Corvallis, Ore./Crescent Valley 2-1
Noah Tolentino Fr. Poway, Calif./Poway 10-6
157 Graham Gambrall So. Iowa City, Iowa/West 6-8
165 #24 Matthew Olguin So. Fresno, Calif./Buchanan 16-2
174 #28 Aaron Olmos Sr. Imperial Beach, Calif./Mater Dei 4-2
Mason Christiansen So. Riverton, Utah/Bingham 6-4
184 #13 Trey Munoz So. Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills 12-1
197 #11 Tanner Harvey Gr. Elkton, Ore./Lowell 15-2
285 J.J. Dixon Jr. Tacoma, Wash./Lincoln 10-3
Brian Reyes Jr. Fresno, Calif./Clovis West 3-3
Individual Rankings listed are InterMat and Team Rankings are
Intermat Tournament Power Index (as of 12/6/22)
VAN NESS AND KERKVLIET PICK UP BONUS IN RANKED WINS AS LIONS TAME LEHIGH ON THE ROAD
Redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness notched a first period pin (2:28) over #26 Manzona Bryant IV and Greg Kerkvliet rolled to an 18-0 tech fall (4:01) over #22 Nathan Taylor as Penn State tamed Lehigh 24-12 for another road win. The Nittany Lions won six of ten bouts in the dual. Aaron Brooks beat #22 Tate Samuelson 8-3 and Beau Bartlett downed #30 Malyke Hines 8-4 as well.
VAN NESS DOWNS #24 KINNER AS LIONS ROLL AT RIDER
Penn State freshman Shayne Van Ness dominated #24 Quinn Kinner of Rider to lead the Nittany Lions to a lop-sided 37-3 road victory in New Jersey. The dual, wrestled in front of over 3,000 fans in Trenton's CURE Arena, featured nine Penn State wins. Freshman Gary Steen got his first Lion dual victory at 125, Donovon Ball picked up a dual win at 184 and the Lions had a pin and four majors to roll to the win.
STAROCCI, BROOKS, KERKVLIET DOMINATE AT NWCA ALL-STAR EXHIBITION.
Three Penn State Nittany Lions took part in the NWCA All-Star Exhibition on Nov. 22 in Austin, Tex. No. 1 Carter Starocci took on No. 2 Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech at 174 and rolled to a 2-0 win thanks to an escape and a strong third period rideout to clinch riding time. No. 1 Aaron Brooks rolled up five takedowns on his way to a convincing 11-8 win over No. 2 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa at 184. No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet posted a strong 8-5 win over No. 4 Tony Cassioppi of Iowa, using three takedowns and escape and a riding time point. The event was an exhibition and the results DO NOT COUNT AS WINS/LOSSES FOR ANY WRESTLER NOR TOWARDS RPIs.
MAX DEAN NAMED BLACK KNIGHT INVITE O.W., ONE OF FIVE PENN STATE CHAMPS
Max Dean rolled through the field at the 2022 Black Knight Invite at Army West Point on Nov. 20, going 4-0 with two pins and a tech, including a pin of #25 Trey Rogers of Hofstra in the finals. Dean was one of five Penn State champions at the event, joined by Beau Bartlett (141), Shayne Van Ness (149), Levi Haines (157) and Alex Facundo (165).
PENN STATE PLACES 11 OF 13 AT BLACK KNIGHT
The Nittany Lions took 13 wrestlers to the Black Knight Invite on Nov. 20 and, in addition to the five champions mentioned above, had 11 of its entrants place. Three Nittany Lions advanced to the finals before losing to teammates in a series of three all-PSU title bouts. David Evans took second at 141, Terrell Barraclough was second at 157 and Matt Lee was second at 165. Gary Steen took third at 125 and Donovon Ball was third at 184 while Lucas Cochran placed fifth at 197.
THREE FRESHMEN DEBUT IN PENN STATE'S 44-3 SEASON OPENING WIN OVER LOCK HAVEN
A trio of Penn State redshirt freshmen made their Nittany Lion debuts when Penn State downed visiting Lock Haven 44-3 on Nov. 11. Gary Steen (125), Shayne Van Ness (149) and Alex Facundo (165) all competed in their first Penn State duals in front of a sold out Rec Hall crowd. Shayne Van Ness pinned Connor Eck at the 6:32 mark in his first Lion bout while Alex Facundo tallied 13 takedowns in a 27-12 tech fall (5:35) over Aiden Gaughler. Steen dropped a tough 14-4 bout to #13 Anthony Noto. Penn State had three pins (Van Ness, Max Dean, Greg Kerkvliet), three tech falls (Facundo, Roman Bravo-Young, Aaron Brooks), two majors (Beau Bartlett, Carter Starocci), and Terrell Barraclough downed #28 Ashton Eyler 3-1 at 157.
8 OF 12 LIONS PLACE AT BEARCAT OPEN
Penn State sent 12 wrestlers to Binghamton University on Sunday, Nov. 13, for the Bearcat Open. Eight of the 12 Lions competing placed at the event. Connor Pierce led the way with a second place finish, going 4-0 but dropping the title bout to a non-collegiate entry in the finals. Konner Kraeszig took third at 174, Lucas Cochran took third at 197, David Evans took fifth at 141 (with three pins), Levi Haines took fifth at 157, Joe Lee took fifth at 165, Donovon Ball took fifth at 184 and Levko Higgins placed sixth at 197.
MILESTONES
Individual records and milestones that are in play as of now:
* 225 Career coaching wins (overall career)
Cael Sanderson, 222
* 100 Career Big Ten dual meet coaching wins
Cael Sanderson, 96
* 200 Career coaching wins at Penn State
Cael Sanderson, 178
PARKING INFO FOR 2022-23
Transportation Services has announced parking information for Penn State Wrestling duals at Rec Hall for the 2022-23 season.
GAMEDAY PARKING LOCATIONS
- Nittany Deck, West Deck
- Parking available beginning two hours before each game
Wrestling Parking Interactive Map: https://www.map.psu.edu/?id=1134#!ce/26623?ct/28859?s/
PARKING PAYMENT INFORMATION
- No charge with a valid Penn State parking permit
- Prepaid parking available through https://psu.parkmobile.io/rec-hall
- $5.50 through day before event, $10 day of event
- $25 season parking packages available through Nov. 10
- *Does not include BJC Dual events
BJC DUAL MATCHES
- Prepaid parking for BJC Dual matches will not be included in the season parking packages, and prepaid parking will need to be purchased for each match.
- Since the BJC Dual and Men's Ice Hockey game will overlap, parking in Jordan East and Stadium West is expected to sell out prior to these events, and additional parking areas will be made available if this occurs. More information will be released prior to the event.
PARKMOBILE PREPAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS
- Visit https://psu.parkmobile.io/rec-hall
- Select game or season package at the bottom of the page
- Select parking area
- Enter the license plate information for the vehicle being driven to the event
- Note: If a different vehicle must be driven than the one registered at purchase, users must contact ParkMobile Member Support through the ParkMobile website or app (Settings -- Chat Support) to request a vehicle change for that reservation.
- Purchase parking for the event
- Note:
- Guests must present their ParkMobile QR code to event parking staff on their mobile device, if requested. Printed permits from the ParkMobile website will also be accepted.
IMPORTANT PARKING REMINDERS
Head-in parking is required at the Nittany and West Decks.
A valid permit or payment is required in event parking areas 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Vehicles parked without a valid permit or payment may be ticketed and/or towed at the owner's expense.
Non-football event parking is managed by Penn State Transportation Services. For more information on parking for this event, please email parking@psu.edu or call 814-865-1436.
Mark Selders