Penn State dominates Indiana 35-8 for road win
BLOOMINGTON, IND – The Penn State (13-0, 6-0 B1G) Nittany Lion wrestling team dominated homestanding Indiana (7-3, 3-3 B1G) 35-8 for another Big Ten road win Sunday afternoon. Penn State junior Carter Starocci handled Indiana’s D.J. Washington at 174 and Nittany Lions Beau Bartlett and Max Dean picked up pins in the victory.
The dual meet began at 125 where sophomore Marco Vespa lost a 17-2 technical fall (4:48) against Jacob Moran. Baylor Shunk made his season debut at 133 for Penn State and took No. 29 Henry Porter to the limit before dropping a 9-7 (sv) decision in extra time. Indiana took an early 8-0 lead. Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 5 at 141, quickly cut into the lead with a fast fall over Cayden Rooks. Bartlett moved in quickly, took Rooks down, moved to a cradle and pinned the Hoosier in just 0:12 seconds.
Freshman Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 13 at 149, then put Penn State on top for good. Van Ness dominated No. 30 Graham Rooks, tallying six takedowns and a four-point turn to post the 17-5 major decision. His win put the Nittany Lions up 10-8. True freshman Levi Haines, ranked No. 9 at 157, notched the only three takedowns of the bout in his 8-2 win over IU junior Derek Gilcher. Haines’ strong performance gave the Nittany Lions a 13-8 lead at intermission.
Freshman Alex Facundo, ranked No. 8 at 165, tallied eight takedowns in a 20-9 major decision over IU’s Robert Major to start the second half. Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 174, increased Penn State’s lead with a convincing 11-3 major decision over No. 15 D.J. Washington. Starocci rolled up two takedowns, two stall points and 1:33 in riding time in the convincing win to give the Lions a 21-8 lead.
Donovon Ball took the mat at 184 and continued Penn State’s winning ways. Ball worked his way to four takedowns in a 10-3 win to put the Nittany Lions up 24-8. Max Dean, ranked No. 4 at 197, picked up his second pin of the weekend with a first period fall (1:29) over Drayton Harris. Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 2 at 285, closed out the scoring portion of the dual meet with a dominant win over No. 28 Jacob Bullock. Kerkvliet turned Bullock three times for four points in a rousing 16-0 technical fall (3:59). Kerkvliet’s win set Penn State’s final margin at 35-8.
The Nittany Lions rolled up a 27-10 takedown advantage in the dual meet. Penn State, winning the dual’s final eight bouts, picked up 11 bonus points off two pins (Bartlett, Dean), a tech fall (Kerkvliet) and three majors (Van Ness, Facundo, Starocci).
Two extra matches were conducted after the scoring portion of the dual (official NCAA bouts that do not count towards dual meet score). Both were wrestled at 157. Penn State 141-pounder David Evans moved up two weights to take on IU’s Luke Baughman at 157 and came away with a strong 6-2 win. Nittany Lion Terrell Barraclough then met IU 157 pounder Mason Alley and walked away with a 17-4 major decision.
The Nittany Lions are now 13-0 overall, 6-0 B1G. Indiana falls to 7-3, 3-3 B1G. Penn State will hit the road for a third straight conference dual next Friday, Feb. 10, when it visits Rutgers at 7 p.m. Two days later, the Nittany Lions return to Rec Hall to host Maryland on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 1 p.m.
#1 Penn State 35, Indiana 8
February 5, 2023 – Bloomington, Ind.
125: Jacob Moran IND tech fall Marco Vespa PSU, 17-2 (TF; 4:48) 0-5
133: #29 Henry Porter IND dec. Baylor Shunk PSU, 9-7 (sv) 0-8
141: #5 Beau Bartlett PSU pinned Cayden Rooks IND, WBF (0:12) 6-8
149: #13 Shayne Van Ness PSU maj. dec. #30 Graham Rooks IND, 17-5 10-8
157: #9 Levi Haines PSU dec. Derek Gilcher IND, 8-2 13-8
165: #8 Alex Facundo PSU maj. dec. Robert Major IND, 20-9 17-8
174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU maj. dec. #15 D.J. Washington IND, 11-3 21-8
184: Donovon Ball PSU dec. Clayton Fielden IND, 10-3 24-8
197: #4 Max Dean PSU pinned Drayton Harris IND, WBF (1:29) 30-8
285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet PSU tech fall #28 Jacob Bullock IND, 16-0 (TF; 3:59) 35-8
Extra Matches (official NCAA bouts, do not count in dual meet score):
149: David Evans PSU dec. Luke Baughman IND, 6-2
157: Terrell Barraclough PSU maj. dec. Mason Alley IND, 17-4
