Penn State topples Clarion 40-6 to finish 16-0
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – Penn State (16-0, 8-0 B1G) toppled Clarion (11-6) 40-6 on Sunday afternoon, closing out another unbeaten dual meet season. Penn State finished the year with a 16-0 overall record, marking the seventh time during head coach Cael Sanderson’s tenure that Penn State posted an undefeated dual meet mark (and the seventh time in the last eight years).
The dual meet began at 125 where redshirt freshman Gary Steen used second and third period takedowns to post a 5-1 win over Joey Fischer to give the Nittany Lions an early lead. Roman Bravo-Young, ranked No. 1 at 133, entertained the Nittany Lion home crowd one final time by pinning Clarion’s Mason Prinkey. Bravo-Young rolled up four takedowns before saying farewell to Rec Hall with the fall at 4:31.
Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 5 at 141, tallied five takedowns to post a 12-4 major over CU’s Seth Koleno (a Bald Eagle Area grad) to make it three straight for Penn State to start the dual. Redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 13 at 149, kept Penn State rolling with a 17-1 technical fall over Kyle Schickel. Van Ness finished off the tech with one second left in the middle stanza, getting it at 4:59. Redshirt freshman Levi Haines, ranked No. 8 at 157, closed out the first half with another bonus point victory for the Nittany Lions. Haines rolled up five takedowns and a handful of four-point turns to roll to an 18-3 tech fall over Trevor Elfvin at the 4:26 mark. Penn State led 23-0 at halftime.
Redshirt freshman Alex Facundo, the fourth freshman in Penn State’s line-up and ranked No. 9 at 165, kept the Nittany Lions rolling with a hard-fought 16-10 win over Clarion’s Cam Pine. Facundo’s victory gave PSU a 26-0 lead. Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 174, picked up Penn State’s third tech fall, picking up five takedowns and two four-point turns to roll to a 19-3 tech fall over John Worthing at the end of two periods (5:00).
Clarion picked up its only win of the dual where No. 21 Will Feldkamp pinned Donovon Ball at the 1:20 mark, cutting the Lion lead to 31-6. Senior Max Dean, ranked No. 3 at 197, entertained the Penn State faithful in Rec Hall one final time by picking up three early takedowns and rolling to a 9-5 win over Tyler Bagoly. Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 2 at 285, closed out the dual with Penn State’s second pin, getting the fall at 5:11 over Austin Chapman. Penn State capped off the 2023-23 dual season with a lopsided 40-6 victory.
The Nittany Lions rolled up a 40-4 advantage in takedowns. Penn State won nine of ten bouts and picked up 13 bonus points off two pins (Bravo-Young, Kerkvliet), three tech falls (Van Ness, Haines, Starocci) and a major (Bartlett).
Penn State now prepares for the 2023 Big Ten Championship, hosted by the University of Michigan. The NCAA qualifier for the conference, the two-day event takes place on Saturday and Sunday, March 4-5, in Ann Arbor, Mich.
#1 Penn State 40, Clarion 6
February 19, 2023 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
125: Gary Steen PSU dec. Joey Fischer CU, 5-1 3-0
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young PSU pinned Mason Prinkey CU, WBF (4:31) 9-0
141: #5 Beau Bartlett PSU maj. dec. Seth Koleno CU, 12-4 13-0
149: #13 Shayne Van Ness PSU tech fall Kyle Schickel CU, 17-1 (TF: 4:59) 18-0
157: #8 Levi Haines, PSU tech fall Trevor Elfvin CU, 18-3 (TF; 4:26) 23-0
165: #9 Alex Facundo PSU dec. Cam Pine CU, 16-10 26-0
174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU tech fall John Worthing CU, 19-3 (TF; 5:00) 31-0
184: No. 21 Will Feldkamp CU pinned Donovon Ball PSU, WBF (1:20) 31-6
197: #3 Max Dean PSU dec. Ty Bagoly CU, 9-5 34-6
285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet PSU pinned Austin Chapman CU, WBF (5:11) 40-6
Attendance: 6,545 (66th-straight sellout in Rec Hall; 75th in last 77 events, including 9 of 11 in BJC)
Records: Penn State (16-0, 8-0 B1G); Clarion (11-6)
Up Next for Penn State: 2023 Big Ten Championship, Saturday-Sunday, March 4-5, Ann Arbor, Mich.
