Penn State Wrestlers Head to Army For Black Knight; Six All-Americans Set for NWCA All-Star Exhibition
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA- Penn State wrestling (0-0, 0-0 B1G) has two events slated in the coming days. Head coach Cael Sanderson will take his quad to the Black Knight Invite, hosted by Army West Point, on Sunday, Nov. 19. In addition to the team travelling to West Point, N.Y., six Nittany Lions will take part in the NWCA All-Star Classic Exhibition on Tuesday, Nov. 21, in Rec Hall.
The event is not a collegiate event, does not count on wrestlers’ records or RPI and is not part of Penn State’s season ticket package. The all-star meet begins at 7 p.m. and Penn Staters Shayne Van Ness (149), Levi Haines (157), Carter Starocci (174), Bernie Truax (184), Aaron Brooks (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) are set to compete.
Penn State is coming off an outstanding performance at the round-robin portion of the Journeymen Collegiate Classic last Sunday in Bethlehem, Pa. The Nittany Lions went 45-15 at the event, had 11 of its 20 wrestlers go unbeaten (3-0), collected 10 falls, 11 technical falls and nine majors. Shayne Van Ness went 3-0 with three falls at 149 to lead the Nittany Lions.
While the six Nittany Lions taking part in the NWCA exhibition on Tuesday will not wrestle at Army, up to 15 wrestlers are set to compete for Penn State. The final list of Nittany Lion entrants will be official the morning of the event and could come from the following list: Robert Howard, Gary Steen and Braeden Davis at 125; No. 3 Aaron Nagao, Baylor Shunk and Sean Wang at 133; No. 2 Beau Bartlett, David Evans and Tyler Kasak at 141; Connor Pierce and Imran Heard at 149; No. 17 Mitchell Mesenbrink, Terrell Barraclough and Matt Lee at 165; Brian Borden at 174; Donovon Ball and Josh Barr at 184; and Lucas Cochran at 197.
Buffalo, Rutgers, LIU, Gardner-Webb, Binghamton, Brown, Northern Colorado and Michigan State are among the school’s set to send wrestlers to West Point.
The NWCA All-Star Classic will take place in Rec Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m. Ten collegiate exhibitions as well as four women’s freestyle matches are scheduled for the showcase. While line-ups are subject to last minute changes, the six Nittany Lion exhibitions (as of 11/14/23) are No. 2 Shayne Van Ness vs. No. 3 Kyle Parco, Arizona State, at 149; No. 1 Levi Haines vs. No. 4 Jacori Teemer, Arizona State, at 157; No. 1 Carter Starocci vs. No. 3 Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech, at 174; No. 2 Bernie Truax vs. No. 1 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa, at 184; No. 1 Aaron Brooks vs. No. 3 Tanner Sloan, South Dakota State, at 197; and No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet vs. No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force, at 285.
The Nittany Lions open up dual meet competition by hosting Lehigh in Rec Hall on Sunday, Dec. 3. The dual, which begins at 2 p.m., will be a Big Ten Network national telecast.
All rankings listed are InterMat individual/InterMat TPI. The 2023-24 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via X 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 (0-0, 0-0 B1G)
Individuals listed below could participate this weekend and/or are ranked by InterMat.
Penn State’s final entries will be official the morning of the event. The six Penn State wrestlers competing in the NWCA All-Star Classic WILL NOT compete at Army.
125 Robert Howard So. Cranford, N.J./Bergen Catholic 1-2
Gary Steen So. Hermitage, Pa./Reynolds 2-1
Braeden Davis Fr. Belleville, Mich./Dundee 3-0
133 #3 Aaron Nagao So. La Habra, Calif./Esperanza 0-0
Baylor Shunk Sr. Centre Hall, Pa./Penns Valley 0-3
Sean Wang So. Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck South 1-2
141 #2 Beau Bartlett Sr. Tempe, Ariz./Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) 3-0
David Evans Jr. Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock 2-1
Tyler Kasak Fr. Doylestown, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic 0-0
149 #2 Shayne Van Ness So. Somerville, N.J./Blair Academy 3-0
Connor Pierce Fr. Erie, Pa./ Harbor Creek 2-1
Imran Heard Gr. Pittsburgh, Pa./St. Paul’s School (Md.) 0-0
157 #1 Levi Haines So. Arendtsville, Pa./Biglerville 3-0
165 #17 Mitchell Mesenbrink Fr. Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead 3-0
Terrell Barraclough Sr. Kaysville, Utah/Layton 3-0
Matt Lee Jr. Evansville, Ind./Evansville Mater Dei 2-1
174 #1 Carter Starocci Sr. Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep 3-0
Brian Borden So. Rupert, Idaho/Minico 0-0
184 #2 Bernie Truax Gr. Oceanside, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista 3-0
Donovon Ball Sr. New Cumberland, Pa./Cedar Cliff 1-2
Josh Barr Fr. Davison, Mich./Davison 3-0
197 #1 Aaron Brooks Sr.+ Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown 3-0
Lucas Cochran So. Perry, Utah/Box Elder 0-0
285 #1 Greg Kerkvliet Sr. Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley 3-0
Individual Rankings listed are InterMat and Team Rankings are
Intermat Tournament Power Index (as of 11/14/23)
LIONS COMPETING AT NWCA ALL-STAR EXHIBITION
The NWCA All-Star Classic Exhibition takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.
Results DO NOT count towards a wrestler’s record or RPI and the event is NOT part of Penn State’s season ticket package
THE LINE-UP IS SUBJECT TO LATE CHANGE AND IS AS OF 11/14/23
WT NAME vs. OPPONENT
149 #2 Shayne Van Ness, So. #3 Kyle Parco, Arizona State
157 #1 Levi Haines, So. #4 Jacori Teemer, Arizona State
174 #1 Carter Starocci, Sr. #3 Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech
184 #2 Bernie Truax, Gr. #1 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa
197 #1 Aaron Brooks, Sr.+ #3 Tanner Sloan, South Dakota State
285 #1 Greg Kerkvliet, Sr. #2 Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force
NOTES:
SHAYNE VAN NESS RULES THE JOURNEYMEN; 3 WINS, 3 PINS, ALL IN THE FIRST PERIOD, EARNS B1G W.O.W.
Sophomore Shayne Van Ness rolled to a 3-0 record at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic on Nov. 12 in Bethlehem, Pa. All three of his wins were by fall and all three came in the first period. He pinned Army West Point’s Eddie Hummel at 2:06, Bloomsburg’s Cade Balestrini at 2:58 and Lehigh’s Kelvin Griffin at 1:30. In all, Van Ness wrestled 6:34 minutes of a possible 21:00. He was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (11/14) for his efforts, sharing the honor with Wisconsin’s Dean Hamiti.
NITTANY LIONS ROLL AT JOURNEYMEN COLLEGIATE
Penn State rolled to a 45-15 overall record at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic on Nov. 12 in Bethlehem, Pa. Eleven of Penn State’s 20 wrestlers went unbeaten at the event (3-0). The Nittany Lions rolled up 10 pins, 11 tech falls and nine majors as well.
DAVID EVANS DOWNS #6 CJ COMPOSTO OF PENN TO TOP LIST OF NITTANY LION RANKED WINS AT JOURNEYMEN
Junior David Evans took down #6 CJ Composto of Penn in sudden victory to a 4-1 (sv) win at 141 to top the list of Penn State ranked wins at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic on Nov. 12 in Bethlehem, Pa. Evans lost a close 6-4 match to #12 Malyke Hines of Lehigh and got a medical forfeit win over #13 Vince Cornella of Cornell to go 2-1. Beau Bartlett rolled to a 15-3 major over #12 Hines as well, Carter Starocci teched #14 Nick Incontrera of Penn at 174, 21-5 (6:52), and Greg Kerkvliet rolled to a 7-2 win over #8 Owen Trephan of North Carolina State in Penn State’s other top ranked wins.
SIX NITTANY LIONS SELECTED FOR NWCA ALL-STAR EXHIBITION, HOSTED IN REC HALL ON NOV. 21
Six Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers have been selected to compete in the 2023 National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Exhibition. The event will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 21, in Penn State’s very own Rec Hall starting at 7 p.m. The exhibition is not an official NCAA event and does not count towards any competitor’s win/loss record or RPI, nor is it part of Penn State’s season ticket package. Set to compete for Penn State as of Nov. 2 are six All-Americans: #2 Shayne Van Ness vs. #3 Kyle Parco, Arizona State at 149; #1 Levi Haines vs. #4 Jacori Teemer, Arizona State at 157; #1 Carter Starocci vs. #3 Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech at 174; #2 Bernie Truax vs. #1 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa at 184; #1 Aaron Brooks vs. #3 Tanner Sloan, South Dakota State at 197; #1 Greg Kerkvliet vs. #2 Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force at 285.
