Grapplin’ Sun Devils to Happy Valley Friday

UNIVERSITY PARK — No. 1 Penn State (3-0, 0-0 B1G) closes out December by welcoming #9 Arizona State (1-2) to Rec Hall for the first time ever. The Nittany Lions and Sun Devils will meet in Rec Hall on Friday, Dec. 14, at 6 p.m. in a dual that will air live nationally on ESPN2. Arizona State has made a trip to Happy Valley, however, competing in the BJC in the National Duals. All rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat TPI as of Dec. 11.

Penn State is coming off a pair of dual victories two weekends ago. The Nittany Lions won nine of ten bouts in a 42-3 win at Bucknell on Nov. 30, the first-ever trip for Penn State at Lewisburg. The dual was wrestled in front of a Bucknell wrestling-record crowd of 4,279, the third-largest in Stojka Pavilion history. Two days later, the Nittany Lions shut-out No. 10 Lehigh 42-0, winning all ten bouts against the short-handed Mountain Hawks. Penn State got ranked wins from Mark Hall at 174, Bo Nickal at 197 and Anthony Cassar at 285.

The Nittany Lions sport a balanced and talented line-up: Sophomore Devin Schnupp is 4-3 at 125, having won his last two dual outings. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young is 6-0 at 133 and coming off an impressive win in the Lehigh dual.

Sophomore Nick Lee sports an 8-0 mark at 141 and is ranked No. 4 by InterMat. Redshirt freshman Brady Berge is 5-0 at 149 and ranked No. 12 while classmate Jarod Verkleeren is 6-2 at that weight. Senior Jason Nolf is 7-0 and ranked No. 1 at 157 and junior Vincenzo Joseph is 7-0 and ranked No. 1 at 165. Junior Mark Hall is 7-0 and No. 2 at 174 while senior Shakur Rasheed is 7-0 and No. 4 at 184. Senior Bo Nickal is 6-0 at 197 and ranked No. 1 nationally and senior Anthony Cassar is 6-0 and No. 5 at 285. Nick Nevills sports a 3-1 mark at 285.

Arizona State enters the dual ranked No. 9 in the TPI with a 1-2 mark. The Sun Devils beat No. 16 South Dakota State 30-9 and lost close matches to No. 24 North Carolina (20-15) and No. 2 Ohio State (22-17). Arizona State features a talented line-up that includes No. 1 Zahid Valencia at 174, who is 9-0 on the year. Senior Ryan Millhof is 9-0 at 125 and ranked No. 7 while junior Josh Maruca is 7-3 and No. 11 at 149. Senior Christian Pagdilao is 8-2 at 157 and ranked No. 16 while junior Josh Shields is 8-1 and No. 5 at 165.

The teams have split the all-time series as it stands at 3-3-1. Penn State won the last meeting, 19-16, in a dual meet that took place during the 2001 National Duals, hosted by Penn State in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Penn State will look to win its eighth Southern Scuffle Championship in its last eight trips when it travels to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the two-day event. The 2019 Southern Scuffle takes place on Jan. 1-2, 2019, at UT-Chattanooga.

#1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (3-0, 0-0 B1G)

WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 Devin Schnupp So. Lititz, Pa./Warwick 4-3
133 Roman Bravo-Young Fr. Tucson, Ariz./Sunny Side 6-0
141 #4 Nick Lee So. Evansville, Ind./Homeschool 8-0
149 #12 Brady Berge Fr. Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville 5-0
Jarod Verkleeren Fr. Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield 6-2
157 #1 Jason Nolf Sr. Yatesboro, Pa./Kittanning 7-0
165 #1 Vincenzo Joseph Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic 7-0
174 #2 Mark Hall Jr. Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley 7-0
184 #4 Shakur Rasheed Sr. Coram, N.Y./Longwood 7-0
197 #1 Bo Nickal Sr. Allen, Texas/Allen 6-0
285 #5 Anthony Cassar Sr. Rocky Hill, N.J./Montgomery 6-0
Nick Nevills Sr. Clovis, Calif./Clovis 3-1

#9 ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (1-2)

WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 #7 Ryan Millhof Sr. Suwanee, Ga./Collins Hill 9-0
OR Brandon Courtney Fr. Goodyear, Ariz./Desert Edge 2-2
133 Josiah Kline So. Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge 9-3
OR Josh Kramer Jr. Buckeye, Ariz./Desert Edge 5-3
141 Cory Crooks So. Anthem, Ariz./Boulder Creek 6-5
149 #11 Josh Maruca Jr. Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional 7-3
157 #16 Christian Pagdilao Sr. Redlands, Calif./Santiago 8-2
165 #5 Josh Shields Jr. Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional 8-1
174 #1 Zahid Valencia Jr. Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco 9-0
184 Kordell Norfleet So. Chicago, Ill./Marian Catholic 7-1
197 Austyn Harris Sr. Broomfield, Colo./Broomfield 5-5
285 Brady Daniel Fr. Olney, Md./Good Counsel 4-5

Rankings listed are InterMat TPI/InterMat Individual as of 12/11