Penn State Rolls Over Maryland 40-3
UNIVERSITY PARK – The Penn State Nittany Lions (8-2, 5-1 B1G), ranked No. 2 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index, dominated visiting Maryland (2-13, 0-7) at Rec Hall Sunday. The Nittany Lions won all but one bout and had a couple Lions pick up landmark victories in a 40-3 win over the Terrapins.
Penn State used three technical falls, two pins and a major and got a couple ‘firsts’ along the way.
The dual began at 125 where freshman Brandon Meredith (Limerick, Pa.) took on Brandon Cray. The duo gave the fans a back-and-forth affair that ended with a hard-fought 8-7 Cray victory. Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 3 at 133, then gave Penn State a lead it would not relinquish. Bravo-Young put on a takedown clinic to post a 24-9 technical fall over King Sandoval, using 2:28 in riding time to get the tech at the 7:00 mark. The Lion sophomore had 11 takedowns in the bout.
Junior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 3 at 141, dominated Maryland’s Hunter Baxter from the outset, rolling up a handful of takedowns and three near fall combos to post the 16-0 technical fall at the 5:52 mark. Lee’s win put Penn State up 10-3. Sophomore Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) kept Penn State rolling at 149, looking strong in a 9-0 major decision over Maryland’s Ryan Garlitz. Junior Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) battled Maryland veteran Jahi Jones at 157 and put up a 3-0 win. The victory was Pipher’s first Big Ten dual meet win and put Penn State up 17-3 at intermission.
Senior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, made quick work of Maryland’s Kyle Cochran to open up the second half. Joseph worked Cochran’s shoulders to the mat, locked him up and rolled him over for the pin at the 4:01 mark. Senior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 1 at 174, then made shorter work of Phillip Spadafora. Mirroring Joseph’s move, Hall worked Spadafora to the mat, locked up control of his shoulders and turned him for the fast fall at 0:51. Hall’s pin put Penn State up 29-3.
Freshman Creighton Edsell (Wyalusing, Pa.) stepped in for No. 9 Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.) at 184 and kept the Nittany Lions rolling. Edsell used a first period takedown and 2:22 in riding time to roll to a 5-2 win over Kyle Jasenski. With No. 18 Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.) held out at 197, sophomore Austin Hoopes (Afton, Wyo.) got the nod at 197 and took advantage of the opportunity. Hoopes notched a late takedown to post a 3-2 victory over Maryland’s Niko Cappello, grabbing his first dual meet win for Penn State. True freshman Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 15 at 285, closed out the dual with Penn State’s third tech fall of the day. Nevills rolled up eight takedowns on his way to a 21-6 technical fall over Parker Robinson, getting the tech at the 6:07 mark. Nevills’ win locked in the final score at 40-3 for Penn State.
Penn State worked its way to a 31-3 advantage in takedowns and totaled 13 bonus points off two pins (Joseph, Hall), three tech falls (Bravo-Young, Lee, Nevills) and a major (Verkleeren).
Penn State is now 8-2 overall, 5-1 in the Big Ten. Maryland falls to 2-13, 0-6 in the Big Ten. Penn State closes out its road schedule next weekend with two tough Big Ten trips. The Lions are at Wisconsin on Friday, Feb. 7, at 9 p.m. Eastern / 8 p.m. Central. Two days later Penn State visits Minnesota on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. Eastern / 1 p.m. Central. Both duals are BTN national telecasts.
#2 Penn State 40, Maryland 3
February 2, 2020 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
125: Brandon Cray MD dec. Brandon Meredith PSU, 8-7 0-3
133: #3 Roman Bravo-Young PSU tech fall King Sandoval MD, 24-9 (TF; 7:00) 5-3
141: #2 Nick Lee PSU tech fall Hunter Baxter MD, 16-0 (TF; 5:52) 10-3
149: Jarod Verkleeren PSU maj. dec. Ryan Garlitz MD, 9-0 14-3
157: Bo Pipher PSU dec. Jahi Jones MD, 3-0 17-3
165: #1 Vincenzo Joseph PSU pinned Kyle Cochran MD, WBF (4:01) 23-3
174: #1 Mark Hall PSU pinned Phillip Spadafora MD, WBF (0:51) 29-3
184: Creighton Edsell PSU dec. Kyle Jasenski MD, 5-2 32-3
197: Austin Hoopes PSU dec. Niko Cappello MD, 3-2 35-3
285: #15 Seth Nevills PSU tech fall Parker Robinson, 21-6 (TF; 6:07) 40-3
Attendance: 6,414 (54th straight sellout in Rec Hall, 59 of 61 overall w/ 5 of 7 in BJC)
Records: Penn State (8-2, 5-1 B1G); Maryland (2-13, 0-7 B1G)
Up Next for Penn State: at Wisconsin, Friday, Feb. 7, 9 p.m. Eastern / 8 p.m. Central (BTN)
