Penn State Wrestlers Badger/Gopher Bound

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.–The Penn State Nittany Lions (8-2, 5-1 B1G), ranked No. 2 nationally on InterMat’s Tournament Power Index, close out the road portion of their Big Ten schedule and final road dates by visiting No. 4 Wisconsin (10-3, 3-3 B1G) on Friday, Feb. 7, at 9 p.m. Eastern and No. 6 Minnesota (9-5, 4-2) on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. Eastern. Both duals are BTN national broadcasts.

Penn State is coming off a resounding 40-3 win over Maryland last Sunday in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions dropped a close 19-17 dual at Iowa two days prior to that and enter the final stages of a rugged 16-day stretch with an 8-2 mark, 5-1 in Big Ten action.

The Nittany Lion line-up has featured five underclassmen and five upperclassmen. Freshman Brandon Meredith is 11-10 at 125. Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young is now ranked No. 2 at 133 with a 14-0 record while junior Nick Lee is 14-0 and ranked No. 2 at 141. Sophomore Jarod Verkleeren sports a 13-4 record at 149 while sophomore Bo Pipher is 9-10 at 157. Senior Vincenzo Joseph is 9-0 at 165 and ranked No. 1 nationally while senior Mark Hall is 16-1 and ranked No. 2 at 174. True freshman Aaron Brooks is 8-1 and ranked No. 7 at 184 and senior Shakur Rasheed is 2-3 and ranked No. 18 at 197. True freshman Seth Nevills is 11-1 and ranked No. 15 at 285.

Wisconsin enters Friday’s dual with a 10-3 record, 3-3 in the Big Ten, and ranked No. 4 on InterMat’s TPI. The Badgers have a balanced dual meet line-up as well. Senior Seth Gross is 24-1 and ranked No. 1 at 133 while senior Tristan Moran is 17-2 and ranked No. 7 at 141. Senior Cole Martin is 11-7 and ranked No. 15 at 149 while junior Evan Wick is 25-3 and ranked No. 3 at 165. Sophomore Trent Hillger is 18-3 and ranked No. 5 at 285.

Penn State leads the all-time series with Wisconsin 16-8 and has won seven straight. The Lions won 24-13 last year on Jan. 13, 2019, in Rec Hall. Penn State won 33-11 on Jan. 27, 2017, in its last trip to Madison.

Minnesota enters Sunday’s dual with a 9-5 record, 4-2 in Big Ten action, and ranked No. 6 nationally by InterMat. The Gophers are not in action Friday night while the Lions and Badgers battle in Madison. The Gophers line-up features a handful of ranked individuals. Freshman Patrick McKee is 17-6 and ranked No. 13 at 125. Senior Mitch McKee is 22-3 and ranked No. 4 at 141 and freshman Brayton Lee is 19-3 and ranked No. 6 at 149. Senior Devin Skatzka is 23-6 and ranked No. 8 at 174 and sophomore Gable Steveson is 8-0 and ranked No. 1 at 285.

The Nittany Lions trail the all-time series with Minnesota 8-15-1 but Penn State has won the last two meetings. Penn State won 35-8 on Jan. 26, 2018 in Rec Hall. The Lions also won the last meeting at Minnesota, 33-6 on Jan. 6, 2017.

All rankings listed are InterMat, the long-standing official wrestling ranking service of the Big Ten Conference. InterMat’s rankings are available for free with no pay wall at www.intermatwrestle.com.

Penn State returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 15, when the Nittany Lions host Ohio State in the 2020 BJC Dual. Action in the Bryce Jordan Center begins at 7:30 p.m. The dual is a BTN national telecast.

#2 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (8-2, 5-1 B1G)

WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 Brandon Meredith Fr. Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford 11-10
133 #2 Roman Bravo-Young So. Tucson, Ariz./Sunny Side 14-0
141 #2 Nick Lee Jr. Evansville, Ind./Homeschool 14-0
149 Jarod Verkleeren So. Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield 13-4
Luke Gardner Jr. Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville 6-1
157 Bo Pipher Jr. Paonia, Colo./Paonia 9-10
Brady Berge So. Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville 1-0
165 #1 Vincenzo Joseph Sr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic 9-0
174 #2 Mark Hall Sr. Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley 16-1
184 #7 Aaron Brooks Fr. Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown 8-1
197 #18 Shakur Rasheed Sr. Coram, N.Y./Longwood 2-3
285 #15 Seth Nevills Fr. Clovis, Calif./Clovis 11-1
#4 WISCONSIN BADGERS (10-3, 3-3 B1G)

WT NAME EL HT/HS REC

125 Eric Barnett Fr. Greenville, Wis./Hortonville 16-6
133 #1 Seth Gross Sr. Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley 24-1
141 #7 Tristan Moran Sr. Phoenix, Ariz./Stillwater 17-2
149 #15 Cole Martin Sr. Lancaster, Wis./Lancaster 11-7
157 Drew Scharenbrock Fr. Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie 17-10
165 #3 Evan Wick Jr. Murrieta, Calif./San Marino 25-3
174 Jared Krattiger Fr. Waterford, Wis./Waterford 7-12
184 Johnny Sebastian Sr. Ramsey, N.J./Bergen Catholic 10-3
197 Taylor Watkins Sr. Columbus, Kan./Columbus 5-13
285 #5 Trent Hillger So. Linden, Mich./Lake Fenton 18-3
#6 MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS (9-5, 4-2 B1G)

WT NAME EL HT/HS REC

125 #13 Patrick McKee Fr. St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville 17-6
133 Jake Gliva Fr. Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley 6-8
Brent Jones So. Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee 6-10
141 #4 Mitch McKee Sr. St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville 22-3
149 #6 Brayton Lee Fr. Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg 19-3
157 Ryan Thomas Fr. St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris-Graham 9-6
165 Bailee O’Reilly So. Goodhue, Minn./Goodhue 19-7
174 #8 Devin Skatzka Sr. Richmond, Mich./Richmond 23-6
184 Owen Webster Sr. Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee 18-7
197 Garrett Joles Fr. Boyceville, Wis./Boyceville 9-10
Hunter Ritter Sr. Perryville, Md./John Carroll 18-6
285 #1 Gable Steveson So. Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley 8-0

Rankings listed are InterMat TPI/InterMat Individual as of 2/4/20

THIS WEEK
Penn State (8-2, 5-1 B1G) closes out the road portion of its Big Ten schedule and its final road dates in a rugged 16-day stretch by visiting No. 4 Wisconsin (10-3, 3-3 B1G) on Friday, Feb. 7, at 9 p.m. Eastern and No. 6 Minnesota (9-5, 4-2 B1G) on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. Eastern. Both duals are BTN national broadcasts.

UP NEXT
Penn State hosts Ohio State on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in this year’s BJC Dual.