Nittany Lion Wrestlers Roll 29-10 at #4 Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. – The Penn State Nittany Lions (9-2, 6-1 1G), ranked No. 2 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index, rolled through No. 4 Wisconsin (10-4, 3-4 B1G) in a top-five Big Ten dual meet in Madison Friday night. The Lions used three victories over ranked opponents to post a 29-10 win over the home-standing Badgers.
The Lions won seven of ten bouts, including the final five to erase a small halftime deficit on their way to the lopsided dual meet victory.
Penn State is wrapping up of a run of four-of-five road duals in 16 days, including action at Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota
The dual began at 125 where freshman Brandon Meredith (Limerick, Pa.) dropped a 4-0 decision to Eric Barnett. Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 2 at 133, then met No. 1 Seth Gross in one of the dual’s many anticipated matchups. The duo put on a show that ended with Bravo-Young nearly notching a last-second takedown, not getting the call as time ran out, and dropping a 6-5 bout.
Junior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 2 at 141, dominated No. 7 Tristan Moran. The Lion notched two takedowns and a number of near falls in posting a 14-1 major decision with 4:29 in riding time over the ranked Badger to cut the Wisconsin lead to 6-4. Sophomore Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) gave Penn State the lead at 149 with a 3-2 win over No. 15 Cole Martin. Verkleeren battled the ranked Badger evenly for the entire bout and used a late takedown to post the win, giving Penn State a 7-6 lead. Junior Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) dropped a 13-4 major to Garrett Model at 157 and Penn State trailed 10-7 at halftime.
Senior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, met No. 3 Evan Wick in another marquee bout. Joseph controlled the action from start to finish. The Lion senior used two takedowns, a reversal, a stall point and 4:08 in riding time to roll to an 8-0 major decision and put Penn State back on top, 11-10. Senior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 2 at 174, then stretched Penn State’s lead to 17-10, pinning Wisconsin’s Jared Krattiger at the 4:16 mark.
True freshman Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 7 at 184, extended the Penn State lead, posting a 3-2 win over Badger senior Johnny Sebastian. Brooks used a takedown in the third period for the bout’s key points. Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 18 at 197, clinched the dual meet victory with a 6-0 win over Wisconsin’s Taylor Watkins. Rasheed’s win put Penn State up 23-10 with just one bout. True freshman Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 15 at 285, received a forfeit victory at 285 and Penn State posted the 29-10 victory in Madison.
Penn State had an 11-7 takedown edge and won seven of ten bouts, including the last five. The Nittany Lions picked up eight bonus points off a forfeit (Nevills), a pin (Hall) and two majors (Lee, Joseph).
Penn State is now 9-2 overall, 6-1 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin falls to 10-4, 3-4 in the conference. Penn State visits Minnesota on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. Eastern / 1 p.m. Central, in another BTN national telecast.
#2 Penn State 29, #4 Wisconsin 10
February 7, 2020 – Madison, Wis.
125: Eric Barnett UW dec. Brandon Meredith PSU, 4-0 0-3
133: #1 Seth Gross UW dec. #2 Roman Bravo-Young PSU, 6-5 0-6
141: #2 Nick Lee PSU maj. dec. #7 Tristan Moran UW, 14-1 4-6
149: Jarod Verkleeren PSU #15 Cole Martin UW, 3-2 7-6
157: Garrett Model UW maj. dec. Bo Pipher PSU, 13-4 7-10
165: #1 Vincenzo Joseph PSU maj. dec. #3 Evan Wick UW, 8-0 11-10
174: #2 Mark Hall PSU pinned Jared Krattiger UW, WBF (4:16) 17-10
184: #7 Aaron Brooks PSU dec. Johnny Sebastian UW, 3-2 20-10
197: #18 Shakur Rasheed PSU dec. Taylor Watkins UW, 6-0 23-10
285: #15 Seth Nevills PSU win by forfeit 29-10
Attendance: 3,073
Records: Penn State (9-2, 6-1 B1G); Wisconsin (10-4, 3-4 B1G)
Up Next for Penn State: at #6 Minnesota, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2 p.m. Eastern/1 p.m. Central (BTN)
