Lion Wrestles Host American Sunday at Rec Hall
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa – The Penn State Nittany Lions (11-2, 8-1 B1G), ranked No. 2 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index, will host American University (3-7) on Sunday, Feb. 23. The dual, set for 2 p.m. in Rec Hall, is the regular season finale for the Nittany Lions and will serve as Senior Day for Penn State.
Penn State is coming off a 20-16 victory over No. 3 Ohio State in the 2020 BJC Dual last Saturday night. Penn State, 11-2 overall, wrapped up the Big Ten dual slate with an 8-1 record.
Freshman Brandon Meredith is 12-12 overall at 125 for Penn State, earning the starting spot early in the season. Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young, ranked No. 2 nationally by InterMat, is 16-1 at 133. Junior Nick Lee is 17-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 nationally at 141. Sophomore Jarod Verkleeren is 14-6 at 149 and ranked No. 17 nationally. Junior Luke Gardner is 6-2 at 149 and 157 this season. Sophomore Brady Berge returned to the mat Saturday night for the first time since November and is 1-1 in limited action while Bo Pipher sports a 9-11 record at 157.
Senior Vincenzo Joseph, ranked No. 1 at 165, is 12-0 on the year. Senior Mark Hall leads Penn State in wins with his 19-1 record and is ranked No. 2 at 174. True freshman Aaron Brooks is 11-1 on the year and is ranked No. 6 nationally at 184. Senior Shakur Rasheed is 4-4 on the season and is ranked No. 18 at 197. True freshman Seth Nevills is 12-3 overall and is ranked No. 17 at 285.
American University enters the week with a 3-7 dual meet record. The team is at George Mason on Thursday, Feb. 20. Junior Kizhan Clarke leads the charge for AU. He sports a 35-3 record at 149 and is ranked No. 8 in the nation. Former Michigan Wolverine Sal Profaci, now a senior at American, is 24-6 at 141. Junior Gage Curry is 24-7 at 125 and junior Tanner Harvey is 19-6 at 184. Sophomore Niko Camacho is 15-10 at 285 as well.
Penn State and American have never met in a dual meet, making this the debut event in the series.
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 will head to Piscataway, N.J., and Rutgers University for the 2020 Big Ten Championship. The event is set for Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, in the RAC.
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 Brandon Meredith Fr. Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford 12-12
133 #2 Roman Bravo-Young So. Tucson, Ariz./Sunny Side 16-1
141 #1 Nick Lee Jr. Evansville, Ind./Homeschool 17-0
149 #17 Jarod Verkleeren So. Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield 14-6
Luke Gardner Jr. Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville 6-2
157 Brady Berge So. Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville 1-1
Bo Pipher Jr. Paonia, Colo./Paonia 9-11
165 #1 Vincenzo Joseph Sr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic 12-0
174 #2 Mark Hall Sr. Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley 19-1
184 #6 Aaron Brooks Fr. Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown 11-1
197 #18 Shakur Rasheed Sr. Coram, N.Y./Longwood 4-4
285 #17 Seth Nevills Fr. Clovis, Calif./Clovis 12-3
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY (*3-7)
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 Gage Curry Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills 24-7
133 Joshua Vega Fr. Albuquerque, N.M./Volcano Vista 5-11
141 Sal Profaci Sr. Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township 24-6
149 #8 Kizhan Clarke Jr. Gibsonton, Fla./Riverview 35-3
157 Ethan Karsten Jr. Platte City, Mo./Platte County 12-12
165 Tim Fitzpatrick Fr. Somers Point, N.J./Holy Spirit 11-13
174 Conner Allshouse Jr. Largo, Fla./Indian Rocks Christian 6-11
184 Tanner Harvey Jr. Elkton, Ore./Lowell 19-6
197 William Jarrell Fr. Lincoln, Mass./Buckingham Browne & Nichols 5-21
285 Niko Camacho So. Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic 15-10
Penn State (11-2, 8-1 B1G) hosts American University (3-7) on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall. The dual will serve as Senior Day for Penn State.
UP NEXT
Penn State heads to Rutgers University for the 2020 Big Ten Championships on Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, in the RAC.
