Nittany Lions open season with 24-15 victory over Indiana
EVANSTON, ILL – The Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0, 1-0 B1G), ranked No. 3 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index, posted a 24-15 win over Indiana (0-3, 0-3 B1G) in the team’s 2020-21 season opener. The dual was the first of a Saturday tri-meet hosted by Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
The dual began at 125 where Indiana’s Jacob Moran received a forfeit victory. Penn State had no 125-pounders cleared to compete this weekend. Junior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 3 at 133, got Penn State on the board with an 11-8 win over Kyle Luigs, cutting the Hoosier lead to 6-3. Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 2 at 141, dominated Cayden Rooks en route to a 16-1 technical fall at the end off the second period (5:00). Lee’s win put Penn State up 8-6.
Junior Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.), ranked No. 10 at 149, suffered a 4-3 upset loss to Hoosier Graham Rooks at 149 and Indiana retook the lead 9-8. Junior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 11 at 157, gave Penn State the lead with a 5-2 victory over Matt Ortiz. Penn State led 11-9 at the dual’s halfway point.
Freshman Joe Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 6 at 165, made his Penn State dual debut and posted an 8-4 win over Nick South to put the Lions up 14-9. Freshman Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 174, made his Lion dual debut and dropped a 10-9 upset loss to Donnell Washington. Starocci fell behind 10-1 early and nearly stormed back for the win before time ran out in his debut. Sophomore Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 3 at 184, was dominant, rolling to an 18-5 major with 4:40 in riding time over Drayton Harris. Brooks’ win put Penn State up 18-12.
With No. 13 Michael Beard (Pottstown, Pa.) not competing this weekend, Levko Higgins (Palmyra, Pa.) made his Lion debut at 197 and dropped a 10-3 decision to Nick Willham. Willham’s victory cut Penn State’s lead to 18-15. Sophomore Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) closed out the dual with a bang at 285. The Lion big man pinned IU’s Rudy Streck at the 1:14 mark to cement Penn State’s victory, getting the quick fall and finalizing a 24-15 win for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State posted a 21-8 edge in takedowns in the bout. The Nittany Lions won six of ten bouts and picked up six bonus points off a pin (Nevills), a tech fall (Nick Lee) and a major (Brooks). Indiana had three bonus points off the forfeit at 125.
Seven extra matches were conducted during the dual meet on a separate mat. This year, with condensed schedules, these extra matches, while not counting towards dual meet scores, are official varsity bouts and count towards NCAA competition minimums. Starocci opened up the extra bouts with an 18-1 tech fall over Robert Detars at the 2:37 mark, giving the Lion freshman a 1-1 mark on the day. True freshman Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.) made his collegiate debut in the extra bouts, pinning Jacob Moran in just 1:48 at 141.
Luke Gardner (Pottsville, Pa.) pinned Jonathan Kervin at the 0:56 mark at 149 and Terrell Barraclough (Kaysville, Utah) posted an 8-0 major over Kervin at 149 as well. Konner Kraeszig (Louisville, Ky.) picked up two wins at 165, a 9-0 major over Derek Gilcher and a 13-7 decision over Sammy Cokeley. Creighton Edsell (Wyalusing, Pa.) picked up a 10-5 decision over Detars at 174.
Penn State is now 1-0 on the year, 1-0 in Big Ten action. Indiana falls to 0-3, all conference duals as well. The Nittany Lions will take on host Northwestern in the final bout of Saturday’s tri-meet.
#3 Penn State 24, Indiana 15
January 30, 2021 – at Northwestern University – Evanston, Ill.
125: Jacob Warner IND win by forfeit 0-6
133: #3 Roman Bravo-Young PSU dec. Kyle Luigs IND, 11-8 3-6
141: #2 Nick Lee PSU tech fall Cayden Rooks IND, 16-1 (TF; 5:00) 8-6
149: Graham Rooks IND dec. #10 Jarod Verkleeren PSU, 4-3 8-9
157: #11 Brady Berge PSU dec. Matt Ortiz IND, 5-2 11-9
165: #6 Joe Lee PSU dec. Nick South IND, 8-4 14-9
174: Donnell Washington IND dec. #5 Carter Starocci PSU, 10-9 14-12
184: #3 Aaron Brooks PSU maj. dec. Drayton Harris IND, 18-5 18-12
197: Nick Willham IND dec. Levko Higgins PSU, 10-3 18-15
285: Seth Nevills PSU pinned Rudy Streck IND, WBF (1:14) 24-15
Records: Penn State (1-0, 1-0 B1G; Indiana (0-3, 0-3 B1G)
Up Next for Penn State: vs. Northwestern, today, 4 p.m. Eastern
Extra Matches:
174: Carter Starocci PSU tech fall Robert Detars IND, 18-1 (TF; 2:37)
149: Luke Gardner PSU pinned Jonathan Kervin IND, WBF (0:56)
165: Konner Kraeszig PSU maj. dec. Derek Gilcher IND, 9-0
141: Beau Bartlett PSU pinned Jacob Moran IND, WBF (1:48)
149: Terrell Barraclough PSU maj. dec. Jonathan Kervin IND, 8-0
174: Creighton Edsell PSU dec. Robert Detars IND, 10-5
165: Konner Kraeszig PSU dec. Sammy Cokely IND, 13-7
