Nittany Lions Rout #16 Northwestern, 29-13, to Close Out Road Tri-Meet

RecordStaffJanuary 30, 2021

4 minutes read

EVANSTON, ILL – The Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0, 2-0 B1G) routed host Northwestern (1-4 1-4 B1G) in the final dual of a Big Ten tri-meet in NU’s Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday. Penn State won seven bouts on its way to a 29-13 road victory. The dual closed out the event hosted by Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.

The dual began at 125 where Penn State did not have any competitors cleared to compete this weekend. Northwestern’s No. 8 Michael DeAugustino picked up the forfeit victory to give the Wildcats a 6-0 lead out of the gates. Junior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 3 at 133, dominated Dylan Utterback. Bravo-Young rolled up seven takedowns in the first two periods before pinning Utterback at the 3:48 mark. Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 2 at 141, posted a 12-2 major over Frankie Tal-Shahar and Penn State led 10-6 after giving up the early forfeit.

Freshman Terrell Barraclough (Kaysville, Utah) made his Penn State dual debut and took on No. 20 Yahya Thomas. Barraclough battled the ranked Wildcat for the full seven minutes but dropped a 3-2 decision. Junior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 11 at 157, posted a 12-7 win over Northwestern’s Maxx Mayfield and the Nittany Lions led 13-9 at the dual’s midway point.

Freshman Joe Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 6 at 165, posted an 8-7 win over Wildcat David Ferrante to put the Lions up 16-9. Freshman Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 174, rebounded from an upset loss earlier in the day to post a 4-1 victory over Troy Fisher. Starocci went 2-1 on the day, including a win in extra matches against Indiana. Sophomore Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 3 at 184, controlled the action from start to finish in a win over NU’s Jack Jessen. Brooks posted a 21-6 tech fall at the 7:00 mark to put the Lions up 24-9.

With No. 13 Michael Beard (Pottstown, Pa.) not cleared to compete this weekend at 197, Donovon Ball (New Cumberland, Pa.) got the call against Northwestern for his Lion dual debut. Ball battled No. 11 Lucas Davison but dropped a 12-3 major to the ranked Wildcat. Sophomore Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) followed up a pin against Indiana with another dominant showing, this time rolling up 10 takedowns in a 24-9 tech fall victory over Brendan Devine a the 4:58 mark.

Penn State posted a lopsided 35-8 advantage in takedowns. The Nittany Lions won seven of the ten bouts. Penn State picked up eight bonus points off a pin (Bravo-Young), two tech falls (Brooks, Nevills) and a major (Nick Lee).

Nine extra matches were conducted after the dual meet. 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. True freshman Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.) went 2-0 with two decisions at 141; Creighton Edsell (Wyalusing, Pa.) picked up two victories, both decisions at 174; Konner Kraeszig (Louisville, Ky.) grabbed a major at 165; Luke Gardner (Pottsville, Pa.) won by tech fall in his bout at 149; Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) lost by default at 149; Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) lost his match at 149; and Brandon Meredith (Limerick, Pa.) moved up to 141 and lost by major decision.

Penn State is now 2-0 on the year, 2-0 in Big Ten action. Northwestern is now 1-4, all conference duals as well. Northwestern lost to Indiana in the dual prior to this, 18-16. Penn State downed Indiana 24-15 in the opening dual of the tri-meet. The Nittany Lions are scheduled to wrestle Wisconsin next weekend on a day and time to be announced. The dual was to be part of a tri-meet at the University of Michigan but the Wolverines have paused all athletic activities.

#3 Penn State 29, #16 Northwestern 13

January 30, 2021 – Evanston, Ill.

125: #8 Michael DeAugustino NU win by forfeit 0-6

133: #3 Roman Bravo-Young PSU pinned Dylan Utterback NU, WBF (3:48) 6-6

141: #2 Nick Lee PSU maj. dec. Frankie Tal-Shahar NU, 12-2 10-6

149: #20 Yahya Thomas NU dec. Terrell Barraclough PSU, 3-2 10-9

157: #11 Brady Berge PSU dec. Maxx Mayfield NU, 12-7 13-9

165: #6 Joe Lee PSU dec. David Ferrante NU, 8-7 16-9

174: #5 Carter Starocci PSU dec. Troy Fisher NU, 4-1 19-9

184: #3 Aaron Brooks PSU tech fall Jack Jessen NU, 21-6 (TF; 7:00) 24-9

197: #11 Lucas Davison NU maj. dec. Donovon Ball PSU, 12-3 24-13

285: Seth Nevills PSU tech fall Brendan Devin NU, 24-9 (TF; 4:58) 29-13