Nittany Lion wrestlers down Wisconsin, 34-6
MADISON, WI – The Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0, 3-0 B1G) took care of home-standing Wisconsin (1-4, 1-4) in their third straight road dual in a five-day Big Ten road swing. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad won all nine contested bouts on its way to a lopsided 34-6 victory over the Badgers in Madison.
The dual meet was originally scheduled for this coming weekend as part of a tri-meet at Michigan. But the Wolverines have paused all athletic activities, postponing the event in Ann Arbor. With Penn State already in Chicago having won two duals in a tri-meet at Northwestern, the team trekked to Madison for Tuesday’s rescheduled dual.
The dual began at 125, where Wisconsin’s Eric Barnett won by forfeit as Penn State had no 125-pounders cleared to wrestle during its five-day swing through the Midwest. Nittany Lion Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 3 at 133, put Penn State on the board with an 11-6 decision over Wisconsin’s Kyle Burwick. Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Pa), ranked No. 2 at 141, then put Penn State up for good with a 16-1 first period tech fall (3:00) over UW’s Trey Escobar, giving the Lions an 8-6 lead.
Senior Luke Gardner (Pottsville, Pa.) got the call at 149 for Penn State and used a quick takedown in extra time to post a 7-5 (sv) win over Wisconsin’s Drew Scharenbrock. Junior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 9 at 157, dominated Wisconsin’s Garrett Model and rolled to a 12-4 major with 1:22 in riding time. Berge’s major put Penn State up 15-6 at the midway point of the dual meet.
Freshman Joe Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 6 at 165, continued Penn State’s dominance in the next bout, rolling to a 12-3 major over Patrick Spray. Freshman Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), ranked No. 8 at 174, grabbed his third win of the season with a 5-3 victory over Wisconsin’s Jared Krattiger. Sophomore Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 3 at 184, met No. 10 Chris Weiler in the dual’s marquee match-up and rolled over the Badger. Brooks tallied five takedowns in a 13-3 major with 1:56 in riding time and gave the Nittany Lions a 2-6-6 lead.
Freshman Michael Beard (Pottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 197, made his Penn State dual and collegiate debut and put on an offensive show. Beard used four takedowns and four nearfall turns to post an 18-2 technical fall at the 4:43 mark, giving Penn State a 31-6 lead. Sophomore Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 8 at 258, closed out the dual with 4-3 win over Peter Christensen to finish off the Nittany Lions’ 34-6 dual meet victory.
Penn State rolled up 30 takedowns in nine wrestled matches and gave up only three. The Lions picked up seven bonus points off two tech falls (Nick Lee, Beard) and three majors (Berge, Joe Lee, Brooks). Wisconsin’s lone win was the forfeit victory at 125, netting three bonus points.
Four 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.
True freshman Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.) downed Dominic Dentino at 141 in Penn State’s first extra bout, winning 13-6 to stay unbeaten on the season. Freshman Terrell Barraclough (Kaysville, Utah) posted a strong 8-3 win over Dan Stilling at 149 and senior Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) dominated Aiden Medora in a 7-0 win with 3:00 in riding time. Sophomore Creighton Edsell (Wyalusing, Pa.) capped off Penn State’s perfect extra-bout run with a 12-2 major over Wisconsin’s Seth Vosters at 174. With the 4-0 run in extra bouts, Penn State won all 13 contested contests on the day.
Penn State is now 3-0 on the year, 3-0 in Big Ten action. Wisconsin falls to 1-4, 1-4 B1G. The Nittany Lions will return to action on Friday, Feb. 12, when the Iowa Hawkeyes invade Rec Hall for a 9 p.m. Eastern match-up. The dual will air live nationally on the Big Ten Network.
#3 Penn State 34, Wisconsin 6
February 2, 2021 – Madison, Wis.
125: Eric Barnett WIS win by forfeit 0-6
133: #3 Roman Bravo-Young PSU dec. Kyle Burwick WIS 3-6
141: #2 Nick Lee PSU tech fall Trey Escobar WIS, 16-1 (TF; 3:00) 8-6
149: Luke Gardner PSU dec. Drew Scharenbrock WIS, 7-5 (sv) 11-6
157: #9 Brady Berge PSU maj. dec. Garrett Model WIS, 12-4 15-6
165: #6 Joe Lee PSU maj. dec. Patrick Spray WIS, 12-3 19-6
174: #8 Carter Starocci PSU dec. Jared Krattiger WIS, 5-3 22-6
184: #3 Aaron Brooks PSU maj. dec. #10 Chris Weiler WIS, 13-3 26-6
197: #13 Michael Beard PSU tech fall Andrew Salemme WIS, 18-2 (TF; 4:43) 31-6
285: #8 Seth Nevills PSU dec. Peter Christensen WIS, 4-3 34-6
Records: Penn State (3-0, 3-0 B1G; Wisconsin (1-4, 1-4 B1G)
Up Next for Penn State: home vs. Iowa, Friday, Feb. 12, 9 p.m. Eastern (B1G Network)
Extra Matches:
141: Beau Bartlett PSU dec. Dominic Dentino WIS, 13-6
149: Terrell Barraclough PSU dec. Dan Stilling WIS, 8-3
149: Bo Pipher PSU dec. Aiden Medora WIS, 7-0
174: Creighton Edsell PSU maj. dec. Seth Vosters WIS, 12-2
