No. 2 Penn State dominates Army West Point, 32-7, in home opener
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (3-0, 0-0 B1G), ranked No. 2 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI), dominated Army West Point (0-1) in the team’s home opener Thursday night. Penn State won eight of ten bouts to post the 32-7 victory.
The dual meet was wrestled in front of nearly 6,500 fans in a sold-out Rec Hall. The dual marked the first time Penn State wrestled in front of its home fans since Feb. 23, 2020, when Penn State beat American in Rec Hall.
The dual began at 125 where sophomore Baylor Shunk (Centre Hall, Pa.) made his Rec Hall debut at 125 and posted an 8-4 win over Army’s Ryan Chauvin, putting Penn State up 3-0 early. Senior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 1 at 133, put on a takedown show, reeling off 13 takedowns on his way to a 26-11 technical fall over Dominic Carone at the 6:36 mark.
With No. 1 Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.) given the night off, junior Brandon Meredith (Limerick, Pa.) moved up a weight to 141 and battled No. 29 Corey Shie tough before losing 5-2. Sophomore Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.), ranked No. 27 at 149, used a takedown late in extra time to post a 3-1 (SV) win over No. 20 P.J. Ogunsanya. Sophomore Terrell Barraclough (Kaysville, Utah) made his season debut at 157 and dropped a 9-0 major to No. 32 Markus Hartman. Hartman’s win cut Penn State’s lead to 11-7 at the break.
Junior Creighton Edsell (Wyalusing, pa.), ranked No. 32 at 165, used a late takedown to post a hard-fought 4-3 win over Army’s Christian Hunt to begin the second half. Sophomore Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 174, was dominant once again, rolling to a 23-5 technical fall over Clayton Fielden at the 6:56 mark.
Junior Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 1 at 184, picked up nine takedowns in a 21-7 major decision over No. 28 Brad Laughlin to put Penn State up 23-7. Junior Max Dean (Lowell, Mich.), ranked No. 4 at 197, made his Rec Hall debut as a Nittany Lion and posted a 17-1 tech fall at the 3:13 mark. Sophomore Greg Kerkvliet (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), ranked No. 5 at 285, capped off the outing by amassing over 5:00 in riding time in a 14-3 major over Army West Point’s Brandon Phillips. Kerkvliet’s win finished off Penn State’s 32-7 victory
The Nittany Lions rolled up a 41-4 margin in takedowns. Penn State picked up eight bonus points off three tech falls (Bravo-Young, Starocci, Dean) and two majors (Brooks, Kerkvliet).
Penn State is now 3-0 overall while Army falls to 0-1. The Nittany Lions return to action in two weeks when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa. to battle the Penn Quakers on Friday, Dec. 3. The dual begins at 7 p.m. in The Palestra. Two days later, Penn State hosts Lehigh in Rec Hall on Sunday, Dec. 5, at 2 p.m.
#2 Penn State 32, Army West Point 7
November 18, 2021 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
125: Baylor Shunk PSU dec. Ryan Chauvin AWP, 8-4 3-0
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young PSU tech fall Dominic Carone AWP; 26-11 (TF; 6:36) 8-0
141: #29 Corey Shie AWP dec. Brandon Meredith PSU, 5-2 8-3
149: #27 Beau Bartlett PSU dec. #20 P.J. Ogunsanya AWP, 3-1 (SV) 11-3
157: #32 Markus Hartman AWP maj. dec. Terrell Barraclough PSU, 9-0 11-7
165: #32 Creighton Edsell PSU dec. Christian Hunt AWP, 4-3 14-7
174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU tech fall Clayton Fielden AWP, 23-5 (TF; 6:56) 19-7
184: #1 Aaron Brooks PSU maj. dec. #28 Brad Laughlin AWP, 21-7 23-7
197: #4 Max Dean PSU tech fall #21 J.T. Brown AWP, 17-1 (6:49) 28-7
285: #5 Greg Kerkvliet PSU maj. dec. Brandon Phillips AWP, 14-3 32-7
Attendance: 6,472 (56th-straight sellout in Rec Hall, 62nd of 64 at home, inc. 6 of 8 in BJC)
Records: Penn State (3-0, 0-0 B1G); Army West Point (0-1)
Up Next for Penn State: at Penn, Friday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m. in The Palestra
