Penn State wrestlers 2-0 at Collegiate Wrestling Duals
NICEVILLE, Fla. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (7-0, 0-0 B1G), ranked No. 2 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI), won the final four bouts against No. 9 Cornell (2-1) in the second dual meet Monday night at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in Niceville, Fla., to rally for a win. Penn State’s late surge helped Penn State notch a hard-fought 21-16 win over the Big Red at the event held at Northwestern Florida State College and hosted by Journeymen Wrestling. The win followed an earlier 22-9 triumph over Northern Iowa and put the Nittany Lions into a Tuesday night match against No. 3 Arizona State.
The Cornell dual began at 125 where senior Jake Campbell (Pottstown, Pa.) took on No. 5 Vito Arujau. Arujau notched a fast fall at the :58 mark to give Cornell an early 6-0 lead. Senior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 1 at 133, posted a 21-9 major over Dominic LaJoie to cut the Cornell lead to 6-4. Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 1 at 141, then dominated Cole Handlovic 13-3 for another major and an 8-6 Penn State lead.
Sophomore Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.), ranked No. 22 at 149, battled No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis but dropped an 11-3 major as Cornell retook the lead, 10-8. Sophomore Joe Lee (Evansville, Ind.) made his season debut at 157 against No. 25 Colton Yapoujian but dropped a 4-2 decision. The result gave Cornell a 13-8 lead at the dual’s midway point.
Junior Creighton Edsell (Wyalusing, Pa.), ranked No. 26 at 165, took No. 9 Julian Ramirez to the wired before dropping a 7-5 decision and Cornell led 16-8 with four bouts left. Penn State began its comeback. Sophomore Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 174, used a third period rideout to post a 3-2 win on riding time over No. 12 Chris Foca. Junior Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 1 at 184, majored No. 15 Jonathan Loew, posting a 15-3 major with 2:49 in riding time as well to cut the Cornell lead to 16-15.
Junior Max Dean (Lowell, Mich.), ranked No. 3 at 197 and a former Cornell wrestler, then gave Penn State the lead once more picking up a 4-2 win over No. 19 Jacob Cardenas on a third period takedown. Sophomore Greg Kerkvliet (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), ranked No. 4 at 285, then clinched the dual meet with a 5-0 win over No. 18 Lewis Fernandes and the Nittany Lions got the 21-16 dual victory.
Penn State is now 7-0 overall while Cornell falls to 2-1. The Nittany Lions will now battle No. 3 Arizona State for the event’s Blue Pool title tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local). Penn State opens up Big Ten action on Friday, Jan. 7, when the Nittany Lions visit the Maryland Terrapins for a 7 p.m. dual in College Park, Md.
Earlier Monday night Penn State dominated No. 22 Northern Iowa (0-4) in the first dual meet for the team at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in Niceville, Fla. Penn State won seven of ten bouts and rolled to a 29-9 win at the event held at Northwestern Florida State College and hosted by Journeymen Wrestling.
The dual began at 125 where senior Jake Campbell (Pottstown, Pa.) lost a 2-0 decision to No. 10 Brody Teske of Northern Iowa. Senior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 1 at 133, pinned No. 1 Kyle Biscoglia at the 4:34 mark in the second period to give Penn State a 6-3 lead. Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 1 at 141, followed that up with an 18-4 major (with 3:35 in riding time) over No. 26 Cael Happel.
Sophomore Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.), ranked No. 22 at 149, used a second period takedown and two escapes to post a 4-3 win over No. 28 Triston Lara to put Penn State up 13-3. Junior Tony Negron (North Babylon, N.Y.) went at 157 for Penn State and lost a 5-2 decision to Derek Holschlag and the Lions led 13-6 at the dual’s midway point.
Junior Creighton Edsell (Wyalusing, Pa.), ranked No. 26 at 165, lost a 4-1 decision to No. 23 Austin Yant, his first loss of the season and Penn State’s lead was cut to 13-9. Sophomore Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 174, controlled UNI’s Pat Schoenfelder in a 13-4 major, working up 3:10 in riding time in the process. Junior Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 1 at 184, then used a second period takedown and an escape to post a 3-2 win over No. 4 Parker Kekeisen in the dual’s marquee match-up.
Junior Max Dean (Lowell, Mich.), ranked No. 3 at 197, used five takedowns and a couple turns to roll to a 19-3 tech fall over Noah Glasser at the 5:21 mark to put Penn State up 25-9. Sophomore Greg Kerkvliet (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), ranked No. 4 at 285, built up over 4:00 in riding time against Uni’s Tyrell Gordon on his way to a 12-1 major to close out the dual meet. Kerkvliet’s major made the dual final 29-9 for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State rolled up a 25-3 lead in takedowns in the dual while winning seven of ten bouts. The Nittany Lions picked up eight bonus points off a pin (Bravo-Young), a tech fall (Dean) and three majors (Lee, Starocci, Kerkvliet).
Three extra matches were contested after completion of the dual meet. While the bouts do not count towards the dual’s score, they are official NCAA matches. Michael Beard posted an 18-3 tech fall over Central Michigan’s Cade Dallwitz at the 2:43 mark, Baylor Shunk posted a 9-5 win over CMU’s Sean Spidle, and Brandon Meredith posted an 8-3 win over UNI’s Jack Wagner.
Penn State opens up Big Ten action on Friday, Jan. 7, when the Nittany Lions visit the Maryland Terrapins for a 7 p.m. dual in College Park, Md.
#2 Penn State 29, #22 Northern Iowa 9
December 20, 2021 – Niceville, Fla.
125: #10 Brody Teske UNI dec. Jake Campbell PSU, 2-0 0-3
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young PSU pinned #31 Kyle Biscoglia UNI, WBF (4:34) 6-3
141: #1 Nick Lee PSU maj. dec. #26 Cael Happel UNI, 18-4 10-3
149: #22 Beau Bartlett PSU dec. #28 Triston Lara UNI, 4-3 13-3
157: Derek Holschlag UNI dec. Tony Negron PSU, 5-2 13-6
165: #23 Austin Yant UNI dec. #26 Creighton Edsell PSU, 4-1 13-9
174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU maj. dec. Pat Schoenfelder UNI, 13-4 17-9
184: #1 Aaron Brooks PSU dec. #4 parker Keckeisen UNI, 3-2 20-9
197: #3 Max Dean PSU tech fall Noah Glaser UNI, 19-3 (TF; 5:21) 25-9
285: #4 Greg Kerkvliet PSU maj. dec. Tyrell Gordon UNI, 12-1 29-9
Extra bouts (official NCAA contests, do not count in dual score):1
125: Baylor Shunk PSU dec. Sean Spidle CMU, 9-5
133: Brandon Meredith PSU dec. Jack Wagner UNI, 8-3
197: Michael Beard PSU tech fall Cade Dallwitz CMU, 18-3 (2:43)
Records: Penn State (6-0, 0-0 B1G); Northern Iowa (0-4)
#2 Penn State 21, #9 Cornell 16
125: #5 Vito Arujau COR pinned Jake Campbell PSU, WBF (0:58) 0-6
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young PSU maj. dec. Dominic LaJoie COR, 21-9 4-6
141: #1 Nick Lee PSU maj. dec. Cole Handlovic COR, 13-3 8-6
149: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis COR maj. dec. #22 Beau Bartlett PSU, 11-3 8-10
157: #25 Colton Yapoujian COR dec. Joe Lee PSU, 4-2 8-13
165: #9 Julian Ramirez COR dec. #26 Creighton Edsell PSU, 7-5 8-16
174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU dec. #12 Chris Foca COR, 3-2 11-16
184: #1 Aaron Brooks PSU maj. dec. #16 Jonathan Loew COR, 15-3 15-16
197: #3 Max Dean PSU dec. #19 Jacob Cardenas COR, 4-2 18-16
285: #4 Greg Kerkvliet PSU dec. #18 Lewis Fernandes COR, 5-0 21-16
Extra bouts (official NCAA contests, do not count in dual score):
125: Sheldon Seymour LEH maj. dec. Baylor Shunk PSU, 14-2
184: Donovon Ball PSU dec. Caden Wright LEH, 11-4
Records: Penn State (7-0, 0-0 B1G); Cornell (2-1)
Up Next for Penn State: vs. #3 Arizona State, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local), Niceville, Fla.
