Penn State wrestlers to West Point on Sunday

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA — Penn State (1-0, 0-0 B1G), ranked No. 1 on the InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI), treks to Army West Point for the Black Knight Open on Sunday, Nov. 20, in West Point, N.Y. In addition, three NIttany Lions (Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks, Greg Kerkvliet) will take part in the NWCA All-Star Meet on Nov. 22 in Austin, Tex. The NWCA All-Star meet is an exhibition event and the results DO NOT count on any wrestlers NCAA record form or towards the season’s RPI.

Penn State enters the weekend tournament 1-0 in duals. A trio of Penn State redshirt freshmen made their Nittany Lion debuts when Penn State downed visiting Lock Haven 44-3 on Nov. 11 in the season opener for Penn State. Gary Steen (125), Shayne Van Ness (149) and Alex Facundo (165) all competed in their first Penn State duals in front of a sold out Rec Hall crowd. Shayne Van Ness pinned Connor Eck at the 6:32 mark in his first Lion bout while Alex Facundo tallied 13 takedowns in a 27-12 tech fall (5:35) over Aiden Gaughler. Steen dropped a 14-4 bout to #13 Anthony Noto. Penn State had three pins (Van Ness, Max Dean, Greg Kerkvliet), three tech falls (Facundo, Roman Bravo-Young, Aaron Brooks), two majors (Beau Bartlett, Carter Starocci), and Terrell Barraclough downed #28 Ashton Eyler 3-1 at 157.

The Nittany Lions feature an outstanding mix of young talent and veterans. Gary Steen got the nod against Lock Haven at 125, making his Lion debut. Roman Bravo-Young is ranked No. 1 at 133, Beau Bartlett is No. 11 at 141, Shayne Van Ness is No. 23 at 149, Terrell Barraclough is No. 31 at 157, Alex Facundo is No. 17 at 165, Carter Starocci is No. 1 at 174, Aaron Brooks is No. 1 at 184, Max Dean is No. 1 at 197 and Greg Kerkvliet is No. 2 at 285. Again, Starocci, Brooks and Kerkvliet will be taking part in teh NWCA All-Star meet on Tuesday and will not compete at Army.

Other teams set to participate at the Black Knight are Hofstra, Campbell, Columbia, Bloomsburg, Indiana, Brown, Central Michigan and Buffalo.

The Nittany Lions are at Rider on Friday, Dec. 2, wrestling in CURE Arena in Trenton, N.J., at 7:30 p.m. Penn State then visits LEhigh on Sunday, Dec. 4, for a 2 p.m. dual meet.

OTHER TEAMS SCHEDULED TO COMPETE…

Hofstra
Campbell
Columbia
Bloomsburg
Indiana
Brown
Central Michigan
Buffalo

#1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (1-0, 0-0 B1G)
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 Gary Steen Fr. Hermitage, Pa./Reynolds 0-0
Timothy Levine So. Costa Mesa, Calif./St. John Bosco 0-0
133 #1 Roman Bravo-Young Sr.+ Tucson, Ariz./Sunnyside 0-0
141 #11 Beau Bartlett Jr. Tempe, Ariz./Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) 0-0
149 #23 Shayne Van Ness Fr. Somerville, N.J./Blair Academy 0-0
157 #31 Terrell Barraclough Jr. Kaysville, Utah/Layton 0-0
165 #17 Alex Facundo Fr. Essexville, Mich./Davison 0-0
Joe Lee Jr. Evansville, Ind./Mater Dei 0-0
174 #1 Carter Starocci Jr. Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep 0-0
184 #1 Aaron Brooks Sr. Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown 0-0
197 #1 Max Dean Sr. Lowell, Mich./Lowell 0-0
285 #2 Greg Kerkvliet Jr. Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley 0-0

NOTE: The followign Lions are scheduled to compete in the NWCA All-Star Classic in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, Nov. 22:
174 #1 Carter Starocci Jr. Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep 0-0
184 #1 Aaron Brooks Sr. Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown 0-0
285 #2 Greg Kerkvliet Jr. Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley 0-0