No. 1 Penn State rolls over Rider 37-3 in Trenton’s CURE Arena
TRENTON, N.J.– No. 1 Penn State (2-0, 0-0 B1G) rolled over Rider (2-1) by a 37-3 score in a dual meet wrestled in Trenton, N.J.’s CURE Arena. The Nittany Lions picked up a pin and four majors plus an injury default victory in the non-conference dual meet.
The dual began at 125 where redshirt freshman Gary Steen used takedowns in the first and second periods to post a hard-fought 6-4 win over Rider’s Tyler Klinsky. Roman Bravo-Young, ranked No. 1 at 133, put on a takedown clinic against Richie Koehler. Bravo-Young tallied ten takedowns and amassed 3:08 in riding time on his way to a 23-9 major. Junior Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 9 at 141, gave up a first period takedown but never wavered against McKenzie Bell. Bartlett reversed Bell to start the third period and continued through the move to pin the Bronc at the 6:08 mark, giving Penn State a 13-0 lead.
Redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 20 at 149, was impressive against NCAA qualifier No. 24 Quinn Kinner in one of the dual’s bouts featuring ranked opponents. Van Ness used a takedown and two near fall to open up an early 4-0 lead and rolled to a strong 11-6 win with 1:24 in riding time. Nittany Lion Terrell Barraclough, ranked No. 30 at 157, won by injury default over Jake Silverstein when the Rider wrestler could not finish after taking a quick injury timeout at the 0:09 mark. Barraclough’s default win gave Penn State a 22-0 lead at intermission.
Redshirt freshman Alex Facundo, ranked No. 17 at 165, got Penn State off to a strong start in the second half, rolling to a 13-4 major over Rider’s Hunter Mays to put Penn Stat eon top 2-60. Junior Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 174, rolled up eight takedowns in a strong offensive show to post an 18-6 major over Shane Reitsma with 2:59 in riding time. Junior Donovon Ball got the call at 184 and dominated Asa Terrell. Ball picked up four takedowns on his way to a 9-3 win to put Penn State up 33-0.
Senior Max Dean, ranked No. 1 at 197, took No. 12 Ethan Laird in another bout featuring top-ranked opponents. The duo battled evenly for seven minutes, sending the bout to sudden victory tied 1-1 thanks to two escapes. After a lengthy video review before extra time, a refreshed Laird managed a quick takedown to post the 3-1 (sv) win, cutting Penn State’s lead to 33-3. Junior Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 2 at 285, finished off the dual by controlling David Szuba from start to finish, posting an 11-1 major with 5:31 in riding time. Kerkvliet’s dominating win set Penn State’s final margin at 37-3 in the win.
Penn State rolled up a lop-sided 36-4 takedown edge. The Nittany Lions picked up 10 bonus points off a pin (Bartlett), an injury default (Barraclough) and four majors (Bravo-Young, Facundo, Starocci, Kerkvliet).
Penn State is now 2-0 on the year while Rider falls to 2-1. The Nittany Lions continue a two-dual road weekend by visiting Lehigh on Sunday, Dec. 4, at 2 p.m. Penn State then returns home to Rec Hall on Sunday, Dec. 11, for a 2 p.m. match-up with Oregon State (in an ESPNU national telecast).
#1 Penn State 37, Rider 3
December 2, 2022 – CURE Arena – Trenton, N.J.
125: Gary Steen PSU dec. Tyler Klinsky RID, 6-4 3-0
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young PSU maj. dec. Richie Koehler RID, 23-9 7-0
141: #9 Beau Bartlett PSU pinned McKenzie Bell RID, WBF (6:08) 13-0
149: #20 Shayne Van Ness PSU dec. No. 24 Quinn Kinner RID, 11-6 16-0
157: #30 Terrell Barraclough PSU WB inj. def. Jake Silverstein RID, In.Def. (0:09) 22-0
165: #17 Alex Facundo PSU maj. dec. Hunter Mays RID, 13-4 26-0
174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU maj. dec. Shane Reitsma RID, 18-6 30-0
184: Donovon Ball PSU dec. Asa Terrell RID, 9-3 33-0
197: #12 Ethan Laird RID dec. #1 Max Dean PSU, 3-1 (sv) 33-3
285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet PSU maj. dec. David Szuba RID, 11-1 37-3
Attendance: 3,229
Records: Penn State (2-0, 0-0 B1G); Rider (2-1)
Up Next for Penn State: at Lehigh, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2 p.m.
