Penn State wrestling rolls over Spartans, 34-6
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA2023 – Penn State (10-0, 3-0 B1G) rolled over visiting Michigan State (7-4, 0-4 B1G), notching a 34-6 Big Ten dual meet win in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions won eight of ten bouts, four with bonus, in the lopsided victory.
The dual meet began at 125 where Penn State freshman Gary Steen thrilled the sold out Rec Hall crowd with his first conference win of the year. Steen battled No. 24 Tristan Lujan through seven minutes tied 1-1 and then connected on a low single with :41 left in the bout to post the 3-1 (sv) win, putting Penn State up 3-0. Roman Bravo-Young, ranked No. 1 at 133, then dominated No. 16 Rayvon Foley. The Lion senior collected six takedowns before turning Foley to his back for the fall at the 6:26 mark.
Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 4 at 141, used a pair of takedowns and a dominant ride to roll to a 7-1 win over Jordan Hamdan. Redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness, ranked no. 14 at 149, opened up a 13-3 lead late and then pinned Braden Stauffenberg at the 5:44 mark to give Penn State an 18-0 lead. Terrell Barraclough battled No. 15 Chase Saldate tough at 157, taking the bout to the final seconds tied 2-2 before Saldate used a last second shot and two nearfall points to post a 6-2 win. Saldate’s hard-fought victory made the score 18-3 in Penn State’s favor at halftime.
Redshirt freshman Alex Facundo, the fourth freshman in Penn State’s line-up and ranked No. 16 at 165, picked up a second overtime win over a ranked opponent, using a counter move to take No. 25 Caleb Fish down in extra time for the 3-1 (sv) win. Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 174, continued Penn State’s strong performance. Starocci posted a 19-4 technical fall at the 6:39 mark over Michigan State’s Cesar Garza to give the Lions a 26-3 lead.
Donovon Ball once again got the call at 184 for Penn State and battled No. 15 Layne Malczewski before dropping a 6-0 decision. Max Dean, ranked No. 4 at 197, dominated No. 14 Cameron Caffey in a marquee bout. Dean used a takedown, an escape and dominant offensive control to amass nearly 2:00 in riding time to post a 4-0 decision. Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 1 at 285, finished off the dual meet portion of the day with a 19-4 technical fall (6:15) over Ryan Vasbinder. Kerkvliet used five takedowns and two four-point turns in the win to send Penn State off with a 34-6 dual victory.
Penn State posted a lopsided 29-3 edge in takedowns and had 10 bonus points off two pins (Bravo-Young, Van Ness) and two tech falls (Starocci, Kerkvliet). One extra bout, an official NCAA match-up that does not count towards the dual score, was contested at 165. Penn State’s Brian Borden notched two takedowns in a 7-2 win in an extra bout at 165.
The Nittany Lions are now 10-0 overall, 3-0 B1G. Michigan State falls to 7-4, 0-4 B1G. Penn State returns to action next Friday in its second BJC Dual of the year. The Nittany Lions host Iowa on Friday, Jan. 27, at 8:30 p.m. in another B1G Network national telecast from the Jordan Center.
#1 Penn State 34, Michigan State 6
January 22, 2023 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
125: Gary Steen PSU dec. #24 Tristan Lujan MSU, 3-1 (sv) 3-0
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young PSU pinned #16 Rayvon Foley MSU, WBF (6:26) 9-0
141: #4 Beau Bartlett PSU dec. Jordan Hamdan MSU, 7-1 12-0
149: #14 Shayne Van Ness PSU pinned Braden Stauffenberg MSU, WBF (5:44) 18-0
157: #15 Chase Saldate MSU dec. Terrell Barraclough PSU, 6-2 18-3
165: #16 Alex Facundo PSU dec. #25 Caleb Fish MSU, 3-1 (sv) 21-3
174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU tech fall Ceasar Garza MSU, 19-4 (TF; 6:39) 26-3
184: #15 Layne Malczewski MSU dec. Donovon Ball PSU, 6-0 26-6
197: #4 Max Dean PSU dec. #14 Cameron Caffey MSU, 4-0 29-6
285: #1 Greg Kerkvliet PSU tech fall Ryan Vasbinder MSU, 19-4 (TF; 6:15) 34-6
