Nittany Lion wrestling team rolls over Scarlet Knights, 33-8 Penn State wins eight straight bouts to close out the dual
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Penn State (14-0, 7-0 B1G) Nittany Lion wrestling team rolled over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 33-8 in its final road dual of the 2022-23 season. Penn State won the dual’s final eight bouts (seven for bonus) to grab the Big Ten road win.
The dual meet began at 125 where redshirt freshman Gary Steen lost to No. 16 Dean Peterson, 21-6 (TF; 6:11). Junior Baylor Shunk took the mat at 133 and dropped a 7-2 decision to No. 15 Joe Heilmann, giving Rutgers an early 8-0 lead. Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 6 at 141, controlled the action in his bout with No. 19 Joseph Olivieri. Bartlett scored eight points in the third period to roll to a 12-1 major decision.
Redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 13 at 149, controlled Tony White in a 21-9 major decision. Van Ness, like Bartlett, dominated the third period. He scored 11 points in the final two minutes and tied the dual meet at 8-8 with his major. True freshman Levi Haines, ranked No. 8 at 157, posted an impressive 8-2 win over No. 33 Andrew Clark for Penn State’s third straight win in the dual. Haines’ win sent Penn State into the halftime break leading 11-8.
Redshirt freshman Alex Facundo, ranked No. 9 at 165, rolled up 10 takedowns to post a 25-12 major over Luke Gayer to start the second half (five of them came in the third period). Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 174, rolled up five takedowns and a four-point turn in a convincing 16-3 major over Jackson Turley, Aaron Brooks, ranked No. 1 at 184, rolled up five takedowns and two four-point turns to post an 18-3 tech fall over No. 14 Brian Soldano at the 4:05 mark.
Max Dean, ranked No. 3 at 197, yet another Penn State bonus point victory with an 11-1 major over Billy Janzer. Dean’s win put Penn State on top 28-8. Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 2 at 285, capped off the outstanding Nittany Lion performance with a quick 16-0 tech fall over RU’s Kyle Epperly. Kerkvliet use a first period takedown and then three four-point turns and a two-pointer to post the tech at the 2:06 mark. Penn State walked away with the 33-8 dual meet victory after Kerkvliet’s efforts.
Penn State rolled up 37 takedowns in the dual meet while RU had 14. The Nittany Lions, winning eight of ten bouts, picked up nine bonus points off two tech falls (Brooks, Kerkvliet) and five majors (Bartlett, Van Ness, Facundo, Starocci, Dean).
The Nittany Lions are now 14-0 overall, 7-0 B1G. Rutgers falls to 10-6, 2-5 B1G. Penn State returns to Rec Hall to host Maryland on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 1 p.m.
#1 Penn State 33, Rutgers 8
February 10, 2023 – Piscataway, N.J.
125: #16 Dean Peterson RU tech fall Gary Steen PSU, 21-6 (TF; 6:11) 0-5
133: Baylor Shunk PSU dec. Baylor Shunk PSU, 7-2 0-8
141: #6 Beau Bartlett PSU maj. dec. #19 Joseph Olivieri RU, 12-1 4-8
149: #13 Shayne Van Ness PSU maj. dec. Tony White RU, 21-9 8-8
157: #8 Levi Haines PSU dec. #33 Andrew Clark RU, 8-2 11-8
165: #9 Alex Facundo PSU maj. dec. Luke Gayer RU, 25-12 15-8
174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU maj. dec. Jackson Turley RU, 16-3 19-8
184: #1 Aaron Brooks PSU tech fall #14 Brian Soldano RU, 18-3 24-8
197: #3 Max Dean PSU maj. dec. Billy Janzer RU, 11-1 28-8
285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet PSU tech fall Kyle Epperly RU, 16-0 (TF; 2:06) 33-8
Records: Penn State (14-0, 7-0 B1G); Rutgers (10-6, 2-5 B1G)
Attendance: 7,848
