Penn State Wrestling Routs Michigan in a Prime-Time Big Ten Match

Penn State’s wrestling roster already boasted the star energy to repeat as NCAA staff champs. However with the freshmen asserting themselves, the Nittany Lions are assembling one other unstoppable drive.

Freshmen Alex Facundo and Levi Haines delivered upset wins, at the very least per the rankings, because the top-ranked Nittany Lions dominated No. 4 Michigan 30-8 in a Large Ten match Friday on the Bryce Jordan Middle.

Earlier than a crowd of practically 16,000 followers, and with soccer coach James Franklin and athletic director Patrick Kraft sitting matside, the Lions buried Michigan below eight straight wins after shedding the opening bout. Michigan had topped Penn State finally yr’s Large Ten match, which seems extremely unlikely this season.

Penn State (9-0, 2-0 Large Ten) gained its thirty seventh consecutive twin match courting to the 2019-20 season. The Lions return to the Bryce Jordan Middle on Jan. 27 to host Iowa for one more epic Large Ten twin. In the event that they beat Michigan State on Sunday, the Lions will wrestle for coach Cael Sanderson’s a hundredth profession Large Ten win towards Iowa.

Here is the breakdown of Penn State’s win over Michigan, beginning with the battle of unbeatens that closed the match.

285: Mason Parris (Michigan) dec. Greg Kerkvliet 3-1

Kerkvliet, the nation’s top-ranked heavyweight, defeated No. 2 Parris thrice final season, together with on the Large Ten and NCAA tournaments. They entered Friday’s twin unbeaten, with Parris ending his shedding streak on a third-period takedown.

Kerkvleit (7-1) defeated Parris (18-0) within the NCAA comfort semifinals final season, and the 2 are destined for extra postseason motion in March. Friday was a primer.

197: Max Dean (Penn State) dec. Brendin Yatooma 10-1

Dean continued the cleanse from an early season detour, when he misplaced consecutive bouts at Rider and Lehigh (to former teammate Michael Beard). Dean dominated Yatooma for his sixth consecutive win.

184: Aaron Brooks (Penn State) dec. Matt Finesilver 14-4

Brooks’ first main choice of the season was dominant and economical. Brooks, sharpening for a run at his third NCAA title, improved to 6-1. His lone loss was a shocking 9-7 choice towards Iowa State’s Marcus Coleman in December. Brooks stays the nation’s No. 1 at 184.

174: Carter Starocci (Penn State) pin Max Maylor 4:15

Starocci, among the many nation’s greatest pound-for-pound wrestlers, improved to 9-0 along with his eighth bonus-point victory of the season. Starocci, who has not allowed a takedown this season, has generated a formidable 40 dual-match factors regardless of wrestling simply 9 bouts.

165: Alex Facundo (Penn State) dec. Cameron Amine 5-5 (Using Time Standards)

Facundo, a redshirt freshman wrestling his first Large Ten bout, scored the stunner of the evening. Facundo (10-1) outlasted the fifth-ranked Amine, a returning NCAA semifinalist, with the riding-time benefit within the second tiebreaker. Facundo used two dazzling escapes, one close to the top of regulation and one other within the tiebreaker, to convey the Bryce Jordan Middle to its ft. Kraft went notably wild.

Facundo stood as much as Amine from the start, scoring the bout’s first takedown. Amine took a 4-3 lead with 20 seconds remaining, however Facundo caught the discharge to drive time beyond regulation. The Sixteenth-ranked Facundo, whose solely loss is to third-ranked David Carr of Iowa State, might leap into the highest 10 with the win. 

157: Levi Haines (Penn State) dec. Will Lewan 3-1 SV

Haines, the spectacular true freshman wrestling at a weight class Penn State wanted a jolt, scored the most important win of his younger profession. Haines shed certainly one of Lewan’s few assaults in sudden victory and responded with a takedown for a 3-1 victory.

Lewan, 10-4 and a two-time All-American, entered the bout ranked tenth nationally, whereas Haines step by step had risen to No. 17. However Haines (12-1) scored his fifth win over a ranked opponent this season. He has crushed ranked wrestlers in consecutive bouts, together with a significant of Wisconsin’s Garrett Mannequin, and seems to have secured the lineup spot for the season.

149: Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) dec. Fidel Mayora 14-4

Van Ness, who had misplaced his final two bouts to a number of the nation’s prime wrestlers, rebounded along with his second main of the season. Van Ness strung collectively early takedowns in dominating Mayora, wrestling his first bout of the season.

In his earlier two outings, Van Ness fell to No. 2 Austin Gomez of Wisconsin (6-3) and No. 6 Panino Johnson of Iowa State.

141: Beau Bartlett (Penn State) dec. Cole Mattin 7-2

Bartlett prolonged his excellent season to 13 wins with an distinctive win over the ranked Mattin. Bartlett (No. 4 based on InterMat) took management of the match with a deft second-period reversal. The transfer gave him a 4-0 lead, which he rode to victory.

Bartlett has allowed simply two takedowns this season.

133: Roman Bravo-Younger (Penn State) dec. Dylan Ragusin 4-2

Bravo-Younger, the nation’s top-ranked wrestler at 133, prolonged his win streak to 44 consecutive bouts along with his typical willpower. After all, he did so with just a little drama.

After giving up a first-period takedown, simply the second he has allowed this season, Bravo-Younger opened the second interval with an escape/takedown sequence to prime the nation’s fifth-ranked wrestler.

Bravo-Younger (8-0) has wrestled a restricted scheduled to this point, one thing Sanderson hinted at earlier than the season. However the two-time NCAA champ actually is aware of how you can put together for March and can start elevating his preparation accordingly.

125: Jack Medley (Michigan) tech. fall Gary Steen 19-5 in 5:38

Medley, ranked No. 23 nationally based on InterMat, took benefit of a niche in Penn State’s lineup with a technical fall. Steen (4-9) is working his means via, a freshman, is working his means via his freshman season whereas Jimmy Howard is out with an damage.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State information, opinion and perspective on the SI.com community. Writer Mark Wogenrich has coated Penn State for greater than 20 years, monitoring three teaching staffs, three Large Ten titles and a catalog of nice tales. Observe him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And think about subscribing (button’s on the house web page) for extra nice content material throughout the SI.com community.