No. 2 Penn State wrestling (11-2, 8-1 Big Ten) pulled out a 20-16 win against No. 3 Ohio State (10-4, 6-3) Big Ten) on Saturday night in the team’s annual dual at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Both teams won five bouts in front of a sold-out BJC crowd of 15,995, but major decisions from Vincenzo Joseph and Aaron Brooks and a pin from Mark Hall made the difference as Penn State held off a late comeback by the Buckeyes.
How It Happened
Freshman Brandon Meredith kicked off the dual against Ohio State’s Malik Heinselman at 125 lbs. After trailing 2-1 in the first period, Meredith escaped to even the score. Entering the last period tied, Heinselman quickly jumped out to a 4-2 advantage. Meredith couldn’t finish on a takedown in the final moments of the match, as Heinselman won 5-3 and Ohio State jumped out to an early 3-0 lead.
At 133 lbs., No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young’s three-takedown third period helped him earn a 10-4 win over Ohio State’s Jordan Decatur. It wasn’t easy for Bravo-Young at the start of the the match, as Decatur hung close through a scoreless first period. However, Decatur couldn’t hold off Bravo-Young forever, as the Nittany Lion sophomore’s strong second and third periods knotted the dual up at 3.
In the night’s most anticipated matchup, No. 2 Nick Lee defeated No. 1 Luke Pletcher of Ohio State 8-4 with nearly two minutes of riding time. Pletcher took an early lead with a fast takedown and led 2-1 after the first period. A big second period from Lee, however, put him on top 4-3. Lee used a takedown, rideout, and stall point to take control.
In the third period, Lee tacked on an escape, takedown, and nearly two minutes of riding time to cap off the night’s only 1-2 matchup. The junior’s 8-4 win helped the Nittany Lions take a 6-3 lead heading into Jarod Verkleeren’s match against No. 1 Sammy Sasso of Ohio State at 149 lbs.
Verkleeren wrestled Sasso closely throughout the match, even leading by one point heading into the final period. But Sasso escaped in the early seconds of the third to tie the score. The match entered sudden victory where Sasso took down Verkleeren with just four seconds remaining to erase Penn State’s lead.
At 157 lbs., Brady Berge returned for just his second match of the season and first since Dec. 6 against Lehigh, taking on Quinn Kinner of Ohio State. Berge got off to a strong start with a first period takedown and an early 3-1 lead, but a Kinner takedown and escape in the third gave the Buckeye a 4-3 decision and sent the Nittany Lions into intermission down 9-6.
No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph erased Penn State’s deficit by defeating No. 16 Ethan Smith at 165. A few scrambles early on in the match kept it seemingly close, but after entering the second period tied 3-3, Joseph gained control with a fast escape and a powerful two-leg takedown. Three takedowns for Joseph and a failed Ohio State challenge in the third period made way for the Nittany Lion senior’s 13-5 major decision. The Nittany Lions led 10-9 heading into the final four matches of the evening.
No. 2 Mark Hall wasted no time showing that he was ready for the BJC spotlight. He pinned Ohio State’s No. 7 Kaleb Romero at the :46 mark causing another uproar from the nearly 16,000 people in the seats. Hall’s fall put Penn State up 16-9.
4ï¸âƒ£0ï¸âƒ£th pin in 46 seconds.
Not bad @BaybeeMarky_PSU, not bad. @pennstateWREST | @FloWrestling pic.twitter.com/C4DIW5N9lH
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) February 16, 2020
No. 6 Aaron Brooks used a hot first period to help him earn a win over No. 12 Rocky Jordan of Ohio State. Brooks’ three takedowns put him up 6-2 after one period, and he never looked back. He kept his impressive offense rolling the whole way until the end, winning by major decision 14-4. It was Brooks’ third straight bonus-point
Penn State entered the final two bouts leading 20-9, and had the match secured before the final bout, but the Buckeyes kept things interesting.
No. 17 Shakur Rasheed took on No. 1 Kollin Moore at 197. Down 4-2 after one, Rasheed couldn’t keep Moore from escaping in the early moments of the second. Moore’s scoring did not stop, as he rolled to a 14-6 major decision over Rasheed.
At heavyweight, Seth Nevills finished the dual against Gary Traub of Ohio State. After leading for most of the bout, Nevills lost a 4-3 advantage in the final minute of the match, courtesy of a Traub takedown. With no time to retaliate or escape, Nevills dropped the final match of the evening 5-4. Penn State won the dual 20-16.
What’s Next
Penn State will host American University for its Senior Day at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23 in Rec Hall to conclude its dual meet schedule.
