Coming off a heartbreaking loss at No. 1 Iowa on Friday, No. 2 Penn State wrestling got back to its winning ways on Sunday Rec Hall, beating Maryland 40-3.
After dropping the first bout, Penn State won the final nine en route to a blowout victory. Vincenzo Joseph and Mark Hall each had a fall, while Roman Bravo-Young, Nick Lee, and Seth Nevills all added technical falls. Even a pair of backups got in on the action and helped orchestrate an all-out beatdown on the Terrapins, who scored only 29 total points and three takedowns in the dual. In comparison, Penn State had 98 points and 31 takedowns.
How It Happened
The dual began at 125 lbs. with an exciting, back-and-forth slugfest between the always-scrappy Brandon Meredith and Brandon Cray of Maryland.
Cray opened the bout with a quick takedown, but was reversed by Meredith shortly afterward. After a Cray escape, Meredith registered a takedown and rode him out for the remainder of the period to open up a 4-3 lead after the first period. In the second period, Meredith managed to escape, but Cray responded with a takedown and two near-fall points to take control. Meredith, however, again had an answer, as he equalized the score with another reversal.
An escape by Cray to start the third period gave him an 8-7 lead and ended up making the difference as a series of late takedown attempts from Meredith came up short. The loss at 125 lbs. set the Nittany Lions back 3-0 after one bout, but made way for nine straight wins.
No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young jumpstarted the scoring for Penn State with a technical fall against King Sandoval. It took Bravo-Young most of the first period to get on the board, but after a takedown late in the period, he took control by setting the pace and overwhelming Sandoval with his diverse arsenal of attacks.
Bravo-Young exploded for 12 points off of five takedowns in the second period. He added another 11 in the third period to win 24-9 via tech fall. In total, he collected 11 takedowns, earning the tech fall without scoring a single near-fall point. There were times down the stretch when it appeared as if Sandoval lacked any idea of what to expect and as if Bravo-Young was simply teasing the Terrapin by faking shots and bouncing around the mat.
Bravo-Young’s win made it 5-3 in favor of the Nittany Lions. That lead quickly swelled to 10-3 after No. 2 Nick Lee picked up a tech fall of his own against Hunter Baxter.
Lee got a quick takedown to start the bout and bullied Baxter for the remainder of the period, peppering him with cross-faces and attempted cradles. He earned six near-fall points in the process. Lee reversed Baxter midway through the second period and tacked on four more near-fall points to run his lead up to 14-0. He then secured the 16-0 tech fall with a another reversal in the third.
Although they lacked their teammates’ firepower, Jarod Verkleeren and Bo Pipher both got the job done at 149 and 157 lbs., respectively. Verkleeren earned a 9-0 major decision over Ryan Garlitz, courtesy of three takedowns and well over a minute of riding time. Pipher followed with a gritty 2-0 win over Jahi Jones. Their wins put Penn State up 17-3 at the break.
When wrestling resumed, No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph kept things rolling for the Nittany Lions with a second-period fall against Kyle Cochran. The win capped off an exceptional weekend for Joseph, who also beat No. 2 Alex Marinelli on Friday. Before the fall, Joseph had been leading 11-2, allowing only a pair of escapes to Cochran, the Terrapins’ first points since the 133-lb. bout.
No. 1 Mark Hall followed with a fall of his own over Philip Spadafora. Hall pinned Spadafora 51 seconds into the match to make it 29-3 in favor of the Nittany Lions. His win signaled a bounceback from a tough loss to No. 2 Michael Kemerer on Friday.
Creighton Edsell got the start in place of No. 9 Aaron Brooks at 184 lbs. against Kyle Jasenski. And for the third time this year, Edsell came off the bench to impress in front of the Rec Hall crowd, winning 4-2. He never trailed in the match after getting out to a 2-0 lead. A pair of third-period escapes ended up being enough to hold off a late comeback attempt by Jasenski and make the difference in a tight match.
At 197 lbs., Austin Hoopes also broke into the lineup in place of No. 18 Shakur Rasheed. He faced Niko Cappello and made the most of his first start, winning a 3-2 thriller. With the score tied in the third period, Hoopes registered a huge takedown to jump ahead 3-1. Even after a Cappello escape, Hoopes managed to hang on for the win, his first as an attached wrestler.
The dual concluded at 285 lbs. with No. 15 Seth Nevills tech-falling Parker Robinson. Nevills tallied eight takedowns through the first six minutes to beat Robinson 21-6 and cap the day off with an exclamation point.
What’s Next
Penn State will hit the road next weekend when it visits Wisconsin on Friday and Minnesota on Sunday. Both duals will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. The Nittany Lions will then return home for the annual Bryce Jordan Center dual to face Ohio State on Feb. 15.
