No. 1 Penn State wrestling (16-0, 8-0 Big Ten) wrapped up its seventh undefeated regular season in eight years with a 40-6 drubbing of Clarion (11-6) on Sunday afternoon at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions won nine of 10 bouts, scoring bonus points in seven.
Top-ranked 133-pounder Roman Bravo-Young concluded his Rec Hall career the same way it started: with a pin. The senior and defending national champion put Clarion’s Mason Prinkey on his back at the 4:31 mark to provide a fitting bookend to his collegiate dual meet record. Bravo-Young pinned Kent State’s Tim Rooney on Nov. 11, 2018 in his first dual in a Penn State singlet at Rec Hall.
Also wrestling in his final Rec Hall bout, No. 3 Max Dean won with a decision over Ty Bagoly at 197.
Penn State also got a pin from Greg Kerkvliet in the heavyweight bout, along with technical falls from Shayne Van Ness at 149, Levi Haines at 157 and Carter Starocci at 174.
| Weight | Result | Team Score PSU-CU |
| 125 | Gary Steen (PSU) DEC. Joey Fischer (CU), 5-1 | 3-0 |
| 133 | No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) PIN Mason Prinkey (CU), Fall (4:31) | 9-0 |
| 141 | No. 5 Beau Bartlett (PSU) MAJ. DEC. Seth Koleno (CU), 12-4 | 13-0 |
| 149 | No. 13 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) TECH FALL Kyle Schickel (CU), 17-1 (4:59) | 18-0 |
| 157 | No. 8 Levi Haines (PSU) TECH FALL Trevor Elfvin (CU), 18-3 (4:25) | 23-0 |
| 165 | No. 9 Alex Facundo (PSU) DEC. Cam Pine (CU), 16-10 | 26-0 |
| 174 | No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) TECH FALL John Worthing (CU), 19-3 (5:00) | 31-0 |
| 184 | No. 21 Will Feldkamp (CU) PIN Donovon Ball (PSU), Fall (1:20) | 31-6 |
| 197 | No. 3 Max Dean (PSU) DEC. Ty Bagoly (CU), 9-5 | 34-6 |
| 285 | No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) PIN Austin Chapman (CU), Fall (5:21) | 40-6 |
HOW IT HAPPENED
Redshirt freshman Gary Steen ended his first regular season as a Nittany Lion starter on a positive note. Steen earned takedowns late in the second and third periods as well as an escape to post a 5-1 victory over Clarion’s Joey Fischer in the 125-pound bout.
No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young dominated the action against the Golden Eagles’ Mason Prinkey in the 133-pound bout, using an offensive onslaught to open a 14-4 lead. After turning Prinkey twice for near fall points in the first period, Bravo-Young caught him with a head and arm throw and took him to the mat in the second period. The Nittany Lion senior then muscled Prinkey to his back for the pin at the 4:31 mark.
At 141 pounds, Penn State’s Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 5, took on Bald Eagle Area alum and Clarence native Seth Koleno. Bartlett countered a Koleno shot for a takedown and a 2-1 lead after the first period and added two more for a 7-2 advantage after two. After Koleno escaped to start the third, Bartlett used a high single for a takedown then cut the Golden Eagle loose as he looked for bonus points. He got them with a fast shot for another takedown and stayed on top for the final 30 seconds to lock up riding time and a 12-4 major decision.
No. 13 Shayne Van Ness got on the board quickly with a takedown and two back points in the 149-pound bout against Clarion’s Kyle Schickel. Another takedown and back points and a stall call against Schickel put Van Ness in front 11-1 after one period. The Nittany Lion redshirt freshman put it away in the second, getting another takedown and turning Schickel for four near fall points and a 17-1 technical fall at 4:59.
Levi Haines, ranked No. 8 at 157, continued his sensational true freshman campaign by overwhelming Clarion’s Trevor Elfvin. Haines took down Elfvin three times in the first period and turned him for four near fall points to claim a 10-2 lead after the first period. Haines used a low shot for another takedown to open the second, cut Elfvin loose and took him down again, turning him for four back points to end the bout with an 18-3 tech fall at the 4:29 mark.
Penn State held a 23-0 lead heading into the break.
Redshirt freshman Alex Facundo, ranked No. 9 at 165 pounds, got a bit of a battle from Clarion’s Cam Pine. After Facundo took a quick 2-1 lead, Pine caught the Nittany Lion and took him to his back. Facundo managed to fight off the near fall points and escaped to a 3-3 tie, then used a high shot for a takedown, followed by a Pine escape, to take a 5-4 lead into the second. After escaping to start the period, Facundo opened things up with three takedowns to move ahead 12-7 heading into the final period. Facundo scored two takedowns in the third and furiously worked for bonus points, but Pine staved him off and held it to a 16-10 decision for the Nittany Lion.
No. 1 Carter Starocci was too much for Clarion’s John Worthing in the 174-pound bout. Starocci notched four takedowns and a four-point turn to take a 12-3 lead after one. It was more of the same in the second as the Nittany Lion escaped to start the period and, after some defensive work by Worthing, got another takedown and four back points to secure a 19-3 tech fall at the 5:00 mark.
Filling in for top-ranked Aaron Brooks at 184, Penn State’s Donovon Ball got in trouble early against Clarion’s No. 21-ranked Will Feldkamp. Feldkamp gained control and put Ball on his back for the pin at the 1:20 mark and the Golden Eagles’ only victory of the day.
No. 3 Max Dean seemed to be on his way to bonus points in the 197-pound bout, but Clarion’s Ty Bagoly battled tough. Dean used three takedowns and an escape to jump out to a 7-1 lead after two periods with more than two minutes in riding time. Bagoly, though, got a takedown 30 seconds into the final period and added another late to hold it to a 9-5 decision for Dean.
Second-ranked heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet finished the regular season off in style for Penn State. The Nittany Lion controlled the action against Austin Chapman through two periods, taking an 8-1 lead and building up 4:12 in riding time. Out of a neutral start to the third, Kerkvliet powered Chapman to his back and recorded the pin at 5:11.
WHAT’S NEXT
Penn State now will get ready for the Big Ten Championships March 4-5 at Michigan’s Crisler Center.
