Penn State wrestling took the early team lead after the first session of the NCAA Championships on Thursday afternoon in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as eight of nine Nittany Lions earned opening-round victories.
The Nittany Lions held first place with 16 team points. NC State was in second with 12.5 points, followed by Iowa (12), Northern Iowa (10) and Ohio State (10) rounding out the top five.
Picking up key bonus points, Penn State got pins from Shayne Van Ness (149), Carter Starocci (174) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) and major decision victories by Roman Bravo-Young (133) and Aaron Brooks (184). Beau Bartlett (141), Levi Haines (157) and Max Dean (197) each won by decision to advance to the second round.
The Nittany Lions’ only loss of the afternoon came at 165 pounds, where No. 13 seed Alex Facundo dropped into the consolation bracket following a 5-3 loss to No. 20 Holden Heller of Pitt.
The highlight of the afternoon for Penn State was undoubtedly a stunning third-period comeback by Van Ness, the No. 12 seed, against No. 21 Ethan Miller of Maryland. Miller caught Van Ness for an early takedown and turned the Nittany Lion redshirt freshman twice for six nearfall points to seize an 8-0 lead after one. The Terrapin led 8-1 heading into the the third and effectively had a riding time point locked up before Van Ness staged a furious rally.
Van Ness had Miller on the defensive and got in for four takedowns over less than 90 seconds to close the gap. After the final takedown, Van Ness turned Miller to his back and recorded the pin at the 6:26 mark.
Action resumes at 7 p.m. EDT on Thursday with the second round from the BOK Center airing live on ESPN.
133 pounds
No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) MAJ. DEC. No. 33 Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State), 12-3
Next up: Bravo-Young will face No. 17 seed Brayden Palmer of Chattanooga in the second round.
141 pounds
No. 6 Beau Bartlett (PSU) DEC. No. 27 Shannon Hanna (Campbell), 9-2
Next up: Bartlett will face No. 11 Clay Carlson of South Dakota State in the second round.
149 pounds
No. 12 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) PIN No. 21 Ethan Miller (Maryland), WBF (6:26)
Next up: Van Ness will face No. 5 Paniro Johnson of Iowa State in the second round.
157 pounds
No. 2 Levi Haines (PSU) DEC. No. 31 Ashton Eyler (Lock Haven), 10-3
Next up: Haines will face No. 15 Jacob Wright of Wyoming in the second round.
165 pounds
No. 20 Holden Heller (Pitt) DEC. No. 13 Alex Facundo (PSU), 5-3
Next up: Facundo will face No. 4 Julian Ramirez of Cornell in the first round of consolations.
174 pounds
No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) PIN No. 33 John Worthing (Clarion), WBF (1:21)
Next up: Starocci will face No. 17 Donnell Washington of Indiana in the second round.
184 pounds
No. 3 Aaron Brooks (PSU) MAJ. DEC. No. 30 Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga), 13-4
Next up: Brooks will face No. 14 Will Feldkamp of Clarion in the second round.
197 pounds
No. 9 Max Dean (PSU) DEC. No. 24 Levi Hopkins (Campbell), 6-1
Next up: Dean will face No. 8 Silas Allred of Nebraska in the second round. The bout is a rematch of the Big Ten title match won two weeks ago by Allred.
285 pounds
No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) PIN No. 30 Hayden Copass (Purdue), WBF (0:34)
Next up: Kerkvliet will face No. 14 AJ Nevills of South Dakota State in the second round.
