No. 1 Penn State wrestling (11-0, 3-0 Big Ten) remained undefeated after its 27-11 victory over No. 14 Rutgers (12-2, 2-2 Big Ten) on Sunday evening at Rec Hall.
Trailing at the intermission, the Nittany Lions were able to pull away in the second half of the meet thanks to strong performances from Aaron Brooks, Carter Starocci and Brady Berge, among others.
How It Happened
At 125 pounds, senior and No. 9 Drew Hildebrandt started the dual when he matched up against No. 31 Dylan Shawver of Rutgers. A Shawver takedown and a pair of Hildebrandt escapes left the score tied at at 2-2 heading into the final period.
Starting neutral in the third all tied up, Hildebrandt created multiple opportunities and Shawver defended. With time winding down the Nittany Lion countered a Shawver shot and got a takedown near the edge of the mat with one second left on the clock. An official review confirmed the call Hildebrandt won a 4-2 decision to give Penn State an early 3-0 lead.
No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young didn’t take long to get going in the 133-pound bout against Scarlet Knights’ freshman No. 20 Joseph Olivieri. Bravo-Young scored three takedowns in the first period, accumulating 1:31 in riding time and a 6-2 lead. Bravo-Young picked up another two in the second period on a takedown extending his lead 8-3. Finally, after accumulating 2:01 in riding time in addition to one final takedown, Bravo-Young took the victory 11-5, giving Penn State the 6-0 lead in the dual.
Following the 2-0 start, the 141-pound bout featured junior Brandon Meredith for Penn State, as No. 1 Nick Lee was not in the lineup due to illness protocols. Rutgers’ No. 3 Sebastian Rivera started things off quickly, earning a takedown in the first minute. After a Meredith escape, Rivera extended his lead to 12-1 with another takedown and eight near-fall points. Rivera opened the second period with an escape, a takedown and a two-point turn to end the bout with a 17-1 technical fall at 3:36. Penn State still led the dual score 6-5.
Sophomore and No. 19 Beau Bartlett had a tough matchup at 149 pounds as he took on the Scarlet Knights’ No. 18 Michael VanBrill. Bartlett struck first, picking up a takedown with nearly 1:15 remaining in the first period. Still, VanBrill managed to grab two escapes in the period following the takedown and a stoppage of the match. The two wrestlers went into the second period tied 2-2.
VanBrill earned another point from an early second period escape taking his first lead of the bout. The one escape point for Van Brill would be the only point scored in the second as he led 3-2 heading into the third period. Bartlett tied the score on an escape after starting on the bottom in the third. The Nittany Lion looked close to a takedown in the waning seconds, but none was awarded. Penn State challenged, a review upheld the no call on the mat, and the match headed to sudden victory overtime tied 3-3.
Bartlett nearly had a takedown that was not awarded in sudden victory, and the overtime period was scoreless, so the bout headed into an additional two 30-second overtimes.
After an extended overtime period, riding time handed VanBrill the 4-3 win, and Rutgers led 8-6.
Penn State junior Tony Negron and Rutgers’ Robert Kanniard faced off in the 157-pound bout. Negron took an early lead following a takedown and accumulated 1:36 in riding time, giving him a 4-1 lead at the end of the first period. Kanniard rode out Negron for the second period and got an escape and a takedown in the third to tie things up.
In sudden victory, Kanniard countered a Negron shot for a takedown to get the 6-4 victory and propel Rutgers to an 11-6 lead heading into the intermission.
Out of the break, senior Brady Berge returned to the mat for Penn State for the first time since last spring, taking on Andrew Clark at 165 pounds. The second period gave Clark the bout’s first point following an escape, but Berge earned a takedown as the second period ended, giving him the 2-1 lead. Berge started on the bottom and managed to escape with less than a minute left in the bout, extending his lead 3-1. The Nittany Lion earned a second takedown with 18 seconds left and finished the bout on top for a 5-1 victory. Penn State now trailed 11-9 following Berge’s success in his Rec Hall return.
In the 174-pound bout, sophomore and No. 1 Carter Starocci looked to take the lead for Penn State as he faced Connor O’Neill. Starocci picked up his first takedown and then dominated his way to a 12-2 lead following near fall points and 2:21 in riding time. Starocci’s fantastic performance continued into the second period with a quick escape, takedown and a cradle that yielded four back points and a 19-2 technical fall victory at the 4:25 mark. Penn State reclaimed its lead in the dual 14-11.
Junior and No. 1 Aaron Brooks had a challenging opponent in No. 5 John Poznanski at 184 pounds. With under 10 seconds left in the first period, Brooks got in for the first takedown of the bout and a 2-0 lead. An escape and quick takedown extended his lead to 5-0 at the end of two. In the final period, Brooks tacked on two more takedowns and with 2:31 in riding time earned a 10-2 major decision, extending the Nittany Lions’ lead to 18-11.
Penn State junior and No. 2 Max Dean also had a top-10 opponent in No. 7 Greg Bulsak in the 197-pound matchup. Dean and Bulsak found success in the first period, including a clean Dean takedown to kick off the bout. Bulsak got a quick reversal to tie it up and, after a Dean escape, landed on a takedown for a 4-3 heading into the second period. A penalty point and an escape expanded Bulsak’s lead to 6-3, but a Dean takedown on a low single late in the period narrowed the deficit to 6-5. Dean got a quick escape in the third and ended a scramble with a takedown in the final minute before riding out Bulsak. With 1:07 in riding time, Dean earned a 9-6 decision that gave Penn State a 21-11 lead and sealed the team victory.
In the 285-pound matchup, No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet faced off against Alex Esposito. Kerkvliet didn’t take long to put this one away, getting two takedowns then locking up Esposito for the fall at the 1:45 mark. Kerkvliet’s victory gave the Nittany Lions a 27-11 win in the dual.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions will be back in action at 6 p.m. on Friday when they visit No. 3 Michigan. The meet in Ann Arbor will air live on the Big Ten Network.
