No. 2 Penn State wrestling (8-0) finished off the Collegiate Wrestling Duals with an impressive 29-10 victory over No. 3 Arizona State (3-1) on Tuesday night in Niceville, Florida.
The Nittany Lions won seven of 10 bouts, including a clutch upset by Beau Bartlett in sudden victory. Penn State has now won all eight of its duals through 2021.
How It Happened
Jake Campbell took the mat for Penn State at 125 pounds against No. 3 Brandon Courtney. The senior from Pottstown, Pa. quickly fell behind 14-6 through two periods but managed to hold it to an 18-7 major decision for Courtney as Arizona State took an early 4-0 lead.
No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young helped the Nittany Lions bounce back with ease. The senior went up 2-0 with 58 seconds of riding time after one period in the 133-pound bout against No. 14 Michael McGee, and carried a 2-1 lead about halfway through the second. McGee hung around, but the Penn State veteran managed a couple more takedowns and controlled the match in a 6-2 victory that pulled the Nittany Lions within one.
At 141 pounds, top-ranked Nittany Lion Nick Lee quickly grabbed a 4-1 lead with 1:49 of riding time against No. 15 Jesse Vasquez. He kept the momentum rolling, totaling five takedowns and 3:10 in riding time en route to a 14-3 major decision. Two of Cael Sanderson’s top wrestlers stepped up in succession, and Penn State held a 7-4 lead after three bouts.
No. 22 Beau Bartlett aimed to keep it rolling for the Nittany Lions against No. 5 Kyle Parco at 149 pounds. The pair battled to a 0-0 lock after one period. Bartlett and Parco each scored a point on escapes in the second and third period, respectively, and the wrestlers were forced into a sudden victory round.
Bartlett got in on a shot for a takedown 37 seconds into the overtime period and earned a 3-1 victory for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State’s Tony Negron was up next for a battle against No. 3 Jacori Teemer in the 157-pound bout. The Nittany Lion fell back 4-3 after a tight two-period battle but Teemer tacked on two takedowns Teemer to score an 8-3 decision. The Nittany Lions still held a 10-7 overall lead at the halfway mark.
No. 26-ranked Creighton Edsell opened the the second half of wrestling at 165 pounds against Arizona State Anthony Valencia, ranked No. 6. The Penn State junior jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Valencia stormed back with multiple takedowns and took an 8-2 lead into the final period. Edsell mounted a bit of a comeback, but he fell in a 10-5 decision to leave the match tied at 10-10.
That would be the last dual meet points for Arizona State.
No. 1 Carter Starocci got the Nittany Lion run started at 174 with a dominant performance against the Sun Devils’ Zane Coleman, notching a 17-2 technical fall at 5:40 to put Penn State back in front 15-10.
Top-ranked 184-pounder Aaron Brooks followed that up by making quick work of Arizona State’s Josh Nummer. Brooks got the pin at 1:48 to push the Nittany Lions’ lead to 21-10.
No. 3 197-pounder Max Dean took the mat for Penn State in the penultimate bout against No. 8 Kordell Norfleet. Dean climbed to a 5-1 lead with 2:35 in riding time after two periods, and rolled to a 10-1 major decision to secure the meet victory for the Nittany Lions.
No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet faced Chad Porter to finish the night in the heavyweight battle. The pair sustained head injuries to open the bout, but after a quick break, Kerkvliet jumped out to a 2-0 lead with 2:12 of riding time. The 285-pounder continued to roll to move up to a 4-0 lead with another takedown, and carried that momentum all the way to a 9-0 major decision with 4:24 in riding time.
Kerkvliet’s dominating performance helped Penn State to a 29-10 victory over a talented Sun Devils team.
What’s Next?
Penn State will get an extended break before it begins the Big Ten schedule. The Nittany Lions will open conference wrestling with a trip to College Park to take on Maryland at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 7.
StateCollege.com’s Geoff Rushton contributed to this story.
