As the Big Ten wrestling season rolls on, Penn State had yet another dual postponed due to COVID-19.
The Nittany Lions’ home-opening dual with No. 1 Iowa scheduled Friday night was postponed due to positive COVID-19 results within the Hawkeyes’ program. The postponement marked the fourth dual to be affected for Cael Sanderson’s squad this year.
Despite the lack of match time in a shortened season, Penn State is focused on getting better and competing as the postseason nears.
“Our guys are going to get their opportunity. They are ready to go, and I think this is a team that we’re just going to compete better every match,” Sanderson said Wednesday. “We just want to get out there and compete. But it is what it is, and it’s just the way things are right now, so it’s not going to do us much good to overthink anything or get upset. We’re just going to keep moving forward and focusing on the right things.”
With the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Championships approaching, the team is prepared to jump through any hoops needed in order to get some of its matches rescheduled. Sanderson said that he’s unsure when or how the matches will be scheduled, but that his squad will be ready to roll nonetheless.
“It’s difficult to reschedule. We had to be really creative to get the match in with Wisconsin last week, so we’re willing to do what we gotta do,” Sanderson said. “We just don’t have a lot of weeks left with the Big Ten Tournament and the nationals coming up, so we’re hoping to get as many matches in between now and the end.”
Although their highly anticipated match with Iowa is postponed, for the time being, the Nittany Lions could potentially still see some mat time this weekend. Sanderson mentioned that his team could have an opportunity to wrestle Michigan or Michigan State this weekend after both of those matches were postponed earlier this year.
Either way, the group is staying focused on what it can control.
“It doesn’t help to get too excited or too disappointed. It is what it is,” Sanderson said. “We are trying to compete this weekend and coordinate something with potentially Michigan State, Michigan.”
One of those guys that’s focused on moving forward is second-ranked 141-pounder Nick Lee. The veteran is 3-0 thus far on the year, scoring bonus points in each of those matches. For Lee, all he can control right now is being ready for the next match while other people figure out the logistics of when that match will be.
“I think the goal is to get as many matches as possible in a weird year, so it’s hard to not be a little disappointed about those things but that’s not really our job,” Lee said. “We just focus on staying ready and then getting the matches scheduled and stuff is other folks’ job, so we just trust them to get it done.”
Lee was looking forward to getting on the mat this Friday as he was set to square off against No. 1 Jaydin Eierman of Iowa. Lee last wrestled Eierman in 2018, when he lost via a 12-4 major decision in the NCAA Tournament when Eierman was with Missouri.
With the Iowa match currently postponed, Lee may have to wait until the Big Ten Tournament to get revenge on Eierman.
“It’s definitely a match that you want, right? He’s definitely one of the toughest wrestlers at the weight not just in the NCAA, but probably in the world, so it sucks that we are missing the match,” Lee said. “It’s the type of match you look forward to because it’s not a regular match that you would see on television.”
If the schedule stands as is, Penn State’s next action will come against No. 12 Ohio State in Columbus on Friday, Feb. 19. The match will be broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network.
