No. 1 Penn State wrestling (15-0, 7-0 Big Ten) kept its undefeated season on track with a dominating 32-7 win over No. 6 Ohio State (6-3, 2-3) on Friday night in the annual Bryce Jordan Center dual.
Without two regular starters, the Nittany Lions took eight of 10 bouts, including a pair of pins by Roman Bravo-Young and Aaron Brooks and a trio of sudden victory wins. Penn State won the takedown battle 19-8, with six of the Buckeyes’ coming in one bout.
Penn State extended its nation-best dual meet win streak to 26.
How It Happened
No. 6 Drew Hildebrandt got a hot start for Penn State rolling in the 125 pound bout against No. 10 Malik Heinselman. A second-period escape gave the Nittany Lion a 1-0 lead heading into the third. Heinselman took down and nearly had a quick reversal, but Hildebrandt broke him down and kept him bellied out on the mat for the remainder of the period with a strong rideout. The riding time point gave Hildebrandt a 2-0 decision and put Penn State ahead 3-0.
At 133 pounds, top-ranked Nittany Lion Roman Bravo-Young got an early takedown of Ohio State’s Brady Koontz, then drove through on a blast double leg to open a 4-1 lead. A Koontz escape and another RBY takedown had the Nittany Lions’ defending national champion ahead 6-2 going into the second. After a quick escape, Bravo-Young snapped behind on a single leg for another takedown and turned Koontz to his back for the pin at 5:31.
RBY’s third fall of the season gave Penn State a 9-0 lead.
No. 1 Nick Lee kept up the momentum in the 141-pound bout against Buckeye sophomore and 20th-ranked Dylan D’Emilio. Lee notched three takedowns through the first two periods while building up 3:12 in riding time. After an escape, Lee countered a D’Emilio shot for a takedown and a 9-2 lead, then simply overpowered the Buckeye on a counter takedown. With the riding time point, Lee earned a 12-3 major decision and the Nittany Lions opened up a 13-0 lead.
Penn State sophomore Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 18, took No. 2-ranked Buckeye and defending Big Ten champ Sammy Sasso to the wire at 149 pounds. Sasso got an escape to start the second period for a 1-0 lead and the wrestlers battled through a long scramble to end the period with neither converting for a takedown. Bartlett took down to start the third, worked to his feet and brought Sasso over his shoulders to take a 2-1 lead. Sasso, though, got free and finished a takedown in short time to take a 4-2 decision. Penn State led the dual 13-3.
The 157-pound bought saw a pair of unranked sophomores and former Utah state high school champions square off with Penn State’s Terrell Barraclough taking on Ohio State’s Isaac Wilcox. A Barraclough escape gave the Nittany Lion a 1-0 lead after two periods. Wilcox chose neutral to start the third and worked a single leg to trip Barraclough to the mat for a takedown and the 2-1 lead. Barraclough escaped to tie it and while both wrestlers had good shots, neither could drive through, sending the bout to sudden victory.
Barraclough showed some tremendous defensive technique fighting off a Wilcox takedown attempt with his leg in the air. With the two wrestlers locked up on the mat, Barraclough broke Wilcox’s hold then stepped through his legs for a takedown with three seconds left in sudden victory to secure a 4-2 decision. The win was Barraclough’s first dual meet victory and gave Penn State a 16-3 lead at the break.
At 165, Penn State’s Creighton Edsell stepped in for regular starter Brady Berge, whom coach Cael Sanderson said after the meet is “working on his weight.” Edsell fought off a few good shots by Ohio State’s Kevon Freeman to leave the bout scoreless going into the second period. The Nittany Lion took down to start the second and Freeman controlled on top, working a dominating ride for the entirety of the period to build two minutes of riding time.
Edsell returned the favor in the third. Freeman took down, but it was Edsell in control this time. The Nittany Lion tried for a turning combination but couldn’t work Freeman over. Still, the rideout sent the scoreless bout into sudden victory. Edsell got in on a single leg, then rolled through and got behind Freeman for the takedown and a 2-0 win. The second straight sudden victory decision extended Penn State’s lead to 19-3.
With No. 1-ranked Carter Starocci nursing an injury, Mason Manville filled in at 174 pounds for Penn State against Ohio State’s No. 7-ranked Ethan Smith. Manville fought gamely, but Smith was in control from the outset. The Buckeye scored six takedowns and a reversal while securing 5:13 in riding time en route to a 15-5 major decision that narrowed Penn State’s advantage to 19-7.
No. 1-ranked Nittany Lion Aaron Brooks faced Ohio State’s Rocky Jordan, stepping in for No. 6 Kaleb Romero, at 184 pounds. Brooks took an early 2-1 lead and just missed out on a second takedown near the end of the first period when action was stopped. Brooks went into another gear to start the second. The defending national champion took down, got a quick reversal, then locked up a near-side cradle for the fall at the 3:20 mark. Brooks’ third pin of the season put Penn State ahead 25-7 and secured the dual meet victory.
No. 2-ranked Nittany Lion junior Max Dean and No. 21 Gavin Hoffman went into the second period of the 197 pound bout scoreless. Hoffman got an escape in the second for a 1-0 lead, but not before Dean built a critical 1:49 in riding time. Dean chose down to start the third and got behind Hoffman for a reversal to take the 2-1 lead. The Buckeye answered with a reversal of his own with 27 seconds left for a 3-2 lead. Hoffman stayed on top for the remainder of the period, but Dean’s riding time point sent the bout into sudden victory tied 3-3. In the extra time, Dean worked through a long scramble for the takedown with 25 seconds remaining to claim a 5-3 decision and extend Penn State’s lead to 28-7.
In the night’s final bout, Penn State’s No. 5-ranked heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet looked to rebound from his first loss of the season when he took on No. 13 Tate Orndorff. The Nittany Lion sophomore got in on a head inside single and tripped Orndorff to the mat for a takedown to open the scoring in the first. Kerkvliet opened the second period with an escape then converted on a double leg for a takedown and a 5-1 lead. Orndorff chose neutral to start the third, but Kerkvliet drove through on another double leg for a takedown then cut the Buckeye loose. A single leg takedown and a riding time point added up to a 10-2 major decision for Kerkvliet and rounded out the dual meet score at 32-7.
What’s next
Penn State closes out the conference dual meet schedule at noon on Sunday in Rec Hall against Nebraska. Big Ten Network will broadcast the dual. With a win, the Nittany Lions will claim the Big Ten regular-season title.
