No. 2 Penn State wrestling (1-0) opened its season with a dominant 47-3 win over Sacred Heart on Saturday at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim as part of the Journeyman Classic. The action continues with a dual against Oregon State at 7 p.m.
Four pins, three tech falls, and two major decisions highlighted an action-packed debut for the Nittany Lions.
How It Happened
The first dual of the season was underway with a 125-pound matchup of sophomore Penns Valley product Baylor Shunk and senior Kyle Randall for the Pioneers. Shunk made easy work of his dual meet debut with the Nittany Lions, scoring an 18-0 tech fall at 4:15 to give Penn State a quick 5-0 lead.
Next up was defending national champion and No. 1-ranked senior Roman Bravo-Young at 133 pounds, taking on Sacred Heart’s senior Anthony Petrillo. After taking a 7-4 lead at the end of the first period, Bravo-Young put Penn State 11-0 lead in the dual with a fall at the 3:40 mark of the matchup.
Another defending champion, No. 2-ranked senior Nick Lee, was up next at 141 pounds for Penn State against Jordan Carlucci. This match was quick and decisive, with Lee pinning Carlucci at 0:54 in the first.
At 149 pounds, sophomore Beau Bartlett had little problem with the Pioneers’ Shaun Williams from Sacred Heart. Bartlett went up 2-1 after one period and 7-1 after two, before scoring a 12-3 major decision to put Penn State up 21-0.
Senior Joey Blumer, who is listed to wrestle at 141 and 149 pounds, moved up to 157 in his debut for the Nittany Lions. He took on Sacred Heart’s Nick Palumbo, who led 2-1 after two periods then opened things up in the third for an 8-3 decision to get the Pioneers on the board.
It would be the last team points of the day for Sacred Heart, though. Penn State junior Creighton Edsell scored eight points in the third period of his 165-pound match against Pioneer sophomore Scott Jarosz en route to an 11-3 major, extending Penn State’s lead in the dual to 25-3.
Defending 174-pound national champion Carter Starocci didn’t take long to notch his first win of the season. The No. 1-ranked Nittany Lion sophomore pinned Sacred Heart sophomore Alex Marciniak at the 2:12 mark to extend Penn State’s lead to 31-3.
The fourth and final defending champion for Penn State, No. 1-ranked junior Aaron Brooks, took the mat in the 184-pound matchup. Brooks score nine takedowns in the match and after taking a 13-4 lead into the final period recorded a tech fall at the 7:00 mark, giving the Nittany Lions a 36-3 lead over Sacred Heart.
Penn State junior Max Dean, ranked No. 4 at 197, faced Pioneer senior Dante DelBonis at 197-pounds. The Cornell transfer impressed in his Nittany Lion debut, quickly recording a 18-0 tech fall at the 3:00 mark to extend Penn State’s lead to 41-3.
In the final matchup against Sacred Heart, Penn State sophomore Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 5 at 285 pounds, took on Pioneer senior Mark Blokh. Kerkvliet jumped out to 10-4 lead behind five first period takedowns, then pinned Blokh fall at the 3:57 mark and ended a bloodbath for the Pioneers.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions face Oregon State at 7 p.m. to wrap up the day at Spooky Nook.
StateCollege.com’s Geoff Rushton contributed to this story.
