Claiming another 2-0 weekend, the Nittany Lions defeated Rutgers 33-8 and Maryland 44-3 to clinch the Big Ten regular season championship. Amidst the team success, redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, as announced by the conference Wednesday.
Van Ness, ranked No. 13 in the nation at 149 pounds, dominated both duals over the weekend, earning a 21-9 major decision win over Rutgers’ Tony White and a 19-4 technical fall over Maryland’s No. 18 Ethan Miller.
Between the two bouts, Van Ness amassed 10 takedowns and near-fall points on three different occasions.
Van Ness currently has a 14-4 record on the season and a 5-3 conference record. After falling to Iowa’s Max Murin and Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso in late January, Van Ness has been on a three-dual win streak.
The Nittany Lion is the third wrestler from Penn State to receive the honor this season, following Max Dean in December and Roman Bravo-Young in January.
Van Ness and the rest of the Nittany Lions will be back at Rec Hall for one more dual this season at 1 p.m. on Sunday when they take on Clarion.
