No. 1 Penn State Wrestling Stays Hot with 28-9 Win over Michigan State

No. 1 Penn State wrestling (13-0, 5-0 Big Ten) took care of Michigan State (8-2, 3-2 Big Ten) 28-9 on Sunday afternoon at Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing.

The Nittany Lions continued to roll in the state of Michigan to finish the weekend. No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young sat out of the action to get some rest ahead of the upcoming Iowa dual, but the Nittany Lions still managed to largely dominate a Spartans lineup that boars four ranked wrestlers.

Drew Hildebrandt got the day started with a major decision at 125 pounds, while stars Nick Lee, Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks did their part in earning key points for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State won seven of 10 bouts and had 16 takedowns to the Spartans’ five en route to the Nittany Lions’ 24th consecutive dual meet victory and 90th in their last 92.

How It Happened

Things got underway at 125 pounds with Penn State’s No. 7 Drew Hildebrandt against Tristan Lujan. The senior out of Indiana helped Cael Sanderson’s team get things off on the right note, as a quick takedown gave him a 2-0 lead after one period. Hildebrandt got a rideout in the second period, then tacked on an escape and a two more takedowns in the third while Lujan was unable to generate any offense.

With an extra point thanks to 2:12 in riding time, Hildebrandt opened the day with an 8-0 major decision.

No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young sat out of Sunday’s action for rest, so Baylor Shunk moved up a weight and took the mat at 133 pounds. The Centre Hall native fell behind early against Michigan State’s No. 12-ranked Rayvon Foley, as the Spartan earned a quick couple of takedowns. Shunk went down 4-1 after the first period.

Shunk battled hard and managed another escape point, but a Foley escape, takedown and riding time point gave the Spartan an 8-2 decision, and cut Penn State’s lead at 4-3 after two bouts.

No. 1 Nick Lee collected two takedowns and 1:47 of riding time after one period in the 141-pound bout against Michigan State’s Matt Santos. He continued to roll to a 7-1 lead and racked up more riding time through two, while a pair of two-point turns, a stall point and riding time gave Lee a 13-1 major decision. Penn State jumped out to an 8-3 lead following Lee’s win.

Up next at 149 pounds, No. 19 Beau Bartlett aimed to add to the lead against unranked Spartan Peyton Omania. The pair entered the second period tied at 0-0, and Omania carried a 1-0 advantage into the third. Bartlett took control in the third, getting an escape to tie it then driving through on a low single to take the lead. The Nittany Lion sophomore then countered an aggressive throw attempt by Omania for a takedown and two back points to earn a 7-2 decision .

Terrell Barraclough and No. 19 Chase Saldate of Michigan State were scoreless through the first period and Saldate earned an escape to take a 1-0 lead into the the third. From the down position, Barraclough got a reversal and Saldate escaped to tie the bout at 2-2. The Nittany Lion fought off a strong takedown attempt late in the third and the bout went to sudden victory. Saldate fended off a Barraclough shot and moments later the Spartan completed a takedown 45 seconds into the extra period for a 4-2 decision that trimmed Penn State’s lead to 11-6.

At 165 pounds, No. 16 Brady Berge took on Michigan State’s Caleb Fish. Berge dropped in on a single leg and drove through to quickly convert the takedown as the first period ended for a 2-0 lead. An escape and take down extended the Nittany Lion’s lead to 5-1 after two. Fish escaped to open the third but Berge converted a low double for his third takedown. A Fish escape and stall point against Berge narrowed the score, but Berge fought off a late takedown attempt and emerged with a 7-4 decision to give Penn State a 14-6 lead.

No. 1 Carter Starocci opened the 174-pound bout against Nathan Jimenez with a quick takedown and rolled from there, earning a 19-3 tech fall at the 3:32 mark. The Nittany Lions took a 19-6 lead with No. 1 Aaron Brooks on deck.

The top-ranked 184-pounder was challenged by Michigan State’s No. 27 Layne Malczewski. In an impressive battle, Brooks got a second period rideout to build up two minutes of riding time, but the bout remained scoreless heading into the third. Brooks got an escape and drove through on a low double for a takedown to take the lead. He finished the match on top and with the riding time point took a 4-0 decision to build a 22-6 lead that sealed dual victory for the Nittany Lions.

At 197 pounds, No. 2 Max Dean opened the scoring against Michigan State’s No. 15-ranked Cameron Caffey with a second-period escape. Caffey, however, countered a Dean shot for a takedown and Dean’s escape tied the bout at 2-2 heading into the third. Caffey took down and Dean looked to stay in control on top. With 25 seconds left, a visibly tired Caffey managed to break free for the escape and the lead. Dean was unable to convert on a late takedown attempt and the Spartan earned the upset with a 3-2 decision.

Penn State’s lead was trimmed to 22-9 entering the heavyweight bout, but No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet managed to flip that quickly. The sophomore Nittany Lion pinned unranked Brad Wilton 1:58 into the final bout, and the Nittany Lions left East Lansing with a 28-9 victory.

What’s Next?

The biggest dual meet of the year up to this point awaits the Nittany Lions. Penn State will travel to Iowa City to take on No. 2 Iowa at 9 p.m. EST on Friday. That clash will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

StateCollege.com’s Geoff Rushton contributed to this story.