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Photo by Erin Sullivan | Onward State
No. 1 Penn State Wrestling Wins 19-13 Thriller at No. 2 Iowa
No. 1 Penn State wrestling (14-0, 6-0 BIg Ten) won six of 10 bouts to claim a 19-13 victory at No. 2 Iowa (11-1, 5-1) on Friday night in a thriller at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Nittany Lions got big overtime wins from Nick Lee and Carter Starocci in bouts featuring the top two wrestlers in their weight classes, and Max Dean locked up the dual meet with a furious third-period performance in the night’s penultimate matchup.
In total, the meeting between the nation’s top two programs featured 18 ranked wrestlers and five bouts between wrestlers ranked in the top five.
Penn State won its 25th consecutive dual meet and snapped Iowa’s 29-meet win streak.
How It Happened
No. 7 ranked Drew Hildebrandt got things rolling early for Penn State in the 125-pound bout against unranked Iowa freshman Jesse Ybarra, wrestling in place of the Hawkeyes’ 11th-ranked freshman Drake Ayala, who was out with an undisclosed injury.
After a scoreless first period, Ybarra took neutral and with 49 seconds left in the second Hildebrandt drove through on a double leg for a takedown and a 2-0 lead. Hildebrandt took down to start the third and got behind Ybarra for a reversal. Controlling on top, Hildebrandt turned Ybarra for four nearfall points and with a riding time point earned a 9-0 major decision that gave Penn State a 4-0 lead.
The meet heated up quickly with No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young taking on No. 3-ranked Hawkeye Austin DeSanto in a rematch of last year’s 133-pound Big Ten championship, won by the Nittany Lion. DeSanto was the aggressor from the outset, taking multiple strong shots that had Bravo-Young on the defensive. A DeSanto escape and a stall point gave the Hawkeye a 2-0 lead in the second period. Bravo-Young had no clean shots until he finally got control on a double leg and tied it at 2-2 heading into the third. The Nittany Lion earned an escape 34 seconds into the third and fended off DeSanto the remainder of the way to claim a 3-2 decision. Penn State held a 7-0 lead after two bouts
Penn State’s No. 1-ranked Nick Lee and Iowa’s second-ranked Jaydin Eierman met at 141 in a rematch of last season’s national title bout, which Lee won in sudden victory. Friday night’s reunion proved to be no less thrilling. Holding a 1-0 lead in the second period, Eierman threw Lee to his back, but Lee quickly rolled through and got in on a double leg for takedown. After Eierman’s escape, Lee got another takedown near the edge of the mat as the period ended to take a 4-2 lead with 1:11 in riding time.
Lee took neutral to start the third, but with 12 seconds left Eierman scored a takedown and rode out the period to narrowly erase the Nittany Lion’s riding time point and send the bout to sudden victory. In the extra period, Eierman lined up a double leg, but Lee scrambled behind him and recorded the takedown for the 5-4 decision and a 10-0 Penn State lead.
Iowa began to mount its comeback at 149, where No. 19-ranked Nittany Lion sophomore Beau Bartlett took on 10th-ranked Hawkeye senior Max Murin. Bartlett got a second-period escape to take a 1-0 lead, but not before Murin built up 1:26 in riding time. Murin quickly escaped to tie it in the third, then locked in on Bartlett’s leg and got behind him for the takedown. With a riding time point, Murin took a 4-1 decision and got the Hawkeyes on the board, narrowing Penn State’s lead to 10-3
For the fifth consecutive bout to start the night, neither wrestler managed points in the first period of the 157 pound bout between Penn State sophomore Terrell Barraclough and Iowa’s No. 12-ranked senior Kaleb Young. Neither wrestler, in fact, would generate much offense at all throughout the bout. Young escaped to start the second, then rode out Barraclough in the third for a 2-0 decision that pulled Iowa within four heading into the intermission.
A pair of veteran wrestlers met in the 165 pound bout, with 11th-ranked Nittany Lion senior Brady Berge facing No. 5 Alex Marinelli of Iowa. A three-time Big Ten champion whose only career loss at Carver-Hawkeye was to former Nittany Lion Vincenzo Joseph, Marinelli got the scoring started with a first period takedown to take a 2-0 lead and build 1:16 in riding time. “The Bull” tacked on an escape and a stall point in the second, then seemed to have Berge reeling in the third. After the Nittany Lion escaped to make it 4-1, Marinelli drove through on a single leg at the edge of the mat for a 6-1 lead. Another stall point was followed by Marinelli’s third takedown. The riding time point made it a 10-2 major decision for Marinelli and tied the dual meet at 10-10.
The night’s second 1-2 matchup came at 174, with No. 1 Carter Starocci taking on Iowa’s No. 2-ranked Michael Kemerer in a rematch of last season’s NCAA title bout won by the Nittany Lion in sudden victory. Starocci fended off two strong takedown attempts from Kemerer in the first and earned an escape in the second for a 1-0 lead as both wrestlers battled hard with shots and stout defense.
After Iowa’s staff burned their challenge looking for a locked hands call, Kemerer escaped in the third to tie it 1-1. As time wound down, Kemerer was awarded a takedown at the edge of the mat that would have won it, but a review showed time had expired and the call was reversed. In sudden victory, neither wrestler managed points so it went to the 30-second tiebreaker rounds. Starocci escaped in the first for a 2-1 lead. In the second, after some confusion over a stalling call stopped the action, Starocci completed a rideout and claimed the decision to put Penn State back on top 13-10.
Top-ranked 184-pounder Aaron Brooks jumped out to an early lead on No. 17-ranked Iowa sophomore Abe Assad, converting a double leg and a head inside single leg for a pair of takedowns and a 4-1 first period lead. An escape and a takedown stretched Brooks’ lead, but the defending national champion couldn’t break through for more in the third and with a riding time point settled for the 8-3 decision.
Penn State led 16-10 heading into what would be the decisive 197-pound bout between Penn State’s second-ranked Max Dean and No. 4 Jacob Warner of Iowa, who took an early lead on a first period takedown. Dean appeared to have a reversal and back points late in the first, but, rather inexplicably, neither was called on the mat or on review.
With Warner leading 3-0 heading into the third, Dean got an escape and a takedown to tie it and a stall point against Warner to take a 4-3 lead. Before time ran out, Dean locked in a bow and arrow and turned Warner for four back points to earn an 8-3 decision. Dean’s eight-point explosion in the final period gave Penn State an insurmountable 19-10 lead.
Another pair of top-five wrestlers closed out the dual at heavyweight. No. 3-ranked Nittany Lion sophomore Greg Kerkvliet scored first with a takedown of fifth-ranked Tony Cassioppi. After escaping, Cassioppi hit on a big shoulder throw for the takedown and rode out Kerkvliet for the remainder of the first period. Kerkvliet took neutral to start the second but couldn’t convert on two shots. Cassioppi escaped to start the third, then later countered an inside trip attempt by Kerkvliet for another throw and a 6-2 lead. Riding time made it a 7-2 decision for the Hawkeye but Penn State won the dual 19-13.
What’s Next
After three consecutive road duals, Penn State returns home on Friday for a 7 p.m. matchup with No. 8 Ohio State in the Bryce Jordan Center. The meet will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
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