No. 2 Penn State Wrestling Ends Regular Season with 40-3 Blowout of American

No. 2 Penn State wrestling (12-2, 8-1 Big Ten) nearly shut out American University (3-8) on Senior Day Sunday afternoon in Rec Hall, winning 40-3.

Seniors Vincenzo Joseph, Mark Hall, and Shakur Rasheed got fitting victories in their Rec Hall finales by earning wins by fall to cap off outstanding careers as Nittany Lions at home. Penn State won nine of the 10 matches, also getting a fall from Roman Bravo-Young, and a major decision from Seth Nevills.

How It Happened

No. 1 Nick Lee started the afternoon against American’s Sal Profaci at 141 lbs. Lee used a pair of takedowns to take 4-1 lead into the second period. After another takedown in the second, Lee held 6-2 advantage with nearly two minutes of riding time. He picked up the 7-3 decision to put the Nittany Lions in front 3-0.

At 149 lbs., No. 17 Jarod Verkleeren took on No. 8 Kizhan Clarke of American. Other than an escape by Clarke to begin the second and Verkleeren to begin the third, most of the match consisted of tie-ups and shot attempts that were fought off. It didn’t come until the final seconds of the match when Verkleeren evaded what looked like it was going to be a Clarke takedown and skillfully threw the Eagle to side to get the takedown for the win.

With a 6-0 Nittany Lion lead, Luke Gardner kept the winning going by defeatinf Ethan Karsten in their bout at 157 lbs. Both ended up on their backs for split-seconds in the first period, however neither of the scrambles resulted in any near-fall points. The match entered the second period scoreless, before Karsten escaped and took Gardner down to lead 3-0 heading into the final period. Gardner returned the favor in less than 30 seconds in the final period to even up the score 3-3. Feeding off the energy’s crowd, Gardner registered two more takedowns earn the 7-5 decision.

At 165 lbs., No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph’s action-packed first period gave him a 6-0 advantage against American’s Tim Fitzpatrick.  didn’t need much time in the second period to earn the fall at the 4:00 minute mark in his final match in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions led 15-0 heading into No. 2 Mark Hall’s bout at 174 lbs. against American’s Anthony Wokasch.

CURTAIN CALL!

Vin gets the pin in his Rec Hall finale!#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/P0Xll4mbU1

— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 23, 2020

 

The only major difference between Hall’s and Joseph’s matches was how long they lasted. Hall also brought the crowd to an uproar in his last match at Rec Hall as he earned his fall at the 2:33 mark, putting the Nittany Lions up 21-0 heading into intermission.

Hall follows Joseph with a pin in his rec hall finale!#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/PqiuRGHAyG

— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 23, 2020

 

No. 6 Aaron Brooks jumped out to an early 7-3 lead over Tanner Harvey of American in their bout at 184 lbs. After an American challenge, Harvey closed the gap to make the score 7-5 heading into the third period. An escape and stout defense helped Brooks earn the 8-5 win.

At 197 lbs., No. 18 Shakur Rasheed got after things early by registering a takedown in the opening 10 seconds of his match against American’s William Jarrell. Rasheed followed in the footsteps of his fellow seniors who wrestled in their last matches at Rec Hall by pinning Jarrell at 1:04, an even faster time. The Nittany Lions led 30-0 heading into No. 17 Seth Nevills’ heavyweight match against Niko Camacho of American.

ONE FINAL TIME! Shak gets the pin in his final Rec Hall dual!#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/O44ReG1lb0

— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 23, 2020

 

Nevills struck first after a scoreless first period when he escaped to starting the second and claim a 1-0 lead. He earned near fall points in the final period to help him climb to the 10-2 major decision and help Penn State extend its lead to 34-0.

At 125 lbs., Brandon Meredith and Gage Curry of American held each other scoreless after one. After refusing to let Curry up during the second period to keep the score knotted at 0-0, Meredith escaped in the third to take a 1-0 lead. Curry took Meredith down late in the third period to force sudden victory where he ended up earning the 4-2 decision. The Nittany Lions lead 34-3 heading into the final match of the afternoon.

No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young easily defeated American’s Joshua Vega to conclude the dual. After a quick nine-takedown first period, Bravo-Young won by fall at the 2:10 mark to finish the dual season for Penn State. The Nittany Lions won 40-3.

RBY with the pin to close out the dual!#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/Y3qVqtmCri

— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 23, 2020

 

What’s Next

Penn State will travel to Rutgers University for the Big Ten Championships on March 7-8.