Penn State grapplers open season with shutout win over Navy

UNIVERSITY PARK — So many of the signature moments in the first 10 years of Cael Sanderson’s tenure as head coach of the Penn State wrestling team have come courtesy of the stars.

As the curtain raised on the start of Sanderson’s 11th season Nov. 10 in front of a Rec Hall sell-out crowd of 6,490, a set of unheralded Nittany Lions took their star turn in the spotlight.

Each of those three had his chance to step out of the shadows for the first time. Each of them delivered in their dual-meet debuts.

No. 1 Penn State extended its dual meet winning streak to 60 matches with a 45-0 shutout of Navy in the season opener for the Nittany Lions. Penn State used four falls, a technical fall, a major decision and four decisions to fashion the shutout. A 29-3 edge in takedowns helped the cause.

“I didn’t really come into the match with a lot of expectations. I was hoping our kids would compete hard. We won some close matches. Navy wrestled tough,” Sanderson said. “We want to see our guys win. Generally, it’s a lot easier to build off of success. These guys did a nice job. We’re happy with the way they competed.”

Gardner made the most of his debut, scoring two takedowns, locking up a near cradle and scoring a fall in just 1:46.

“I’ve just been staying the course and doing everything the coaches asked me to do, so when the time presented itself, I jumped on it, and I’m very grateful for that opportunity,” Gardner said.

The redshirt junior from Pottsville has been kept out of the lineup by three-time NCAA champion Zain Retherford for two years and then Brady Berge and Jarod Verkleeren last year.

He admitted to experiencing some pre-match nerves that assistant coach Cody Sanderson helped him work through.

“Coach Cody got me ready. He’s like, ‘work on your breathing.’ It’s very different (than) wrestling in the room. Wrestling every day is something that you’re just used to,” Gardner said. “But then you come out here and wrestle in front of so many fans, and lights and stuff it’s a lot different, It kind of gets your blood going a little bit. I worked on my breathing beforehand and calmed myself down. I knew I had a job to do and I went out there and did it.”

For Edsell, a redshirt freshman from Wyalusing, this opportunity presented itself when starter Shakur Rasheed was kept out of the lineup from what Sanderson said was part precautionary and part recovery from ACL surgery Rasheed underwent after the NCAA tournament in March.

Edsell scored the first takedown of the bout and entered the third period tied at 2. He escaped and then went on the defensive. Late in the match he scored a counter takedown for a 5-2 win.

“I think he did a nice job. I think he wrestled a kid who was a little bit bigger than him. He got a nice takedown. More than anything, he got to experience a match out there as a freshman,” Sanderson said.

“He’s only going to continue to climb from here. I think he did a nice job in his first match in Rec Hall as a freshman up a weight class against a tough opponent. It’s pretty awesome.”

Edsell said he knew defense was key late in the match.

“I was pretty confident I knew he wasn’t going to score. Getting that last takedown was what I really wanted, not to sneak out a 1-point victory,” he said, before talking about what his first win, in front of a raucous crowd, was like.

“It was definitely an awesome feeling, definitely very energetic. It was something I never felt before. I came from a really small town. We didn’t really have that back from where I’m from. It was very awesome. It felt like home, really.”

Teske, a redshirt freshman, earned the nod at 125 and used a late stall point to pull out a 2-1 win at 125. He figures to battle two-year starter Devin Schnupp for the 125-pound job.

The dual meet started at 141 and Penn State jumped out to a 12-0 lead with pins by No. 3 Nick Lee in 6:16 at 141 and then Gardner. No. 1 Mark Hall added a fall in 58 seconds at 174 and No. 1 Anthony Cassar scored a fall in 4:41 at 285 pounds.

Top-ranked 165-pounder Vincenzo Joseph raced out to a 14-3 lead after a period en route to a 20-5 technical fall in 6:02. No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young used seven takedowns in a 17-6 major decision.

Kyle Conel, the transfer from Kent State, made his Penn State debut with a hard-fought 4-3 win at 197. And, Bo Pipher, subbing in for No. 6 Brady Berge at 157, escaped with two seconds left to secure a 7-6 win.

Penn State, obviously not yet at full strength, will next take the mats on Nov. 17 at the Black Knight Invite at West Point, New York.

“We didn’t wrestle at our best. I’m sure they didn’t feel they wrestled at their best,” Sanderson said. “It’s November. That’s kind of to be expected.”