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Penn State Wrestling Downs Iowa 23-14 in Top-2 Battle at the Bryce Jordan Center

Penn State wrestling’s stars came through big in the clutch as the top-ranked Nittany Lions (11-0, 4-0) outlasted No. 2 Iowa (12-1, 5-1) 23-14 on Friday night in front of a sold-out Bryce Jordan Center crowd.

Among the night’s crucial moments for Penn State, No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young got a third-period pin of former Nittany Lion Brody Teske in the 133-pound bout to turn the tables early on, and No. 4 Max Dean had a pivotal third-period rideout against No. 7 Jacob Warner in a 2-0 decision that all but sealed the team victory.

Penn State’s other two defending national champions were victorious, albeit in different fashions. While Carter Starocci needed a riding time point to defeat Iowa’s No. 16 Nelson Brands for a 2-1 decision at 174, Aaron Brooks piled on the offense in a 22-7 technical fall of Hawkeye Drake Rhodes.

Ninth-ranked Nittany Lion true freshman Levi Haines officially burned his redshirt and claimed a 3-2 decision over No. 15 Cobe Siebrecht at 157, and No. 2 heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet got his first official win over Iowa’s No. 3-ranked Tony Cassioppi with a 4-1 decision that cemented the Penn State win.

The victory was Penn State coach Cael Sanderson’s 100th Big Ten win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Penn State sophomore Marco Vespa got the nod against No. 1 Spencer Lee at 125 pounds and immediately made an impression. Making his first start, Vespa got an aggressive takedown with a cradle and took the three-time national champion toward his back out of the gate. But Lee quickly scored a reversal, then worked a series of back points for an 18-2 technical fall at the 2:15 mark to give Iowa a 5-0 lead.

No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young got that back and then some for Penn State in the 133-pound bout against a former Nittany Lion, 17th-ranked Brody Teske. Bravo-Young used a low single and a powerful double leg for a pair of takedowns and 4-1 lead heading into the third, then went to work on offense looking for bonus points. Leading 7-2 as time wound down, Bravo-Young snapped down on Teske’s head and took the Hawkeye to the mat. The two-time national champion locked up a cradle and pinned Teske with 11 seconds remaining to put Penn State in front 6-5.

In a top-five showdown at 141 pounds, No. 4-ranked Nittany Lion Beau Bartlett faced No. 2 Real Woods. The Hawkeyes’ transfer from Stanford got in on a low single in the first period for a 2-0 lead he did not relinquish. Bartlett escaped to start the second, but Woods matched that in the third and added a riding time point for a 4-1 decision and an 8-6 Iowa lead.

No. 13 Shayne Van Ness had Iowa’s seventh-ranked Max Murin on the defensive early in the 149-pound bout, but the pair were scoreless through one. Van Ness took down and escaped in the second but not before Murin built up 1:30 in riding time. The Hawkeye got an escape of his own to tie it in the third, then used a low double for a takedown. With a riding time point, Murin won a 4-1 decision to expand the Hawkeye lead to 11-6.

At 157 pounds, No. 9 Levi Haines got the call for Penn State, ensuring the true freshman would not redshirt this season. After a scoreless first period against No. 15 Cole Siebrecht, Haines escaped to start the second for a 1-0 lead. Siebrecht tied it with an escape to start the third and Haines responded with a high double, lifting the Hawkeye off the mat for the bout’s only takedown. Siebrecht escaped, but Haines held on for a 3-2 decision that narrowed Iowa’s lead to 11-9 at the intermission.

Fifth-ranked Nittany Lion redshirt freshman Alex Facundo and Iowa’s No. 13 Patrick Kennedy displayed stellar defensive efforts as the 165-pound bout went to sudden victory tied 1-1. Neither wrestler could break through, so the bout went to tiebreakers. In the first, Kennedy escaped in just four seconds. Needing to better that or get a takedown in the second, Facundo opted to start neutral. The Nittany Lion was unable to get the decisive score, though, and Kennedy claimed a 2-1 decision to widen the Hawkeye lead to 14-9.

Penn State’s upper weights took care of business from there. At 174 pounds, Iowa’s No. 16 Nelson Brands stymied top-ranked Nittany Lion Carter Starocci’s offense for much of the bout. But Starocci’s second-period escape and 1:12 in riding time to start the third were enough for a 2-1 decision that narrowed the team score to 14-12.

At 184, No. 1 Aaron Brooks was aggressive from the outset as he looked for bonus points against Iowa’s Drake Rhodes. Taking Rhodes down and cutting him loose seemingly at will, Brooks took a 10-2 lead into the second, along with 2:19 in riding time built up as he worked for turns. The offense continued into the second as Brooks’ lead grew to 18-6 before the Nittany Lion finally got a match-ending takedown in the third for a 22-7 tech fall at the 5:42 mark.

With the Nittany Lions’ retaking the lead 17-14 and the dual’s outcome still in the balance, No. 4 Max Dean took on No. 7 Jacob Warner in a rematch of the 2022 NCAA championship bout at 197 pounds. A second-period escape gave Dean a 1-0 advantage heading into the third. Warner took down, and Dean executed a full-period rideout, keeping control despite Warner’s aggressive efforts to escape and two resets. With the riding time point, Dean took a 2-0 decision and moved Penn State’s lead to 20-14.

Iowa’s only chance to win the dual would be on criteria with a pin in the night’s final bout, but Greg Kerkvliet made sure that didn’t happen. The second-ranked Nittany Lion heavyweight used a high single for a first-period takedown of Iowa’s No. 3-ranked Tony Cassioppi, who escaped to make the score 2-1. Cassioppi took down to start the second, and Kerkvliet worked a strong ride for the entirety of the period to maintain his lead and take 2:27 in riding time into the third. Kerkvliet escaped to start the third and with a riding time point finished off the night with a 4-1 decision. It was Kerkvliet’s first win in four official bouts against Cassioppi (though the Nittany Lion junior did beat the Hawkeye senior at the NWCA All-Star Classic in November), and set the final team score at 23-14 in Penn State’s favor.

WHAT’S NEXT

Penn State travels to Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 3, for a 7 p.m. dual meet airing live on the Big Ten Network.