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Penn State Wrestling Rolls Past Rider 37-3

No. 1 Penn State wrestling (2-0) devoured Rider (2-1) 37-3 in a lopsided road dual on Friday night in Trenton, New Jersey. It marked the 30th consecutive dual meet win for Cael Sanderson’s group.

The Nittany Lions cruised despite the absence of one top-ranked wrestler and another suffering an upset loss. With two-time 184-pound national champion Aaron Brooks out of the lineup for the night, Donovan Ball filled in with a victory. Defending 197-pound champion Max Dean, meanwhile, lost for only the second time since joining Penn State last year, falling 3-1 in sudden victory to No. 12 Ethan Laird.

Penn State comfortably won nine of their 10 bouts. Roman Bravo-Young led the way with 10 takedowns as the Nittany Lions racked up four major decisions, a technical fall, a pin and an injury forfeit.

How It Happened

Gary Steen kicked off the night for Penn State at 125 pounds against Rider’s Tyler Klinsky. Though Steen notched an early first-period takedown, but his 2-0 advantage was erased by Klinsky’s escapes. Steen overcame the equalizer with a last-second takedown at the end of the second period to pick up a 4-2 lead. Steen opened the third with an escape, and though Klinsky secured his first takedown of the bout, Steen escaped again and tacked on a riding time point for a 6-4 victory. Penn State led 3-0.

At 133 pounds, No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young dominated his matchup with Rider’s Richie Koehler. Bravo-Young logged takedown after takedown, releasing the reigning MAC champion to pick up more takedown points but still building 3:09 in riding time. The defending champ earned a major decision 23-9 and the Nittany Lions led 7-0.

No. 9 Beau Bartlett trailed Rider’s McKenzie Bell 4-2 after two periods in the 141-pound bout. The Nittany Lion took down to start the third, worked his way to a reversal and put Bell on his back for the pin at 6:08 and a 13-0 lead in Penn State’s favor.

The night’s first ranked matchup came as No. 20 Nittany Lion Shayne Van Ness took on Rider’s No. 24 Quinn Kinner in the 149-pound bout. After an even early going, Van Ness picked up a takedown and two near fall points late off a cradle for 4-0 after the first. Kinner and Van Ness traded reversals in the second, making it a 6-5 Van Ness lead after two, but Van Ness was seconds away from scoring a pin before time expired. A dominant third period and a riding time point gave Van Ness a 11-6 victory, and the Nittany Lions led 16-0.

No. 30 Terrell Barraclough’s 157-pound bout with Rider’s Jake Silverstein ended less than 10 seconds into the first period as Silverstein suffered an injury that forced him out. The medical forfeit allowed Penn State to lead 22-0 at halftime.

At 165 pounds, No. 17 Nittany Lion Alex Facundo controlled Rider’s Hunter Mays. Three takedowns from Facundo in the second period exemplified the dominance, as the Penn State wrestler picked up a major decision at 13-4. The Nittany Lions led 26-0.

In the 174-pound bout, No. 1 Carter Starocci faced off with Shane Reitsma of Rider. Starocci recorded eight takedowns and nearly three minutes of riding time, as he scored a major decision for Penn State to extend the team lead to 30-0.

Instead of No. 1 Aaron Brooks wrestling at 184 pounds, Penn State put out Donovan Ball to take on Rider’s Asa Terrell. Ball took advantage of his opportunity, scoring four total takedowns. His 9-3 win gave Penn State a 33-0 lead with two bouts remaining.

In a ranked matchup between two sixth-year seniors, Penn State’s No. 1 Max Dean faced off with No. 12 Ethan Laird at 197. A scoreless first period gave way to a lone escape in the second, giving Dean just a 1-0 advantage heading into the third period. Laird tied it up with an escape in the third and narrowly avoided two takedowns from Dean. In sudden victory, Laird forced a scramble that led to a takedown and an upset victory to break onto the scoreboard for the Broncs. Rider cut the deficit to 33-3.

No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet closed out the night at heavyweight against Rider’s David Szuba. Kerkvliet racked up 5:31 in riding time and four takedowns as he comfortably won an 11-1 major decision to finish off the 37-3 team win.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions visit Lehigh at 2 p.m. on Sunday, then return home to host Oregon State at 2 p.m. on Dec. 11.

Geoff Rushton contributed to this report.