Penn State wrestling has near perfect first session of the NCAA Championships

Nate Cobler
·8 min read
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Wrestling’s version of March Madness got underway Thursday afternoon inside the BOK Center.

Penn State found itself at the top of the team standings as it went 8-1 during the first round.

The Nittany Lions collected five bonus point victories — three pins and two major decisions — en route to tallying 16 points. They lead by 3.5 points over North Carolina State. Iowa is 0.5 points behind the Wolfpack in third.

Northern Iowa and Ohio State finish out the top five as they are tied with 10 points a piece.

Here’s a look at how Penn State wrestlers fared after the first session of the NCAA Championships:

Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young controls Appalachian State’s Ethan Oakley in their 133-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Bravo-Young earned a 12-3 win over Oakley.
Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young controls Appalachian State’s Ethan Oakley in their 133-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Bravo-Young earned a 12-3 win over Oakley.

Roman Bravo-Young, 133 pounds

Record after session: 1-0

Current round: Second Round

Recap: RBY looked locked in and ready to defend his crown another time in his match against Appalachian State’s Ethan Oakley. He fired off a takedown 16 seconds in, and added one more before the period ended to lead 4-1.

The two-time NCAA champ had an escape and third takedown to extend his lead to 7-1 after two periods. In the third period, RBY had two more takedowns and added a riding time point for a 12-3 major decision. He’ll get Chattanooga’s Brayden Palmer in second session Thursday night.

Penn State’s Beau Bartlett controls Campbell’s Shannon Hanna in their 141-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Bartlett topped Hanna, 8-2.
Penn State’s Beau Bartlett controls Campbell’s Shannon Hanna in their 141-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Bartlett topped Hanna, 8-2.

Beau Bartlett, 141 pounds

Record after session: 1-0

Current round: Second Round

Recap: Bartlett was the first wrestler to hit the mat for Penn State. He came out and looked to get to his offense early with a takedown 27 seconds into match with Campbell’s Shannon Hanna.

Bartlett tallied one more takedown in the first period to hold a 4-1 lead. Hanna’s escape in the second period was the lone point scored.

In the third period, the junior tacked on an escape and takedown, plus had riding time for an 8-2 win. Bartlett faces South Dakota State’s Clay Carlson for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness aims to pin Maryland’s Ethen Miller in their 149-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Van Ness rallied to pin Miller in 6:26.
Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness aims to pin Maryland’s Ethen Miller in their 149-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Van Ness rallied to pin Miller in 6:26.

Shayne Van Ness, 149 pounds

Record after session: 1-0

Current round: Second Round

Recap: Van Ness showed grit and a mental toughness that will be needed to claim a NCAA title. He faced Maryland’s Ethen Miller, who he technical falled in the teams’ dual earlier this year.

Miller came out and stunned the crowd as he immediately raced out to an 8-0 lead on Van Ness with a takedown and two sets of nearfall points. The Nittany Lion stayed poised.

His escape in the second period was the lone point, so he trailed 8-1 to start the third. In the third period, Van Ness rattled off three takedowns in a matter of 40 seconds to get within 11-7. Miller got nailed for a second stall, giving Van Ness a point. On his fourth takedown of the period, the redshirt freshman put Miller on his back for a fall in 6:26. The Nittany Lions’ fans in attendance came to a roar.

Van Ness will now face Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson, who need a tiebreaker win in his first round match, in the second round.

Penn State’s Levi Haines finishes off a takedown of Lock Haven’s Ashton Eyler in their 157-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Haines beat Eyler, 10-3.
Penn State’s Levi Haines finishes off a takedown of Lock Haven’s Ashton Eyler in their 157-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Haines beat Eyler, 10-3.

Levi Haines, 157 pounds

Record after session: 1-0

Current round: Second Round

Recap: Haines opened his first NCAA Championships by facing Lock Haven’s Ashton Eyler. He looked like a veteran by recording two first period takedowns with ease.

In the second period, Haines extended his lead thanks to an escape and a third takedown. He led 7-2 to open the third period.

Eyler opened with an escape, but Haines tacked on one more takedown before the period ended. He added a riding time point for a 10-3 victory.

The true freshman squares off with Wyoming’s Jacob Wright next.

Penn State’s Alex Facundo controls Pittsburgh’s Holden Heller in their 165-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Heller defeated Facundo, 5-3.
Penn State’s Alex Facundo controls Pittsburgh’s Holden Heller in their 165-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Heller defeated Facundo, 5-3.

Alex Facundo, 165 pounds

Record after session: 0-1

Current round: Consolation First Round

Recap: Facundo was the third of three Penn State wrestlers making their NCAA debut on Thursday. His debut will probably stick with him for the rest of his career here, but for the wrong reason.

Facundo faced off with Pittsburgh’s Holden Heller in the first round. He was able to get to Heller’s legs multiple times, but was unable to finish off his takedown attempts.

Instead, Heller countered a couple of those shots for scoring takedowns. Facundo had one other takedown attempt late in the third period, but again couldn’t finish it off in a 5-3 loss.

He’s got a tough one to stay alive in the consolation bracket as he’ll take on Cornell’s Julian Ramirez, who is the No. 4 seed in the class. Ramirez was upset by Michigan State’s Caleb Fish, 8-4.

Carter Starocci, 174 pounds

Record after session: 1-0

Current round: Second Round

Recap: Starocci said Monday during media day that there is a new gear that gets shifted into when the NCAA Championships present themselves. He looks like he is in that high gear.

The two-time defending champion took down Clarion’s John Worthing 22 seconds into the match. Starocci needed just one more minute to stick Worthing in 1:21 to advance.

Thursday night’s matchup for Starocci will be a rubber match with Indiana’s DJ Washington. The two have a history, so it should be fun to watch.

Penn State’s Aaron Brooks aims to finish off a takedown of Chattanooga’s Matthew Waddell in their 184-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Brooks picked up a 13-4 win over Waddell.
Penn State’s Aaron Brooks aims to finish off a takedown of Chattanooga’s Matthew Waddell in their 184-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Brooks picked up a 13-4 win over Waddell.

Aaron Brooks, 184 pounds

Record after session: 1-0

Current round: Second Round

Recap: Brooks picked up the other major decision for Penn State in his opener with Chattanooga’s Matthew Waddell. He recorded two first period takedowns with ease, and led 4-1.

Brooks opened the second period with a quick reversal. Waddell escaped, but found himself under the two-time NCAA champion again when the second period ended.

Brooks tacked on two third period takedowns and added a riding time point for a 13-4 victory. He’ll now face Clarion’s Will Feldkamp, who didn’t face Brooks in the dual this year. Instead, Feldkamp pinned Brooks’ backup, Donovon Ball.

Penn State’s Max Dean controls Campbell’s Levi Hopkins in their 197-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Dean beat Hopkins, 6-1.
Penn State’s Max Dean controls Campbell’s Levi Hopkins in their 197-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Dean beat Hopkins, 6-1.

Max Dean, 197 pounds

Record after session: 1-0

Current round: Second Round

Recap: Dean faced Campbell’s Levi Hopkins, and neither wrestler found any scoring in the first period. The defending champion opened the second period with a quick escape.

Dean added a takedown with 46 seconds remaining to lead 3-0 after two periods. Hopkins wanted to start on his feet, rather than going under Dean.

Dean picked up another takedown and added a riding time point for a 6-1 win. He’ll now face Nebraska’s Silas Allred for a spot in the quarterfinals. Allred dispatched Dean two weeks ago in the Big Ten finals with ease, so it will be interesting to see what adjustments Dean has made.

Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet looks for the pin of Purdue’s Hayden Copass in their 285-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Kerkvliet pinned Copass in 34 seconds.
Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet looks for the pin of Purdue’s Hayden Copass in their 285-pound first round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Kerkvliet pinned Copass in 34 seconds.

Greg Kerkvliet, 285 pounds

Record after session: 1-0

Current round: Second Round

Recap: Kerkvliet ended the session in style for the Nittany Lions against Purdue’s Hayden Copass.

He locked up a standing cradle on Copass with just under 30 seconds into the match. He brought Copass down to the mat in the cradle.

Kerkvliet rocked the Boilermaker back on his back for the fall in 34 seconds. The junior will now face South Dakota State’s AJ Nevills Thursday night. Nevills is the younger brother of former and current Nittany Lions, Nick and Seth Nevills.

Notes: Centre County had 3 former wrestlers take part in the first session in Seth Koleno (Clarion, 141 pounds), Tyler Stoltzfus (Lock Haven, 174) and Cole Urbas (Penn, 197). All three ended up losing their first bouts. Urbas was up first, and dropped a 4-1 loss to North Carolina’s Max Shaw in the preliminary round. Koleno followed with a 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh’s Cole Matthews in the first round. Stoltzfus suffered a 9-6 loss to Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola, but rode Labriola for the entire third period.

Pennsylvania’s Cole Urbas, who is a State College graduate, scrambles with North Carolina’s Max Shaw in their 197-pound preliminary round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Shaw beat Urbas, 4-1.
Pennsylvania’s Cole Urbas, who is a State College graduate, scrambles with North Carolina’s Max Shaw in their 197-pound preliminary round match of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Shaw beat Urbas, 4-1.

NCAA Championships

Thursday at Tulsa, Okla.

Team key: Air Force (AF), American (A), Appalachian State (AS), Arizona State (ASU), Army West Point (AWP), Binghamton (BT), Bloomsburg (BB), Bucknell (B), Buffalo (BF), Cal Poly (CP), Campbell (C), Central Michigan (CM), Chattanooga (CT), Clarion (CL), Cleveland State (CS), Columbia (CB), Cornell (CN), CSU Bakersfield (CSB), Drexel (DX), Duke (D), Edinboro (E), Gardner-Webb (GW), George Mason (GM), Harvard (HV), Hofstra (H), Illinois (Ill.), Indiana (Ind.), Iowa (I), Iowa State (ISU), Kent State (K), Lehigh (L), Lock Haven (LH), Maryland (M), Michigan (Mich.), Michigan State (MSU), Minnesota (Minn.), Missouri (Miss.), Navy (N), NC State (NCSU), Nebraska (Neb.), North Carolina (UNC), North Dakota State (NDSU), Northern Colorado (NC), Northern Illinois (NIU), Northern Iowa (NI), Northwestern (NW), Ohio (O), Ohio State (OSU), Oklahoma (OU), Oklahoma State (OKSU), Oregon State (ORSU), Penn State (PSU), Pennsylvania (Penn.), Pittsburgh (Pitt.), Princeton (PT), Purdue (P), Rider (R), Rutgers (RU), SIU Edwardsville (SIUE), South Dakota State (SDSU), Stanford (S), Utah Valley (U), Virginia (V), Virginia Tech (VT), West Virginia (WV), Wisconsin (W), Wyoming (WY)

Team scores: 1. Penn State 16, 2. North Carolina State 12.5, 3. Iowa 12, T4. Northern Iowa 10, T4. Ohio State 10, T6. Minnesota 9, T6. Missouri 6, T6. Wisconsin 6, 9. Nebraska 8.5, 10. Cornell 8

First Round

133: Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, major dec. Ethan Oakley, AS, 12-3; 141: Cole Matthews, Pitt., dec. Koleno, CL, 4-1; Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Shannon Hanna, C, 8-2; 149: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, pinned Ethen Miller, M, 6:26; 157: Levi Haines, PSU, dec. Ashton Eyler, LH, 10-3; 165: Holden Heller, Pitt., dec. Alex Facundo, PSU, 5-3; 174: Carter Starocci, PSU, pinned John Worthing, CL, 1:21; Mikey Labriola, Neb., dec. Tyler Stoltzfus, LH, 9-6; 184: Aaron Brooks, PSU, major dec. Matthew Waddell, CT, 13-4; 197: Max Dean, PSU, dec. Levi Hokpins, C, 6-1; 285: Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, pinned Hayden Copass, P, :34

Preliminary Round

197: Max Shaw, UNC, dec. Cole Urbas, Penn., 4-1