Penn State wrestling sends 7 to the NCAA Championships quarterfinals
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Wrestling’s version of March Madness got underway Thursday inside the BOK Center.
Penn State found itself at the top of the team standings as it went 15-3 during the first day.
The Nittany Lions collected seven bonus point victories — four pins and three major decisions — en route to tallying 26 points. They lead by 4.5 points over Iowa. Missouri is four points behind the Hawkeyes in third.
Minnesota and North Carolina State round out the top five as they are tied with 16.5 points a piece.
“We got a lot of wrestling left to do here. It’s a team score, any where you can get points, you got to get points,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “We just want our guys to be happy and reach their individual goals. The team stuff will take care of itself.”
Here’s a look at how Penn State wrestlers fared after the first day of the NCAA Championships:
Roman Bravo-Young, 133 pounds
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Bravo-Young reached the quarterfinals on Thursday evening by dispatching Chattanooga’s Brayden Palmer.
RBY got all of his scoring in the first period. He took Palmer down 25 seconds into the match. The senior then added another takedown midway through the period.
Bravo-Young added a riding time point for a 5-2 victory. He moved into the quarterfinals, where he’ll take on Minnesota’s Aaron Nagao, who he beat in the Big Ten finals two weeks ago.
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.
Beau Bartlett, 141 pounds
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Bartlett faced off with South Dakota State’s Clay Carlson with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. Neither wrestler scored in the first period, but the Nittany Lion did his damage in the second period.
Bartlett opened with an escape. He tacked on a takedown with 51 seconds remaining to lead 3-0 after two.
In the third period, Carlson had an escape six seconds in. Bartlett got called for two stalls, but came away with the 3-2 win. He’ll face Pittsburgh’s Cole Matthews Friday morning for a spot in the semifinals.
Bartlett was the first wrestler to hit the mat for Penn State Thursday. 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.
Shayne Van Ness, 149 pounds
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Van Ness showed grit and a mental toughness that will be needed to claim a NCAA title. He also seemed to wake up from a scare earlier in the day in his match against Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson, who beat him, 3-2, in December.
Van Ness came out and fired off a takedown of Johnson with just under one minute remaining in the first period. He put the Cyclones’ wrestler to his back and led 6-0 after one period.
The pair got into a scoring spree in the second period with Van Ness holding a 5-4 scoring advantage. He had two escapes, a takedown and Johnson gave him a point for stalling. Johnson had a reversal and a takedown, but appeared out of gas.
Van Ness gave up two takedowns in the third period, but already had enough to secure a 14-8 victory. He faces Indiana’s Graham Rooks, who upset the No. 4 seed in Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson.
Van Ness faced Maryland’s Ethen Miller, who he technical falled in the teams’ dual earlier this year, to start the day.
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.
“Shayne had a great day. It was a gutsy performance,” Sanderson said. “He was down by nine or something like that going into the third, and getting the fall. We wrestled great in the second round against a top kid.”
Levi Haines, 157 pounds
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: The Big Ten champion squared off with Wyoming’s Jacob Wright in the second round, and was methodical in his approach. He had a takedown in each period.
He added an escape in the second period and a riding time point with 1:18 in riding time to secure an 8-2 win. Haines will have his toughest test of the tournament on Friday morning in the quarterfinals when he gets Virginia Tech’s Bryce Andonian.
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.
Alex Facundo, 165 pounds
Record after day: 0-2
Current round: Eliminated
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.
The redshirt freshman saw his season come to a close with a 12-2 major decision loss to Cornell’s Julian Ramirez. Ramirez, who is the No. 4 seed, was upset in the first round.
“It stinks. He’s right there. He’s inches away from getting takedowns on the best guys,” Sanderson said. “He’ll be alright. He’ll learn. It hurts. It’s the roller coaster of college wrestling. You just keep fighting.”
Carter Starocci, 174 pounds
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Thursday night fans got to see Starocci take on Indiana’s DJ Washington for a third time in their careers. The last time they squared off, the Nittany Lion dominated the Hoosier and sparks flew afterward with the duo shoving each other and sharing words.
Starocci kept his composure and put in a workman like approach against Washington. He earned a takedown with 16 seconds remaining in the first period to hold a 2-0 lead.
In the second period, Starocci had an escape for the lone point. He then rode Washington for the entire third period for a riding time point and a 4-0 win.
The Big Ten champion now faces a Big Ten-foe in Minnesota’s Bailee O’Reilly.
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.
Aaron Brooks, 184 pounds
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Brooks looks like a man possessed as he attempts to defend his crown for a second straight year. He bonused his way to the quarterfinals.
On Thursday evening, he got the best result possible — a pin. Brooks led 2-1 after the first period against Clarion’s Will Feldkamp.
In the second period, the Big Ten champion extended his lead to 5-1 thanks to an escape and takedown. Feldkamp got his second escape, but Brooks threw him to his back with seven seconds left and earned a fall in 4:59.
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.
Max Dean, 197 pounds
Record after day: 1-1
Current round: Consolation Second Round
Recap: Dean saw his chance of repeating as the 197 champion come to a close. He faced Nebraska’s Silas Allred, who handled Dean pretty easily in the Big Ten finals two weeks ago.
Allred did the same thing on Thursday evening. He recorded takedowns in each period, and built up just enough riding time — 1:02 — for a riding time point.
Allred sent Dean to the consolation bracket with a 7-2 loss.
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.
Greg Kerkvliet, 285 pounds
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Quarterfinals
Recap: Kerkvliet ended the first day in style for the Nittany Lions as he kept his bonus streak alive.
He took on South Dakota State’s AJ Nevills Thursday night for a spot in the quarterfinals. Nevills is the younger brother of current and former Nittany Lions, Seth and Nick Nevills.
Kerkvliet racked up an eight-point first period thanks to two takedowns and four nearfall points. In the second period, the Nittany Lion had another takedown and a stall point from Nevills to go up 11-2.
Kerkvliet opened the third period with a reversal and added a riding time point with 4:30 in riding time to secure a, 14-2, major decision.
To start his day, he locked up a standing cradle on Purdue’s Hayden Copass with just under 30 seconds into their first round match. Kerkvliet brought Copass down to the mat in the cradle, and rocked the Boilermaker back on his back for the fall in 34 seconds.
Centre County Wrestlers
Centre County had three former wrestlers take part in the first day in Seth Koleno (Clarion, 141 pounds), Tyler Stoltzfus (Lock Haven, 174) and Cole Urbas (Penn, 197). All three ended up losing their first bouts on the day Thursday afternoon. 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 Matthews in the first round. Stoltzfus suffered a 9-6 loss to Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola, but rode Labriola for the entire third period.
Koleno rebounded to stay alive in the consolation preliminary round by pinning Bloomsburg’s Josh Mason in 3:19. He had his season and career come to a close with a 4-1 loss to Columbia’s Matt Kazimir.
“Going out and losing 4-1 to the No. 3 kid in the nation, how much better can it get than that? I had a close takedown that could’ve possibly been one, but didn’t get it,” Koleno said of his tournament. “It was so close. I’m right there.”
Urbas saw his season come to a close with a 9-1 loss to Northwestern’s Andrew Davison.
“I’m just really thankful for everyone that supports me. I couldn’t do it without the help and support of so many people,” Urbas said. “I’m really blessed to have them in my life. The atmosphere and wrestling fans are awesome. I’m definitely honored to be a part of it.”
Stoltzfus had his season come to a close with an 11-3 loss to Oklahoma’s Tate Picklo.
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 26, 2. Iowa 21.5, 3. Missouri 17.5, T4. Minnesota 16.5, T4. North Carolina State 16.5, T6. Cornell 15.5, T6. Nebraska 15.5, T8. Michigan 14.5, T8. Ohio State 14.5, T10. Arizona State 13, T10. Virginia Tech 13, T10. Wisconsin 13
Second Round
133: Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, dec. Brayden Palmer, CT, 5-2; 141: Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Clay Carlson, SDSU, 3-2; 149: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, dec. Paniro Johnson, ISU, 14-8; 157: Levi Haines, PSU, dec. Jacob Wright, WY, 8-2; 174: Carter Starocci, PSU, dec. DJ Washington, Ind., 4-0; 184: Aaron Brooks, PSU, pinned Will Feldkamp, CL, 4:59; 197: Silas Allred, Neb., dec. Max Dean, PSU, 7-2; 285: Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, major dec. AJ Nevills, SDSU, 14-2
Consolation First Round
141: Matt Kazimir, CB, dec. Seth Koleno, CL, 4-1; 165: Julian Ramirez, CN, major dec. Alex Facundo, PSU, 12-2; 174: Tate Picklo, OU, major dec. Tyler Stoltzfus, LH, 11-3
Consolation Preliminary Round
141: Koleno, CL, pinned Josh Mason, BB, 3:19; 197: Andrew Davison, NW, major dec. Cole Urbas, Penn., 9-1
First Round
133: Bravo-Young, PSU, major dec. Ethan Oakley, AS, 12-3; 141: Cole Matthews, Pitt., dec. Koleno, CL, 4-1; Bartlett, PSU, dec. Shannon Hanna, C, 8-2; 149: Van Ness, PSU, pinned Ethen Miller, M, 6:26; 157: Haines, PSU, dec. Ashton Eyler, LH, 10-3; 165: Holden Heller, Pitt., dec. Facundo, PSU, 5-3; 174: Starocci, PSU, pinned John Worthing, CL, 1:21; Mikey Labriola, Neb., dec. Stoltzfus, LH, 9-6; 184: Brooks, PSU, major dec. Matthew Waddell, CT, 13-4; 197: Dean, PSU, dec. Levi Hokpins, C, 6-1; 285: Kerkvliet, PSU, pinned Hayden Copass, P, :34
Preliminary Round
197: Max Shaw, UNC, dec. Urbas, Penn., 4-1
