Will Penn State’s Vincenzo Joseph wrestle Sunday after 2-match absence? Here’s what Cael Sanderson said
Penn State two-time national champ Vincenzo Joseph, who missed two wrestling duals this past weekend, is not expected to be out long term and there’s a “good chance” he’ll compete this Sunday, according to coach Cael Sanderson.
Joseph, the Nittany Lions’ 165-pound starter, dressed in sweats Friday on the road against Northwestern. And on Sunday, against Wisconsin at Rec Hall, he jogged out with the team but again missed the match.
Sanderson would not say whether Joseph’s absence was due to illness, injury, weight or something else. But he did intimate Tuesday afternoon that fans shouldn’t be too worried.
“It’s definitely not a long-term — we hope — thing,” the head coach said. “So there’s a good chance we see him Sunday, but there’s a chance we won’t, also. So as we get closer, we’ll know more.”
When asked whether there was better than a coin-flip’s chance that Joseph would compete Sunday, Sanderson paused for a few moments before settling on, “Uh, I could tell you that Sunday. But he’s preparing to wrestle, and he’s getting ready to wrestle.”
Before practice Tuesday, while some teammates warmed up on the mat, Joseph was seen jogging back and forth in the weight room with his headgear in his hands. The media left the room before practice began.
If Joseph is unable to go again Sunday afternoon against Nebraska, his replacement would likely be either redshirt sophomore Bo Pipher or redshirt freshman Mason Manville. Pipher took over for Joseph last Friday, while Manville — who was registered for the Shorty Hitchcock Open that day but didn’t wrestle — took over for Joseph on Sunday.
Pipher fell to Northwestern’s Tyler Moreland by an 11-9 decision, and Manville wasn’t able to do much against Wisconsin’s No. 3-ranked Evan Wick in a 6-1 decision.
Joseph has been ranked No. 1 all year in the InterMat rankings. He’s currently 13-0 this season, with bonus points in 11 of those bouts.
Sanderson, who routinely doesn’t discuss specifics surrounding injuries or absences, declined to offer much in the way of detail this week. But he did respond when initially asked to clarify whether Joseph’s absence is to make sure he’s 100 percent for the Big Ten championships.
“Yeah, not even 100 percent but just feeling good enough to be somewhat himself,” Sanderson said. “Because you could get somebody down a weight and they can weigh in, and you can throw them out there. But they got to be able to be a partial, at least, of who they can be.
“And, again, if somebody’s not doing great and you keep pushing ‘em, he’s just kind of running down more and more so it takes longer to recover. So we’ll see.”
The Nittany Lions’ next match will take place at 1 p.m. Sunday at home. After that, Penn State will hit the road against Purdue on Jan. 25 and Indiana on Jan. 27.
Gavin Teasdale update
For the second time this month, true freshman Gavin Teasdale was expected to wrestle in a weekend tournament at 125 pounds — before pulling out late.
In typical Sanderson fashion, the head coach declined to offer specifics as to why Teasdale didn’t compete after registering at the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Classic at Millersville. But Teasdale was seen with his fingers wrapped up Sunday, and it’s unknown when he might wrestle in a competitive environment.
“He’s trying to get back to just wrestle in open tournaments, so I think he’s very close,” Sanderson said. “Just one of those deals where it looks like he might compete and then things kind of don’t work out.
“He’s another guy that I don’t have the answer for that. We have an idea, but I’m not going to share those ideas. It’s a matter of getting him ready, if he’s ready to go, and getting him in some open tournaments and just letting him compete.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2019 at 5:16 PM.