Penn State wrestling cruises (again) after early missteps, Roman Bravo-Young injury

Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson crossed his arms and was seen on BTN Plus rapidly tapping his right foot, maybe a little nervously, during the second bout Friday night in West Lafayette, Ind.

After all, his No. 1 Nittany Lions had underachieved in their last two matches — and they weren’t off to a great start against No. 19 Purdue, dropping the first two bouts. But Sanderson’s foot calmed a few minutes later, and so did Penn State, by winning seven of the last eight in another lopsided 30-10 win over the Boilermakers.

It wasn’t all good news, of course. Roman Bravo-Young, the 133-pound starter, suffered a knee injury about 30 seconds into his bout — the second match, after 125-pound starter Devin Schnupp predictably lost a 6-1 decision — and fell behind early.

The match was briefly stopped, while Bravo-Young sprawled on the mat and a trainer began feeling his right leg during injury time. But the true freshman stuck it out, grimaced at points and attempted a third-period comeback, when he leaped up Saquon Barkley-style and attempted to attack No. 18 Ben Thornton, who was simply playing keep-away at the end.

RBY outscored Thornton 3-1 in the final period but lost a 7-3 decision. It was his second loss of the season.

Penn State Radio Network’s Jeff Byers attempted to ask associate head coach Cody Sanderson about the extent of Bravo-Young’s injury after the contest, but Sanderson’s mic cut out on both the online and radio broadcasts.

Still, outside of that, most of the remaining bouts went as planned.

Jason Nolf (157 pounds) locked up a cradle about 15 seconds into his match with Elijah Davis, and the Boilermaker couldn’t keep his left shoulder dangling over the mat for long. Nolf grabbed the 55th fall of his career in 42 seconds. Vincenzo Joseph (165) followed that up with a far-side cradle and fall in 3:56.

Others to pick up bonus points, all via major decision, included Nick Lee (141), Bo Nickal (197) and Anthony Cassar (285). The losses came from Schnupp, Bravo-Young and Francisco Bisono (184), who filled in for injured All-American Shakur Rasheed. Making his dual meet debut, Bisono fell to Max Lyon by major decision, 12-4.

Jarod Verkleeren (149) took over for Brady Berge — who was on a “rest weekend,” per Byers — and grabbed an 8-3 decision over Parker Filius. The other decision, somewhat surprisingly, came from Mark Hall, who couldn’t grab bonus points against Purdue’s gritty No. 14 Dylan Lydy.

Lydy played defense early and clinched a scoreless first period. But that didn’t last much longer; Hall chose down to start the next stanza and grabbed a quick escape for a 1-0 lead before connecting on a high single and takedown to lead 3-0. Lydy tried to battle back, but Hall made sure he came no closer than 3-2 in the eventual 6-2 decision.

With the loss, the Boilermakers (5-6, 2-3 Big Ten) are now under .500. Penn State (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) will stick around the the Hoosier State, as it will face Indiana at 1 p.m. Sunday.

No. 1 Penn State 30, No. 19 Purdue 10

Friday at West Lafayette, Ind.

125: Devin Schroeder, PUR, dec. Devin Schnupp, 6-1

133: No. 18 Ben Thornton, PUR, dec. No. 13 Roman Bravo-Young, 7-3

141: No. 7 Nick Lee, PSU, major dec. Nate Limmex, 17-6

149: Jarod Verkleeren, PSU, dec. Parker Filius, 8-3

157: No. 1 Jason Nolf, PSU, pinned Elijah Davis, :42

165: No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph, PSU, pinned Cole Wysocki, 3:56

174: No. 1 Mark Hall, PSU, dec. No. 14 Dylan Lydy, 6-2

184: Max Lyon, PUR, major dec. Francisco Bisono, 12-4

197: No. 1 Bo Nickal, PSU, major dec. No. 12 Christian Brunner, 17-6

285: No. 4 Anthony Cassar, PSU, major dec. Jacob Aven, 14-4

Records: Penn State (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten); Purdue (5-6, 2-3 Big Ten)

Next match: Penn State at Indiana, 1 p.m. Sunday