Former Penns Valley wrestler Baylor Shunk is already impressing his Penn State teammates, coaches
Penns Valley coach Joel Brinker always said his former wrestler Baylor Shunk was an encyclopedia on the sport of wrestling.
Now, that encyclopedia has added a new chapter — wrestling for the top-ranked Nittany Lions — and is quickly beginning to add more pages.
“It’s a lot of fun. These guys are super knowledgeable,” Shunk said during Penn State’s media day last week. “The coaches and guys are awesome. We are just writing more pages in that book and I keep growing.”
Shunk is in his first year of competing with the Nittany Lions after wrapping up a 132-win career while wrestling for the Rams and coming to Penn State as a preferred walk-on. Those wins are tied with fellow Division I wrestler Curt Decker, who is at Pittsburgh, for the all-time most in program history. The true freshman just got his first taste of collegiate competition, wrestling in the Clarion Open on Nov. 3, where he went 2-2 at 125 pounds.
While Shunk still values the time he spent in the Penns Valley wrestling room, he says coming to Penn State’s room has been a whole other experience.
“It’s definitely humbling and eye-opening. You get to scrapping with these guys and all of these guys are extremely talented,” he said. “I come into the practice room every day with the best attitude I can have for the day and my best effort. I put forth that best effort and attitude and I just focus on learning. A lot of these guys are resources, so I’ll ask them questions and they’ll show me stuff. It’s been a huge learning experience but I’ve loved every second of it.”
Shunk is living on campus and rooming with redshirt freshman Paul Feite. So far, Shunk said he’s enjoyed every second of getting to college and continues to make “lifelong friends” with his teammates. He said there was an adjustment period that he had to go through, but being able to easily get home and see his parents, Nicki and Corby, and little brother, Colton, is also important.
So, what’s it been like since the Penns Valley graduate got into the Nittany Lions’ program?
“I tell a lot of people. I had a vision in mind of what this was going to be like,” Shunk explained. “Then (I got) here, started practicing and working out with the guys, it’s 100-times better than what you can imagine. We have so much fun around here. We wrestle with a lot of enthusiasm. We go hard, but we know how to enjoy ourselves and have fun. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity.”
Unlike his teammates, four-time state champs Brody Teske and Roman Bravo-Young, Shunk wasn’t a highly recruited wrestler coming out of high school. At that time, Shunk couldn’t imagine his name being listed among the likes of those two.
However, his name is there now, and he’s making quite the impression.
“He’s a hard worker. I wrestle around with him a lot,” Bravo-Young said. “He’s got a lot of potential. He’s getting better every day. He pushes me and I hope to get him better.”
Added Teske: “It’s cool to have him around. It’s cool to have his background of being close to home. He’s a good partner to have.”
Not only does Shunk wrestle with Bravo-Young and Teske, but he also spends a lot of time with fellow 125-pounders Brandon Meredith and Devin Schnupp. He said he constantly has to remind himself that “he belongs” in the room with such talented wrestlers.
Coach Cael Sanderson said last week that Shunk’s weight class is still an open spot in the lineup. Shunk, however, isn’t focused on making the starting lineup just yet.
“I’m focused on learning right now. I’m just getting better every day,” he said. “I know that by coming in with that attitude every day, eventually that’s the point that I can reach. Of course, that’s a long-term goal, but at the same time, I’m just coming in and learning every day and building blocks. Hopefully, it will lead to that some day.”
Shunk’s effort and attitude isn’t going unnoticed.
On a team full of past national champs and All-Americans, Shunk may no longer be the star in the wrestling room like he was at Penns Valley, but Sanderson said he’s always looking for wrestlers like Shunk.
“Baylor is really good kid. He just wrestles hard,” Sanderson said. “He’s going to be good. He’s one of those kids that brings a lot of value to the room. We don’t want kids that just want to be on the team. I can tell you, Baylor is not here to be on the team. He wants to be successful. Through hard work, the right mindset and continuous growth, we’d love to see him be the guy at some point.”
Follow Nate Cobler on Twitter at @byncobler for updates on Penn State and high school wrestling all season long.
This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 2:07 PM.
