Penn State wrestling crowns 4 champs, Konner Kraeszig impresses at Black Knight Invite
Breaking through the Nittany Lions’ lineup at 165 isn’t easy when you’re sitting behind two-time national champ Vincenzo Joseph.
However, with Joseph out of the order, having competed at the Bill Farrell Memorial freestyle tournament on Saturday, redshirt freshman Konner Kraeszig filled in nicely at Army West Point’s Black Knight Invitational on Sunday.
Kraeszig went 3-1 with two major decisions on his way to a third-place finish.
Penn State put together a dominant showing, with 11 of its 15 wrestlers placing — including four champs. The Nittany Lions finished second in the team race with 127.5 points to Army’s 140.
While Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds), Nick Lee (141), Jarod Verkleeren (149) and Mark Hall (174) each won titles, it was Kraeszig who turned heads — including that of his head coach Cael Sanderson.
“He’s scrappy. He’s got a good feel for the sport,” Sanderson told the Penn State Sports Network. “He won some funky scrambles throughout the day. He’s tough to wrestle.”
The Louisville, Kentucky, native started his day in the quarterfinals with a dominating 15-4 major decision over Indiana’s Davey Tunon. Kraeszig led 14-0 after two periods, thanks to a takedown and three sets of four-point nearfalls.
In the semifinals, Kraeszig couldn’t get anything going against Army West Point’s Cael McCormick, who was the eventual champion, falling 7-3. Kraeszig went to work immediately in the consolations, picking up another major decision, 15-5, scoring six points in the third period.
Kraeszig’s third-place match, against Michigan’s Layne Van Anrooy, went into sudden victory, tied 1-1 through three periods. The Nittany Lion picked up a winning takedown with 33 seconds remaining in the sudden victory period.
“It was nice to see him finish third and a nice overtime win against a Big Ten opponent,” Sanderson said. “He’s wrestling well, just a freshman, just a great opportunity for him to get some matches in here.”
How were the champions crowned?
Penn State was guaranteed a title at 149 pounds in the final round, as No. 3-seed Verkleeren took on top-seeded teammate Luke Gardner. Verkleeren had to wrestle one extra match to get to the all-Nittany Lions final, as Gardner had a first-round bye.
Verkleeren opened his tournament run with a fall with 26 seconds remaining in his match. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, he outscored his opponents 12-3.
Gardner used a 12-4 major decision to make the semifinals, after starting his day in the quarterfinals. He then used a 3-0 win over the Black Knights’ PJ Ogunsanya to set up the finals tilt with his teammate.
In the finals, Verkleeren and Gardner went scoreless through one period. Gardner held a 1-0 lead after two periods thanks to an escape. In the third period, Verkleeren’s takedown with 1:06 remaining was the difference in the 3-2 win.
“I think with what we saw today, the battle will continue,” Sanderson said of the open spot in the lineup. “Jarod Verkleeren is very, very good. Luke has really turned the corner this year, with even the look in his eyes. Two good wrestlers, but it was great to see them wrestle in the finals.”
Hall dominated on his way to 174-pound title, scoring bonus points in each bout. He pinned his way to the finals with a fall in the quarterfinals at 1:44, and a pin in the semifinals at 4:12. In the finals, the senior rattled off a 14-2 win over Indiana’s Jacob Covaciu.
“His opponent in the finals is pretty tricky. Mark did a great job of getting to the leg and finishing his shots,” Sanderson said.
Lee came up two points shy in the finals from coming away with all bonus-point victories on his way to the 141-pound crown. Lee pinned his way to the semifinals in a total of 4 minutes, 11 seconds spent on the mat.
In the semifinals, the junior rolled to a 18-0 technical fall of Central Michigan’s Drew Marten in 3:32. Lee battled his way to an 11-5 win in the finals over Central Michigan’s Dresden Simon.
Bravo-Young started his day with a major decision and ended it with another one. He began with a 20-9 victory over Bloomsburg’s Shawn Orem in the quarterfinals.
The Tucson, Arizona, native reached the finals with a 9-4 win. In the finals, Bravo-Young used his quick speed to put on a takedown clinic on Michigan’s Austin Assad. The sophomore racked up eight takedowns in a 17-9 crown-clinching win.
“I think Roman wrestled really well. Just some of the things he does, it’s fun to watch,” Sanderson said. “He hits the corner and is so fast. He chooses neutral every time, but he’s good on bottom too. I think he just likes to choose neutral, which is fine when you are scoring seven and eight takedowns in a match like he has. He can choose whatever he likes.”
How’d the others fare?
Brandon Meredith (125 pounds), Brody Teske (125), Bo Pipher (157), Creighton Edsell (184) and Austin Hoopes (197) also placed for the Nittany Lions.
Teske was the highest finisher in this group, with a third-place ending. He reached the semifinals thanks to a tournament-opening fall in 6:10. In the quarterfinals, the redshirt freshman took on Maryland’s Brandon Cray. Teske proved he can hang with Big Ten competition with a dominant 8-3 win over the redshirt junior.
Teske fell into the consolations after dropping a 6-0 loss to Central Michigan’s Drew Hildebrandt, who’s ranked No. 11 nationally by InterMat at 125 pounds. Teske got a bye into the third-place match and edged Michigan’s Jack Medley 5-4 for the finish.
“He’s going to come after you. He’s going to wrestle every second,” Sanderson said of Teske. “Just like everyone else, there is areas that we need to improve on, but a lot of positives. Hopefully, he is a guy that can just keep getting better as the season goes on.”
Meredith, Pipher and Edsell each finished fifth. Hoopes ended up finishing sixth as Kyle Conel, who also competed at 197 pounds, medically forfeited out of the tournament.
It was always the plan for Conel to only wrestle just two matches then forfeit out of the tournament, according to Sanderson. However, he seemed to truly get injured in his 5-3 quarterfinals loss.
“We are just trying to ease him back into competition. Hopefully he’ll be ready to go on Friday,” Sanderson said.
Devin Schnupp (125 pounds), Dominic Giannangeli (141) and Paul Feite (157) also competed for Penn State. However, one surprise was that Anthony Cassar didn’t compete. He was slated to take part in the Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational Open on Saturday, but he didn’t appear there, either.
Sanderson said it’s all part of the plan for the senior.
“The plan was to have him go to the Bill Farrell, but after we thought about it, it didn’t make sense,” Sanderson said. “He’s going to be going to the U.S. Open. He just decided to train through this weekend and get ready for Friday, which we are going to need him.”
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