‘It’s go time’ for Penn State wrestling as it opens the season with Northwestern, Indiana
It is finally here.
Barring any last-minute cancellations, Penn State is set to hit the wrestling mat against someone other than itself this weekend and get its season underway.
There’s no easing back into competition for the Nittany Lions, though, as they’re set to take on both Northwestern and Indiana on the road Saturday in Evanston, Illinois.
At this point, Penn State should have already had two duals already under its belt. Instead, the window has shrunk for the Nittany Lions to get their wrestlers the four matches necessary to be eligible for the postseason.
But Penn State coach Cael Sanderson was confident Wednesday that he and his staff have a game plan in place and everyone on board.
“They understand what’s going on,” Sanderson told reporters on a Zoom call. “The guys that have the best chance of starting and going to the Big 10 (tournament) are the ones that we need to get to four matches. There’s another layer that any of the kids that have not gotten COVID yet, they need to get four. I think there’s different levels of priority.”
So, how did Sanderson and Co. get the team prepared for this week after missing the first two weeks of the season?
Even though the Nittany Lions’ dual with the Spartans was postponed last Sunday, Sanderson said they still went about their normal match-day routine. The athletes weighed in, and then competed a hour later in an intrasquad scrimmage with officiating.
He mentioned they got “as many matches as they could have” during that time. Sanderson went on to explain that it felt good to be out of the wrestling room and in Rec Hall’s main gym. After watching his wrestlers compete, Sanderson is feeling pretty good.
“I think we’re in pretty good shape, but you know we like to use our matches to gauge where we’re at,” Sanderson said. “Obviously, real competition is the real test to see where we’re at and what we need to work on. I feel like our guys have been ready to wrestle and are excited to wrestle.”
Besides the scrimmage and practicing a lot, several Nittany Lions wrestlers competed in the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club’s freestyle events that spanned from September to December. Redshirt freshmen Greg Kerkvliet, Michael Beard and Carter Starocci each appeared in three of the four events put on by the NLWC.
The most recent card, which was on Dec. 22, saw 22 current Penn State wrestlers compete. Fans should get used to seeing a lot of different wrestlers don the blue-and-white singlets this season with the addition of exhibition matches on top of the usual 10 dual matches.
“Some of our weights aren’t quite established yet,” Sanderson said. “I think these tri-meets will give us a chance to get a lot of our wrestlers more matches. Hopefully, more than the two, or as many as we possibly can. Guys that maybe aren’t a starter, they can potentially get a couple matches. It just kind of depends on how our teams want to match up.”
The opportunity to compete may be short lived though as Michigan had to shut down its athletics programs due to COVID complications for 14 days. The Nittany Lions were to compete in a tri-meet with the Wolverines and Wisconsin next weekend, but that won’t happen.
However, Sanderson said they are still planning to wrestle the Badgers next weekend at a location to be determined. They could possibly pull in another team like Rutgers or Michigan State, the duals that were previously postponed for Penn State.
“These matches are coming up quickly. We’ve got some great competition,” Sanderson said. “The Big Ten tournament is just a couple more weeks away. I think everyone kind of understands that it’s go time.”
No. 4 Penn State (0-0) vs. Indiana (0-2)
When: Noon, Saturday
Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Ill.
Radio: WRSC (93.3 FM) or WQWK (103.7 FM)
Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com; Video, BTN+ (paid subscription)
| Nittany Lions | vs. | Hoosiers |
| 125: Baylor Shunk (0-0) OR Robert Howard (0-0) | vs. | No. 16 Brock Hudkins (0-2) |
| 133: No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young (0-0) | vs. | Asa Garcia (1-0) OR Cayden Rooks (0-1) |
| 141: No. 2 Nick Lee (0-0) OR Beau Bartlett (0-0) | vs. | Kyle Luigs (0-1) OR Paul Konrat (0-1) |
| 149: No. 10 Jarod Verkleeren (0-0) OR Bartlett (0-0) OR Terrell Barraclough (0-0) OR Luke Gardner (0-0) OR Bo Pipher (0-0) | vs. | Luke Baughman (0-2) |
| 157: No. 11 Brady Berge (0-0) OR Pipher (0-0) | vs. | Matt Ortiz (0-1) OR Jonathan Kervin (0-2) |
| 165: No. 6 Joe Lee (0-0) OR Mason Manville (0-0) | vs. | Nick South (0-2) |
| 174: No. 5 Carter Starocci (0-0) OR Manville (0-0) OR Creighton Edsell (0-0) | vs. | Donnell Washington (1-1) |
| 184: No. 3 Aaron Brooks (0-0) | vs. | Drayton Harris (0-2) |
| 197: No. 13 Michael Beard (0-0) | vs. | Nick Willham (1-1) |
| 285: No. 5 Greg Kerkvliet (0-0) OR Seth Nevills (0-0) | vs. | Rudy Streck (0-1) OR Jacob Bullock (0-2) |
No. 4 Penn State (0-0) at Northwestern (1-2)
When: 4 p.m., Saturday
Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Ill.
Radio: WRSC (93.3 FM) or WQWK (103.7 FM)
Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com; Video, BTN+ (paid subscription)
| Nittany Lions | vs. | Wildcats |
| 125: Baylor Shunk (0-0) OR Robert Howard (0-0) | vs. | Matt Vinci (1-2) OR No. 8 Michael DeAugustino (0-0) |
| 133: No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young (0-0) | vs. | No. 16 Chris Cannon (3-0) |
| 141: No. 2 Nick Lee (0-0) OR Beau Bartlett (0-0) | vs. | Frankie Tal Shahar (0-2) OR Colin Valdiviez (1-1) |
| 149: No. 10 Jarod Verkleeren (0-0) OR Bartlett (0-0) OR Terrell Barraclough (0-0) OR Luke Gardner (0-0) OR Bo Pipher (0-0) | vs. | No. 20 Yahya Thomas (3-0) |
| 157: No. 11 Brady Berge (0-0) OR Pipher (0-0) | vs. | Maxx Mayfield (1-2) OR No. 1 Ryan Deakin (0-0) |
| 165: No. 6 Joe Lee (0-0) OR Mason Manville (0-0) | vs. | David Ferrante (0-2) OR Ankhaa Enkhmandakh (0-2) |
| 174: No. 5 Carter Starocci (0-0) OR Manville (0-0) OR Creighton Edsell (0-0) | vs. | Troy Fisher (1-2) |
| 184: No. 3 Aaron Brooks (0-0) | vs. | Jack Jessen (0-3) OR Jon Halvorsen (0-3) |
| 197: No. 13 Michael Beard (0-0) | vs. | No. 11 Lucas Davison (1-1) |
| 285: No. 5 Greg Kerkvliet (0-0) OR Seth Nevills (0-0) | vs. | Brendan Devine (1-2) OR Jack Heyob (1-1) |
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
