Robbie Howard’s debut, Carter Starocci’s upset highlight No. 3 Penn State wrestling’s win over No. 2 Michigan
There was a lot of action packed into No. 3 Penn State’s rescheduled wrestling match with No. 2 Michigan on Sunday.
The Nittany Lions saw Robbie Howard make his debut, and Carter Starocci pick up a top-10 upset in an 18-13 win over the Wolverines. The win also marked coach Cael Sanderson’s 200th victory as a head coach, with 156 of them coming at Penn State.
Sanderson joined Iowa’s Tom Brands, Nebraska’s Mark Manning and Ohio State’s Tom Ryan as the lone active Big Ten coaches to have 200-plus victories.
The Nittany Lions (4-0, 4-0 Big Ten) won four of the first five bouts and six of the 10 total. All came by decision, but it was enough to knock off Michigan (4-1, 4-1 Big Ten).
Howard got his debut out of the way early as the dual began at 125 pounds. The true freshman took on junior Jack Medley, and recorded the first points of the bout with a slick single-leg takedown to lead 2-1 after one period of collegiate wrestling.
In the second period, Howard used a nice duck under on Medley to hold a 4-3 lead. Howard gave up a takedown with 1:24 left in the third period, but he used two escapes, and fought off several late Medley attempts for the 6-5 debut win.
Roman Bravo-Young took on freshman Dylan Ragusin, who is ranked No. 8 at 125 pounds, at 133 pounds. Bravo-Young tallied a takedown with 12 seconds left in the first period for a 2-0 lead.
Neither wrestler scored any points in the second period as RBY had a solid ride out. In the third period, RBY had two takedowns, an escape, a penalty point and a riding time to secure a 9-2 win. The Nittany Lions were off to a 6-0 lead.
Nick Lee had no problems with Drew Mattin at 141 pounds. The senior in Lee recorded three takedowns and just missed a major decision in a 10-4 win.
No. 6 Kanen Storr got Michigan on the board by defeating Terrell Barraclough 4-3 at 149 pounds.
At 157 pounds, it was a top-10 matchup with No. 9 Brady Berge taking on No. 8 Will Lewan. Berge used a nice ankle pick to single leg combo for a takedown with 38 seconds remaining in the third period for a 3-1 win. Penn State led 12-3 at the break.
Out of the break, the Wolverines tightened the margin to 12-6 thanks to No. 16 Cameron Amine earning a 4-1 win over No. 6 Joe Lee at 165 pounds.
Redshirt freshman Starocci followed Lee at 174 pounds, taking on senior Logan Massa. Michigan was favored in the match, with Massa ranked No. 2 in the country at the weight class.
The pair traded escapes in regulation, and neither scored in the sudden victory period to force rideout periods. Massa chose bottom in the first rideout period, a decision that would prove fateful.
Starocci caught Massa with Jason Nolf’s famous Winn Dixie for four near-fall points and a 5-1 lead after the first rideout. In the second rideout period, Starocci picked up a penalty point from Massa and escaped with 12 seconds left for the 7-1 upset.
With the Nittany Lions leading 15-6, No. 3 Aaron Brooks cruised to a 10-5 win over Jaden Bullock. The Wolverines needed to pin out to even have a shot of winning the dual.
Michigan received an 8-5 win from Myles Amine, who is ranked No. 1 at 184 pounds, at 197 over No. 14 Michael Beard. This decision win was enough to secure the dual for Penn State.
No. 2 Mason Parris racked up a 12-2 major decision on No. 7 Seth Nevills at 285 to close out the dual.
No. 3 Penn State 18, No. 2 Michigan 13
Sunday at Ann Arbor, Mich.
125: Robbie Howard, PSU, dec. Jack Medley, 6-5
133: No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, dec. No. 8 (125) Dylan Ragusin, 9-2
141: No. 2 Nick Lee, PSU, dec. No. 20 Drew Mattin, 10-4
149: No. 6 Kanen Storr, M, dec. Terrell Barraclough, 4-3
157: No. 9 Brady Berge, PSU, dec. No. 8 Will Lewan, 3-1
165: No. 16 Cameron Amine, M, dec. No. 6 Joe Lee, 4-1
174: No. 8 Carter Starocci, PSU, dec. No. 2 Logan Massa, 7-1 (UTB)
184: No. 3 Aaron Brooks, PSU, dec. Jaden Bullock, 10-5
197: No. 1 (184) Myles Amine, M, dec. No. 14 Michael Beard, 8-5
285: No. 2 Mason Parris, M, major dec. No. 7 Seth Nevills, 12-2
Extra matches
149: Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Cole Mattin, 8-4; 157: Nick Lombard, M, dec. Luke Gardner, 6-4 (SV); 165: Reece Huges, M, dec. Konner Kraeszig, 5-2; 174: Creighton Edsell, PSU, dec. Max Maylor, 4-3; 184: Donovan Ball, PSU, major dec. Bobby Striggow, 12-4
Takedowns: PSU 12, Michigan 10
Records: Penn State (4-0, 4-0 Big Ten); Michigan (4-1, 4-1 Big Ten)
Next match: Penn State at Ohio State, Feb. 19, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published February 14, 2021 at 2:16 PM.
