BEA’s Grace Stem wins, former Penn State wrestlers go 3-3 in Nittany Lion Wrestling Club event
The Nittany Lion Wrestling Club hosted is fifth event on Tuesday night.
The event featured 17 matches on the senior level — 14 men’s and 3 women’s. It also had a junior card, on which Bald Eagle Area’s Grace Stem competed
Stem’s match was one of two girls’ bouts during the nine-match junior portion of the event that started off the night.
The junior has shown her potential on the folkstyle scene for the Eagles’ wrestling squad. On Tuesday, she displayed her freestyle prowess.
Stem led No. 6 nationally ranked Elleni Johnson 5-4 after one period. Stem added one more takedown in the second period for a 7-4 victory.
In the senior portion, three-time NCAA champion Jason Nolf squared off with four-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake. Dake was just too much for Nolf as he shut out the former Penn State standout, 5-0.
Earlier in the night, Dake topped another former Nittany Lions wrestler in Vincenzo Joseph by a 10-0 technical fall in 4:46. Nolf had a match earlier in the night, too. He had a 10-0 technical fall over Jevon Balfour in 3:14.
Joseph also faced Balfour later in the evening, and beat the Canadian 8-2.
Former Penn Staters Zain Retherford and Bo Nickal also competed on Tuesday night, with each having one match. Retherford used a six-point first period to top Evan Henderson 6-2. Nickal suffered a 3-2 defeat to Gabe Dean in a match that had several highlight scrambles.
Reigning Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder competed in three matches and showed he’s well on his way to possibly repeating this summer in Tokyo. Snyder opened the night with a 6-1 win over former Indiana wrestler Nate Jackson.
Snyder returned to the mat and hung an 11-0 technical fall on Scottie Boykin in 2:57. Snyder earned another technical fall in his final match of the night. This one was a 13-2 defeat of Dean in 5:02.
There was one surprise ending in one match on Tuesday night, when former Iowa great Thomas Gilman got pinned by former Minnesota great Zach Sanders in 1:47. Gilman rebounded later in the night with an 11-0 technical fall of Sean Russell in 1:56.
In one of the three women’s matches, Kendall Bostelman, a junior at Wyoming Seminary Prep, took on Mexican national team member Ale Bonilla. Bostelman held her own against the elder Bonilla in an 8-0 loss.
Mallory Velte topped Jen Page 6-1, and Jane Valencia racked up a 12-2 technical fall of Ronna Heaton in the other women’s matches.
Nittany Lion Wrestling Club Event No. 5
Tuesday at State College
Men’s No. 1 match: Kyle Snyder dec. Nate Jackson, 6-1
Men’s No. 2 match: Zach Sanders pinned Thomas Gilman, 1:47
Men’s No. 3 match: Vito Arujau tech. fall Sean Russell, 14-3
Men’s No. 4 match: Jason Nolf tech. fall Jevon Balfour, 10-0 (3:14)
Men’s No. 5 match: Kyle Dake tech. fall Vincenzo Joseph, 10-0 (4:46)
Women’s No. 1 match: Mallory Velte dec. Jen Page, 6-1
Women’s No. 2 match: Ale Bonilla dec. Kendell Bostelman, 8-0
Men’s No. 6 match: Max Dean dec. Jackson, 5-5
Men’s No. 7 match: Snyder tech. fall Scottie Boykin, 11-0 (2:57)
Men’s No. 8 match: Gabe Dean dec. Bo Nickal, 3-2
Men’s No. 9 match: Arujau dec. Sanders, 6-0
Men’s No. 10 match: Gilman tech. fall Russell, 11-0 (1:56)
Women’s No. 3 match: Jane Valencia tech. fall Ronna Heaton, 12-2
Men’s No. 11 match: Joseph dec. Balfour, 8-2
Men’s No. 12 match: Zain Retherford dec. Evan Henderson, 6-2
Men’s No. 13 match: Snyder tech. fall G. Dean, 13-2 (5:02)
Men’s No. 14 match: Dake dec. Nolf, 5-0
This story was originally published February 23, 2021 at 10:56 PM.
