Here are 5 matchups to look for as Penn State competes in Collegiate Wrestling Duals
It’s been 11 years since Penn State wrestling last competed in a dual tournament.
The Nittany Lions took on Harvard, West Virginia and Rutgers on Nov. 21, 2010. They had just 13 dual points scored against them during the Sprawl and Brawl Duals in Binghamton, New York.
On Monday, Penn State is going to be in a lot warmer location when it takes part in the two-day Collegiate Wrestling Duals presented by Journeymen Wrestling in Niceville, Florida. The Nittany Lions will have stiffer competition, too, in No. 22 Northern Iowa and No. 11 Cornell in their pool of wrestling.
On Tuesday, depending on how the pool of wrestling pans out for Penn State, the Panthers and Big Red, the Nittany Lions will take on either No. 6 Arizona State, which snapped Penn State’s 60-dual win streak in 2019, No. 8 Virginia Tech or Hofstra.
The Nittany Lions start Monday’s action with Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. and finish the night off with Cornell at an approximate start time of 9 p.m. If they win their pool, Penn State will wrestle at 7 p.m. Tuesday. If the Nittany Lions don’t win their pool, they’ll either wrestle at 1 p.m. or 3 p.m.
Here’s a look at five of the top matchups Penn State could have with Northern Iowa and Cornell:
5. Baylor Shunk/Brandon Meredith/Jake Campbell vs. Northern Iowa’s Brody Teske, 125 pounds
Let’s be honest here, this matchup favors the Panthers as Teske is ranked No. 10 in the country, but this one is on the list because it’s Teske’s chance to face off against his former teammates.
Teske joined Penn State after he graduated from Fort Dodge High School, which is in the backyard of Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa. He competed in just two duals for the Nittany Lions during his redshirt freshman year of 2019-20, before announcing his decision to transfer.
Teske had an overall record of 11-4 for Penn State. During his redshirt season, Teske was 6-2 competing in open tournaments unattached, and had a nice run in the Southern Scuffle before medically forfeiting out of the event.
In his first year with Northern Iowa, Teske was 14-3, but he earned a Big 12 title to make his first NCAA Championships. This year, the redshirt sophomore is 5-1 — 2-0 in duals. His dual victories have come over a pair of ranked wrestlers in Missouri’s Noah Surtin (No. 15) and Virginia Tech’s Sam Latona (No. 16).
4. Creighton Edsell vs. Northern Iowa’s Austin Yant, 165 pounds
This matchup doesn’t have the big names. However, it is another opportunity for Edsell to prove he belongs to be up there with the big names.
After starting the season unranked, Edsell (5-0) has done nothing but win and climb the rankings ladder. After opening the year with a major decision victory over Sacred Heart’s Scott Jarosz, Edsell topped Oregon State’s Matthew Olguin to enter the Army West Point dual as the No. 32 ranked wrestler.
The junior had back-to-back matchups with ranked wrestlers when the Nittany Lions took on Penn and Lehigh two weekends ago. He topped then-No. 33 Lucas Revano, of Penn, in sudden victory on Dec. 3, and followed that by topping then-No. 27 Brian Meyer, of Lehigh, who has a win this season over returning NCAA runner-up in Pittsburgh’s Jake Wentzel, on Dec. 5.
Now, Edsell is ranked No. 26 in the country and gets another ranked opponent in Yant, who is 23rd.
Yant is 5-1 on the season and 30-21 for his career with Northern Iowa. He has only competed in open tournaments this season, placing second in both — Daktronics Open and Harold Nichols Cyclone Open.
Yant ended up medically forfeiting in the Cyclone Open finals, which was the last action he’s had on the mat. The tournament was on Nov. 28, so it’s been almost a full month since Yant has competed.
Last season, the junior didn’t get into the lineup for Northern Iowa until the postseason, but it paid off. He ended up placing fifth in the Big 12 Championships to became an NCAA qualifier.
3. Beau Bartlett vs. Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis, 149 pounds
This matchup could’ve been No. 2 on this list, but Diakomihalis just has too many tools in his belt. Bartlett is still trying to get accustomed to the weight.
This match could be really close or a bonus-point victory for the Big Red junior.
As was the case for all the athletes who competed for Ivy League schools last year, Diakomihalis wasn’t on the mat for the NCAA season. Instead, the two-time NCAA champion went to work on his freestyle wrestling.
Diakomihalis won the Henri Deglane Grand Prix in France in January. He came back and ended up finishing fourth in the Olympic Team Trials in April.
In June, he went to Poland and defended his Poland Open title. In September, Diakomihalis topped former Ohio State wrestlers Luke Pletcher and Joey McKenna to earn a spot on the US World Team. Diakomihalis topped McKenna in a best of three series for the spot. He competed for the US in the World Championships in Norway in October, but didn’t place.
As for this season, Diakomihalis is 6-0 and coming off claiming a Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title. Diakomihalis has topped several ranked wrestlers so far in Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett (No. 10), Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso (No. 2), Stanford’s Jaden Abas (No. 11) and Minnesota’s Michael Blockhus (No. 25).
Bartlett was off to a strong start to the season going 4-0. He climbed as high as No. 20 in the country.
Bartlett suffered his first loss of the season to Lehigh’s Manzona Bryant on Dec. 5, and dropped to No. 22 in the country. This will be a tough test for the young wrestler, but will show where he is with the top wrestler in his weight class.
2. Roman Bravo-Young vs. Cornell’s Vito Arujau, 133 pounds
What more could one ask for in this matchup?
A three-time All-American and reigning NCAA champion against what should be a two-time All-American.
Everyone knows what RBY is capable of. He’s a show stopper, always looking to keep all fans’ eyes on the mat when he’s competing.
The story on Arujau still remains to be told, but it had a great opening chapter.
The junior went 31-4 and finished fourth in his freshman campaign. He started out wrestling at 133 pounds his freshman year, but dropped down to 125 in December and went 26-3. Nineteen of his 31 victories came with bonus points, and he was perfect in dual meets, going 16-0.
Arujau’s four losses were to then-teammate Chas Tucker, Princeton’s Patrick Glory and Rutgers’ Sebastian Rivera (twice), who wrestled for Northwestern at the time.
On his way to that NCAA fourth-place finish, Arujau topped some big names like former Oklahoma State wrestler Nick Piccininni, former Oregon State wrestler Ronnie Bresser, Michigan State’s RayVon Foley and former North Carolina State wrestler Sean Fausz.
Arujau’s sophomore campaign saw him take a redshirt, so he didn’t compete. Last year, Arujau couldn’t wrestle as the Ivy League shut the season down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, Arujau has only wrestled once, which was the Big Red’s dual against Stanford back on Nov. 20. He topped the Cardinal’s Jackson DiSario, 14-3.
Folks won’t want to miss this one.
1. Aaron Brooks vs. Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen, 184 pounds
Christmas is just around the corner, but this early season top-5 tilt and NCAA semifinals rematch between Brooks and Keckeisen will be an early gift.
This duo gets to square off again as Brooks handed Keckeisen his lone loss last season — 6-4 in the 184 pounds NCAA semifinals. Brooks controlled the match the whole time. Keckeisen got a takedown just before the final buzzer in the third period, making the score closer than what the match really was.
Brooks went on to become the champ. Keckeisen finished third, which was the highest placement for a Panthers’ freshman since 1952 and the first redshirt freshman to earn All-America status since 2017.
This year, Brooks has been off the mat competitively for over a month now. He was a late scratch when Penn State went to Philadelphia to wrestle Penn. He, just like most of the Nittany Lions, had to deal with the flu that ran through the team, which caused him to miss the Penn and Lehigh duals.
In all of his three wins though, Brooks has collected bonus points with a major decision, technical fall and pin.
Keckeisen is 9-0 so far during his redshirt sophomore campaign. He has competed in nothing but open tournaments — Daktronics Open, Harold Nichols Cyclone Open and UNI Open. Six of Keckeisen’s wins have come with bonus points — 3 major decisions, 2 technical fall and a pin.
No. 2 Penn State (5-0) vs. No. 22 Northern Iowa (0-2)
When: 7 p.m., Monday
Where: Collegiate Wrestling Duals, Northwestern Florida State College, Niceville, Fl.
Radio: WRSC (93.3 FM) or WQWK (103.7 FM)
Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com; Video, Rokfin (paid subscription)
Twitter: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest
Note: Northern Iowa wrestles Cornell at 5 p.m. before taking on Nittany Lions
| Nittany Lions | vs. | Panthers |
| 125: Baylor Shunk (2-2) OR Brandon Meredith (0-2) OR Jake Campbell (0-1) | vs. | No. 10 Brody Teske (5-1) |
| 133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (4-0) | vs. | No. 31 Kyle Biscoglia (8-4) |
| 141: No. 1 Nick Lee (4-0) | vs. | No. 26 Cael Happel (10-3) |
| 149: No. 22 Beau Bartlett (4-1) | vs. | No. 28 Triston Lara (3-2) |
| 157: Terrell Barraclough (1-2) OR Joe Lee (0-0) OR Tony Negron (0-1) | vs. | Cayd Lara (9-7) OR Derek Holschlag (10-4) |
| 165: No. 26 Creighton Edsell (5-0) | vs. | No. 23 Austin Yant (5-1) |
| 174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (5-0) | vs. | Pat Schoenfelder (9-4) |
| 184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (3-0) | vs. | No. 4 Parker Keckeisen (9-0) |
| 197: No. 3 Max Dean (3-0) OR Michael Beard (3-0) | vs. | Noah Glaser (6-6) |
| 285: No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet (3-0) | vs. | Tyrell Gordon (7-5) |
No. 2 Penn State (5-0) vs. No. 11 Cornell (1-0)
When: 9 p.m., Monday
Where: Collegiate Wrestling Duals, Northwestern Florida State College, Niceville, Fl.
Radio: WRSC (93.3 FM) or WQWK (103.7 FM)
Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com, Video, Rokfin (paid subscription)
Twitter: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest
| Nittany Lions | vs. | Big Red |
| 125: Baylor Shunk (2-2) OR Brandon Meredith (0-2) OR Jake Campbell (0-1) | vs. | Greg Diakomihalis (3-4) |
| 133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (4-0) | vs. | No. 5 Vito Arujau (1-0) OR Dom LaJoie (4-3) |
| 141: No. 1 Nick Lee (4-0) | vs. | Cole Handlovic (5-3) OR JJ Wilson (2-2) |
| 149: No. 22 Beau Bartlett (4-1) | vs. | No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (6-0) |
| 157: Terrell Barraclough (1-2) OR Joe Lee (0-0) OR Tony Negron (0-1) | vs. | No. 25 Colton Yapoujian (5-1) OR Hunter Richard (0-0) |
| 165: No. 26 Creighton Edsell (5-0) | vs. | No. 9 Julian Ramirez (9-3) OR Jake Brindley (3-2) |
| 174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (5-0) | vs. | No. 12 Chris Foca (13-1) |
| 184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (3-0) | vs. | No. 15 Jonathan Loew (9-1) |
| 197: No. 3 Max Dean (3-0) OR Michael Beard (3-0) | vs. | No. 19 Jacob Cardenas (6-3) |
| 285: No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet (3-0) | vs. | No. 18 Lewis Fernandes (3-1) OR Brendan Furman (0-0) |
This story was originally published December 19, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
