Penn State wrestling notebook: Central Michigan transfer Drew Hildebrandt a ‘tough competitor’, ‘great addition’

Drew Hildebrandt is already the talk of the town since joining Penn State wrestling’s roster last Wednesday.

Hildebrandt went 14-2 with Central Michigan last season, placing fourth in the NCAA Championships and gaining recognition as an All-American with a fourth-place finish.

The super senior is an important get for Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad. His squad has seen its growing pains at the 125-pound class with freshman Penns Valley graduate Baylor Shunk (4-5) and Bucknell senior transfer Jake Campbell (0-4).

“Drew’s been in the area for I’d say, probably over a month and [is a] really a great kid,” Sanderson said. “He works hard. I picture him in my mind — he’s got a huge smile on his face [and] obviously a tough competitor. He was an all American last year and he’s been on the circuit for a while and [is] just very competitive. So, we’re excited obviously to add him to the roster and hopefully we can get him going here soon. That’s obviously the plan is just to get them out there competing as quickly as possible. But he’s been a great addition. Great kid — fits in really nicely.”

There were questions surrounding when Hildebrandt could begin wrestling for Penn State. The Nittany Lions have a meet at Maryland on Friday, but athletes joining mid-season during the winter are eligible to participate in the spring semester. The hope for Sanderson is that he can immediately join the fold.

“I don’t think that’s black and white with the rules,” Sanderson said. “We’re trying to get him to where he can compete this weekend, but we’re not quite there yet. That would be ideal, right? We’re halfway through the season here ... So, if we can get him competing, we’ll certainly do that. But we still have a few hurdles to kind of get through, but that’s not an NCAA rule. There’s a lot of different circumstances that play in there, but we’re working on it.”

It’s been four years since Penn State added Boise State transfer 125-pound wrestler Carson Kuhn, who had a 13-8 overall record while with the Broncos. Kuhn went 4-5 in his matches with the Nittany Lions.

Fellow All-American and Hildebrandt’s new Penn State teammate Greg Kerkvliet has gotten to know the incoming wrestler over the past few weeks. The two have already gelled quite nicely, according to Kerkvliet and it seems that Hildebrandt is a natural fit on the roster.

“I think that’s pretty exciting,” Kerkvliet said. “I mean, first he’s a really good wrestler. On top of that, he’s a great person, getting to know the guy. He’s really cool. And I’m happy to have him on the team and obviously, he adds a lot to the team. So I’m excited about that.”

One of the jokes between the team is Hildebrandt’s age — 23 years old — in comparison to the other athletes. There are seven seniors — including super seniors — on the team of 38.

“I didn’t even realize how old he was compared to us,” Kerkvliet said. “We kind of thought that was funny, but I mean, we see it in the room. We see him putting in the extra work, to be great or as good as you can be. You have to put in the extra work, doing what you’re told. It’s just not enough. So I see him doing that. It’s exciting.”

Attempting to find success at 157 pounds

Penn State is in the midst of finding its footing at the 157-pound weight class. There are a host of wrestlers, including sophomore Joe Lee and NC State transfer Tony Negron, who have both wrestled heavily in the weight class. Negron has gone 0-3 in matches and Lee has a 2-3 record in 2022.

“I think we have three guys that have a lot of potential,” Sanderson said. “I think Negron just needs more experience. You know, and Joe and Negron just kind of need to kind of get out of their own way and just kind of go compete. But they all have a lot of potential. I would think at this time, we’re kind of probably leaning towards Negron just because he’s been competing well, but it’s tough too because he’s only had a few matches. That’s kind of the case for all of them, but there’s nothing set in concrete at this point.”

Collegiate Wrestling Duals a success

The Nittany Lions competed in the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in Niceville, Fl., finishing a clean sweep of Northern Iowa (29-9), Cornell (21-16) and Arizona State (29-10).

Obviously, the Big Red and Sun Devils are ranked top-10 in the country, but Penn State looked completely different in the two duals. Against Cornell, the Nittany Lions seemed sluggish and weren’t able to get those crucial bonus points, but again the Big Red is a tough team.

However, it looked like a different Penn State squad in the dual with Arizona State, who snapped Penn State’s 60-dual win streak in 2019. Sanderson felt this Sun Devils squad was better than the team that beat his squad back in 2019.

“I think Cornell is really good and they have really a lot of depth, but they also have some superstar kids that are obviously really good,” Sanderson said. “I think going into the (second) day, we needed a full team effort there and I think the team saw a new challenge and they stepped up and our guys competed (in) every way. Even if they’re avoiding getting giving up a major or something. I mean, because every point matters and I think that that was it was just more of a complete effort from the whole team.”

Beard injury update

Michael Beard suffered an injury in the Southern Scuffle, going 4-1 on the mat before having to end his day early. As the No. 2 seed, he faced off against Missouri’s Rocky Elam in the championship match. Beard subsequently called time after injuring his knee, but couldn’t finish past the first period of the match.

Beard had early success in the Southern Scuffle, defeating No. 3 seed Cam Caffey of Michigan State. Caffey is ranked No. 20 in the country and the two have history — taking on one another in the Big Ten Championships with Caffey defeating Beard, 12-6, in the consolation semifinals. This time around, Beard got the best of Caffey by a 6-2 score.

Sanderson updated the media with Beard’s health status, saying that Beard was set to visit the doctor to diagnose his knee injury.

“Mike’s done a great job and and he’s getting better,” Sanderson said. “His confidence, I think it has grown after that event and just having seen the progress that he’s made from a year ago, that’s got to be a big confidence boost for him. We’ll find out later today (about his injury). ... Hopefully, it’s not any long term thing.”

No. 2 Penn State (8-0) at Maryland (3-2)

When: 7 p.m., Friday

Where: Xfinity Center Pavilion, College Park, Md.

Radio: WRSC (93.3 FM) or WQWK (103.7 FM)

Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com; Video, BTN+ (paid subscription)

Twitter: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest

Indiana (2-0) at No. 2 Penn State (8-0)

When: 2 p.m., Sunday

Where: Rec Hall

Radio: WRSC (93.3 FM) or WQWK (103.7 FM)

Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com; Video, BTN+ (paid subscription)

Twitter: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest

Note: Indiana wrestles Rutgers on Friday night

This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 6:45 PM.

Kyle J. Andrews

Centre Daily Times

814-287-9230

Kyle J. Andrews is a 2018 graduate of the University of Baltimore, home of the perennially undefeated Bees. Prior to heading to the Centre Daily Times, he spent times as a sports reporter for the Baltimore Sun Media Group, covering the Ravens and Orioles for 105.7 The Fan, Baltimore Beatdown and Fox Sports 1340 AM.