Penn State wrestling dual at Bryce Jordan Center lacks high stakes due to absences
Friday night’s dual between Penn State wrestling and Ohio State was a long time coming. The Nittany Lions didn’t wrestle at the Bryce Jordan Center last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic making Friday night’s matchup their first appearance there in nearly two years.
There were plenty of familiar faces in the dual from the last time the team wrestled in the BJC, with Ohio State being the opponent two seasons ago.
The last iteration was a star-studded matchup with seven wrestlers ranking in the top two of their weight class taking part, while Friday night, there were still five top-two wrestlers.
However, the dual lacked the excitement of 2020 because a few of the best on each team sat out. Ohio State was without No. 33 Jashon Hubbard at 157 pounds, No. 4 Carson Kharchla at 165 pounds and No. 6 Kaleb Romero at 184 pounds, while Penn State didn’t have No. 11 Brady Berge at 165 pounds or No. 1 Carter Starocci at 174 pounds.
The result was a blowout 32-7 win for Penn State that lacked the nervous energy and high-level stakes that elevates duals at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson said there wasn’t anything serious going on with Starocci or Berge.
“Carter’s just been nursing an injury and it just made sense to give him a little bit more time here and not kind of rush him into these duals,” Sanderson said after the dual. “And Brady’s just been working his weight, working on his weight. So he doesn’t have anything bothering him at all.”
Berge’s status in particular required clarification. He previously wrestled at 157 pounds in his career — including in the last BJC dual — but has been at 165 pounds for Penn State this season. Berge re-joined the program after retiring following the 2020-2021 season and taking a coaching position at South Dakota State.
It stands to reason, then, that Berge could be making a weight change to the one he wrestled at previously.
Sanderson was non-committal on what he meant about the wrestler working on his weight when asked if he was working on a move down to 157 pounds or managing his weight at 165 pounds.
“Yeah, both,” Sanderson said with a smile. “If that makes any sense. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”
Starocci’s absence is of less concern to the team, with him already having proven himself as a national champion last season and earning his keep all season, including with a win over No. 2 Michael Kemerer of Iowa in late January. The extra rest should allow him to peak during the postseason, but there’s more of a chance Berge is impacted by the absence.
That being said, Sanderson is not concerned about his veteran wrestler’s readiness for the postseason, who he said has the experience and ability to be ready to go when he’s called upon.
“You just gotta go get what you want,” Sanderson said. “Whether you’re ready or not, here it comes. He’s a great wrestler and he’s been wrestling his whole life. This week he just wanted to really take some time and step his conditioning up. It’s hard to do that if you’re trying to get ready for a match at the same time. They kind of go against one another. I think he had a good, solid week.”
The replacements at the two weights for Penn State had mixed results, with Creighton Edsell defeating Kevon Freeman, 2-0, in sudden victory at 165 pounds and Mason Manville falling to No. 7 Ethan Smith, 15-5, at 174 pounds.
Even with the loss for Manville, Sanderson was impressed with his performance and his sacrifice for the team.
“Manville, I don’t know when the last time he wrestled for us was,” he said. “He got out there and competed, up a weight from where he would be normally. It takes a lot of courage, short notice to go wrestle in front of a sold-out Bryce Jordan Center White Out against a really good opponent.”
Despite the five notable absences, there was still plenty of meaning in the dual for those who hadn’t had the opportunity to wrestle in the building before. While heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet — who won by major decision, 10-2, over No. 13 Tate Orndorff — said he focuses more on what happens on the mat rather than what’s going on around it during his matches, No. 6 125-pounder Drew Hildebrandt acknowledged the difference.
Hildebrandt joined the program in January after spending most of his college career at Central Michigan. He said Friday night’s action at the Bryce Jordan Center — when he defeated No. 10 Malik Heinselman, 2-0 — was lively and impressed the senior wrestler.
“That was sweet,” Hildebrandt said. “The fans were great, the atmosphere was awesome. ... These guys welcomed me in like family. It’s impressive, the culture, the team we’ve got going here. It’s been smooth. I was impressed with how smooth it was. At first it was a little weird, but once I got in my apartment and stuff, I was like ‘man this feels like a family.’ And that’s what they are.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 11:23 PM.
