Without Brady Berge, Carter Starocci, No. 1 Penn State wrestling crushes No. 6 Ohio State
The Bryce Jordan Center duals have always had an impact for Penn State wrestlers in the previous eight contests it has had there.
Friday night, it was no different.
The No. 1 Nittany Lions busted out the white singlets and used the fuel of the White Out crowd to overcome missing starters in Brady Berge and Carter Starocci, in crushing No. 6 Ohio State, 32-7.
“Yeah, that was sweet,” Penn State’s Drew Hildebrandt said. “The fans were great. The atmosphere was awesome.”
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said Starocci has been dealing with an injury and felt it was right to give him some time off. Sanderson then explained that Berge has been “working on his weight.”
Hildebrandt got things started for the Nittany Lions just as he has since joining the team at the beginning of January. Penn State raced out to a 13-0 lead, and it’s a moment like that, that Sanderson feels played a big role in his team’s dominating victory.
“I think it helps. We’ve been behind also at halftime,” Sandersaon said, “but either way, you just got to go compete, and be the best you can. I think our guys did a nice job, even the matches we lost.”
Offense was hard to come by during Hildebrandt’s match with No. 10 Malik Heinselman. Hildebrandt’s escape in the second period was the lone point scored as he used riding time to secure another in a 2-0 win.
Roman Bravo-Young came out at 133 and looked pretty unfazed by Brady Koontz. The NCAA champion rattled off three first period takedowns. He tacked on two more in the second period to lead 11-3.
In the third period, Bravo-Young chin whipped Koontz to his back for a fall in 5:24 to send the crowd into a frenzy.
Nick Lee kept the momentum rolling for Penn State at 141 against No. 20 Dylan D’Emilio. Lee collected five takedowns in a 13-3 major decision to hand the Nittany Lions that early double-digit lead.
Things nearly got worse for Ohio State at 149 pounds.
Penn State’s Beau Bartlett took on No. 2 Sammy Sasso, and trailed just 1-0 going to the third period. Bartlett earned a reversal with 1:07 left in the third period to blow the roof of the Bryce Jordan Center.
Sasso stayed calm and collected and earned and escape that tied the bout up at 2-2. The pair looked for that final shot for the win, and it came with 6 seconds left when Sasso came out on top of a scramble situation.
“Barlett’s right there against one of the top guys,” Sanderson said. “It came down to a takedown in the last minute.”
The Buckeyes chipped into the Nittany Lions lead, 13-3.
Penn State got something they aren’t accustomed to, which was a dual win at 157 pounds.
Terrell Barraclough took on Ohio State’s third-stringer in Isaac Wilcox. He used a late escape to force sudden victory at 2-2.
Wilcox looked rather gassed, but was in deep on a late shot in the sudden-victory period. Barraclough fought it off, reshot and recorded a bout-winning takedown with 3 seconds remaining in one of three bouts to go to sudden victory. The Nittany Lions led 16-3 at the break.
“It was fun to see him get excited after his win in a big duel like that,” Sanderson said of Barraclough’s win. “He was pumped. He’s really good and tough. He just needs some confidence and some experience. Like everything else, if you don’t believe, it’s tough. He works hard, and just a great kid.”
Creighton Edsell was back in the lineup at 165 as Berge was out. Edsell and Ohio State’s Kevon Freeman, who wrestled up a weight and filled in for No. 4 Carson Kharchla, traded ride outs in the second and third periods to go to sudden victory at 0-0.
In the extra period, Edsell recorded a takedown 35 seconds in, to secure a 2-0 win, and kept things rolling for the Nittany Lions.
At 174 pounds, Mason Manville, who filled in for Starocci, made a return to the Penn State lineup for the first time since the 2018-2019 season. It wasn’t quite the return he may have hoped for as No. 7 Ethan Smith amassed six takedowns — four alone in the first period — to rack up a 15-5 major decision.
The Nittany Lions led 19-7 with three bouts to go.
Aaron Brooks continued to show why he is the No. 1 wrestler in the country at 184 pounds. Up 2-0 to start the second period, Brooks started from the bottom position.
He quickly hit a reversal on Rocky Jordan, who was filling in for No. 6 Kaleb Romero, locked up a cradle and pinned Jordan in 3:20 to get the Penn State fans back into it.
Max Dean had another fight on his hands at 197 pounds as he took on No. 21 Gavin Hoffman. The Cornell transfer needed a riding-time point to force sudden victory at 3-3.
Dean used a takedown with 25 seconds remaining to collect a 5-3 win, and pushed Penn State’s lead out to 28-7.
Greg Kerkvliet finished the dual off by racking up a 10-2 major decision on No. 13 Tate Orndorff.
The Nittany Lions now turn their focus to Nebraska, which comes to town on Sunday for a Noon dual start. If Penn State wins that dual, which is expected, it will be crowned the Big Ten regular-season champion. This was a title that the Nittany Lions shared with Iowa last year.
“I think we wrestled fine. We had a couple guys out of the lineup,” Sanderson said. “They had a couple guys out of their lineup. I think that just happens this time of the year. We just need to finish strong here on Sunday with Nebraska because they’ve got a really good team.”
No. 1 Penn State 32, No. 6 Ohio State 7
Friday at University Park
125: No. 6 Drew Hildebrandt, PSU, dec. No. 10 Malik Heinselman, 2-0
133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, pinned Brady Koontz, 5:31
141: No. 1 Nick Lee, PSU, major dec. No. 20 Dylan D’Emilio, 13-3
149: No. 2 Sammy Sasso, OSU, dec. No. 18 Beau Bartlett, 4-2
157: Terrell Barraclough, PSU, dec. Isaac Wilcox, 4-2 (SV)
165: Creighton Edsell, PSU, dec. Kevon Freeman, 2-0 (SV)
174: No. 7 Ethan Smith, OSU, major dec. Mason Manville, 15-5
184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, PSU, pinned Rocky Jordan, 3:20
197: No. 2 Max Dean, PSU, dec. No. 21 Gavin Hoffman, 5-3 (SV)
285: No. 5 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, major dec. Tate Orndorff, 10-2
Takedowns: OSU 8, PSU 18
Records: Ohio State (6-3, 2-3 Big Ten), Penn State (15-0, 7-0 Big Ten)
Next match: No. 8 Nebraska at Penn State, Sunday, Noon
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 11:07 PM.
