Several new faces set to make Penn State wrestling dual debuts against Lock Haven
Every Penn State wrestling fan’s favorite time of the year is here.
The Nittany Lions will kick off their quest for their 11th NCAA team title on Friday with a home dual against Lock Haven. It’s a dual that Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said wasn’t suppose to happen as there was another team on the slate that couldn’t fulfill their commitment.
The Nittany Lions will have a few new faces sprinkled in with their returning national champions.
“I think we have the potential of having a very good team. It’s up to each individual to go out there, do their thing, be themselves, have fun, compete and look to improve,” Sanderson said during Media Day on Monday. “I think today probably more than ever, kids are going to feel more pressure from social media and a lot of it’s self imposed.
“Our job as coaches is to take pressure off them. I think our guys are just a fun group to train. They’re competitors. We’ve seen this in the past, the bigger the match, the better they wrestle, so we just got to keep doing our thing.”
“Doing their thing” has translated to a lot of success for Penn State, which heads into its 14th season under Sanderson. Its four returning national champions — Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (184) and Max Dean (197) — lead the way for a lineup that will have some new faces donning the blue and white singlet.
The Nittany Lions also have All-American Greg Kerkvliet (285) back to continue that “Murderer’s Row” from 174 pounds to 285. NCAA qualifier Beau Bartlett (141) is back as well, just at a more natural weight for himself. It appears as though Terrell Baraclough will get the call at 157 pounds again this year too.
The Bald Eagles and the rest of Penn State’s foes this season are in trouble too, because Sanderson said his champs have gotten better.
“I think progress is the name of the game and never being satisfied with where you’re at,” he said. “It’s not about necessarily winning again, it’s just about making steps, climbing and improving. I think each one of them are going to be better this year than they were last year, but, it’s up to them. They’re the one that’s going to go out there and let it rip. They look really good.”
The new faces set to make their Nittany Lions debut include Gary Steen (125), Shayne Van Ness (149) and Alex Facundo (165). This trio might not be the only new faces to see the lineup this season as true freshmen can compete in up to five duals, and still have the ability to redshirt.
Van Ness and Facundo both redshirted last season with Facundo seeing the most action.
A four-time Michigan state champion, Facundo was 11-3 while competing in open tournaments. He enters this season after coming of winning the Pan-American U20 Championship this summer.
Van Ness, who was a two-time National Prep champion at Blair Academy, had very limited action last season after suffering an injury in the Clarion Open at the beginning of the year. He went 2-0 before having to medically forfeit out of the tournament, and wasn’t seen the rest of the year.
“They both are looking really good. Starting with Van Ness,” Sanderson said. “He just had some nagging injuries that he needed to kind of take care of. He didn’t get a chance to wrestle as much, but he’s a tough kid, he’s going to compete hard and he’s healthy and excited to go. Facundo, he got a lot more experience with more matches, but same thing (as Van Ness), great kid. They’re very good wrestlers, so we’re excited to watch them compete.”
On Monday, it came as a surprise when Sanderson announced that sophomore Robbie Howard wasn’t going to compete for the squad this year. Howard has been dealing with injuries off and on since coming to Penn State.
Sanderson mentioned that Steen was going to fill the void, and that was proven true when the Nittany Lions announced their starting lineup. The Reynolds High School graduate was a two-time PIAA champion, and finished no lower than third at the PIAA Championships.
However, Steen wasn’t the only wrestler listed at 125 pounds. Timothy Levine, who transferred from Brown University, was also listed. Levine went 18-14 as a freshman with the Bears. Others listed at 125 pounds include freshman Karl Shindledecker from Chambersburg and sophomore Marco Vespa.
“We have a few different guys that will be competing for that spot, but Gary Steen will probably kick things off and hopefully get things rolling there,” Sanderson said. “Gary is a very good wrestler. He’s had a ton of success up until this point in his career. There’s no reason why he wouldn’t continue that. He’s got everything he needs. He’s a great athlete, strong and fast. Like anyone on our team, it’s just up to him to go take advantage of all that God has blessed him with. He’s got a lot of potential.”
Notes: Penns Valley graduate Baylor Shunk is listed at 133 pounds, but might not see the mat for a little bit as he recovers from an elbow injury. He could spell RBY, when the Nittany Lions decide to give the national champ a day off, which was something Sanderson said could happen at points this season. ... Centre County wrestling fans will get a chance to see former PIAA champion Tyler Stoltzfus, who competed for St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy, on Friday. He is listed as the starter at 174 pounds. ... Another Centre County wrestler, Bald Eagle Area graduate Noah Foltz, is on Lock Haven’s roster at 197 pounds. It’s not guaranteed, but if the teams decide to have extra matches, maybe Centre County fans will get to see Foltz in collegiate action. ... The Bald Eagles are entering their first dual of the year as well, but several of their wrestlers have already received some action by competing in the Princeton Open. 133 pound starter Gable Strickland claimed a title at the Princeton Open.
Lock Haven (0-0) at No. 1 Penn State (0-0)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Rec Hall
Radio: WRSC (93.3 FM) or WQWK (103.7 FM)
Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com; Video, Big Ten+ (paid subscription)
Twitter: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest
| Nittany Lions | vs. | Bald Eagles |
| 125: Gary Steen (0-0) OR Timothy Levine (0-0) | vs. | No. 13 Anthony Noto (0-0) OR Matt Maloney (3-1) |
| 133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (0-0) | vs. | Gable Strickland (4-0) |
| 141: No. 16 Beau Bartlett (0-0) | vs. | Ty Linsenbigler (3-1) |
| 149: No. 27 Shayne Van Ness (0-0) | vs. | Connor Eck (3-1) OR Nick Stonecheck (5-1) |
| 157: Terrell Barraclough (0-0) | vs. | No. 20 Ashton Eyler (4-1) OR J.T. Hogan (1-2) |
| 165: No. 23 Alex Facundo (0-0) OR Joe Lee (0-0) | vs. | Aiden Gaugler (0-0) |
| 174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (0-0) | vs. | Tyler Stoltzfus (3-1) |
| 184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (0-0) | vs. | Colin Fegley (1-0) |
| 197: No. 1 Max Dean (0-0) | vs. | Brad Morrison (0-0) |
| 285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (0-0) | vs. | Ethan Miller (0-0) |
