Pair of new Penn State wrestlers shine in debuts as Nittany Lions roll over Lock Haven
Redshirt freshmen Shayne Van Ness and Alex Facundo said earlier in the week at Media Day how much they were looking forward to their Rec Hall debuts on Friday night.
The duo gave Penn State wrestling fans something to look forward to as they each tallied bonus points in the Nittany Lions’ 44-3 season-opening win over Lock Haven.
“For me being out for a year with an injury, this has been a long time coming,” Van Ness said. “I only get to do this once, have my first match, so I wanted to make sure I had a lot of fun and make sure it was memorable.”
Facundo added, “Just like Shane said, this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing to have a debut at Rec Hall. This is a moment that I will be able to have for the rest of my life. It was just exciting. I was waiting all summer, all last year. To finally go out there in the Penn State singlet it was something awesome.”
Van Ness hit the mat first since he wrestles at 149 pounds. He took on Connor Eck, and went to work early.
The Nittany Lion raced out to a 13-2 lead after two periods. He nearly secured his first pin but ran out of time in that second period. However, Van Ness got an early takedown on Eck, and stuck him in 6:32.
Penn State led 15-4 at that point.
Facundo opened up the second half of the dual with an absolute takedown clinic — amassing 13 total — of Aiden Gaugler at 165 pounds. He recorded a takedown every way imaginable in the first period to the tune of six first-period takedowns.
Facundo kept the pace going in the second period, again, going after a single leg, then to a double leg, into a duck under for five more takedowns. He finished the bout off with two other takedowns in the third to collect a 27-12 technical fall in 5:35.
The Nittany Lions led 23-3 heading into their “Murderer’s Row” at the upperweights.
“I thought they looked great. I was excited to watch them wrestle,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said, “probably just like everybody else in the crowd and across the country. They looked great.”
The duo wasn’t the only ones with bonus points as Penn State finished with bonus in eight of its nine wins.
Roman Bravo-Young kicked off his final collegiate season by wowing the crowd as he has done his entire career to the tune of a 23-8 technical fall. His win gave the Nittany Lions the lead after Gary Steen suffered a 14-4 major decision loss to open the dual at 125.
Beau Bartlett made his debut at his new weight of 141, and was getting to his offense as he said he wanted to earlier in the week. He secured a 10-0 major decision.
Carter Starocci took on a familiar face to Centre County in Lock Haven’s Tyler Stoltzfus at 174 pounds. Stoltzfus claimed a PIAA title for St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy in the 2019-2020 season.
Starocci frustrated Stoltzfus early in the match, but Stoltzfus kept his poise and kept Starocci from earning a technical fall. Starocci was stuck under the Bald Eagles’ wrestler for most of the the third period. He got a reversal late, but there wasn’t enough time to get any more bonus points in a 19-5 major decision.
Aaron Brooks followed Starocci with a 24-9 technical fall in 6:32. The reigning two-time NCAA champion had 11 takedowns in his rout.
Max Dean and Greg Kerkvliet finished out the dual with falls. Kerkvliet’s was the fastest at 1:21, with Dean’s fall coming in 2:03.
“I think it’s great,” Sanderson said of his upperweights’ experience. “I think this year, we have a team that’s exciting to watch all the way up and down the lineup. This is going to be a fun team to watch. I think you kind of saw that tonight. We’ve got freshmen scoring a lot of takedowns and scoring back points. They’re just tough, entertaining wrestlers. We got some good kids in the top and the bottom.”
Terrell Barraclough picked up the other victory on the night for Penn State at 157 pounds. He used a reversal 30 seconds into the second period, and a full period ride out in the third period to secure a 3-1 upset victory over No. 20 Ashton Eyler.
“I thought Terrell wrestled well. He was in on some nice shots, and close to finishing,” Sanderson said. “He found a way to win against a tough kid. Ashton is a solid wrestler. I thought Terrell looked good. I mean, he’s always going to try to get better, obviously.”
No. 1 Penn State 44, Lock Haven 3
Friday at University Park
125: No. 13 Anthony Noto, LH, major dec. Gary Steen, 14-4
133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, tech. fall Gable Strickland, 23-8 (6:52)
141: No. 16 Beau Bartlett, PSU, major dec. Ty Linsenbigler, 10-0
149: No. 27 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, pinned Connor Eck, 6:32
157: Terrell Barraclough, PSU, dec. No. 20 Ashton Eyler, 3-1
165: No. 23 Alex Facundo, PSU, tech. fall Aiden Gaugler, 27-12 (5:35)
174: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU, major dec. Tyler Stoltzfus, 19-5
184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, PSU, tech. fall Colin Fegley, 24-9 (6:32)
197: No. 1 Max Dean, PSU, pinned Brad Morrison, 2:03
285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, pinned Ethan Miller, 1:21
Takedowns: LH 6, PSU 51
Records: Lock Haven (0-1), Penn State (1-0)
Next match: Penn State at Black Knight Invitational, Nov. 20
This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 10:14 PM.
