Penn State wrestling’s Sanderson gets 100th Big Ten win, one of many highlights from BJC dual
It’s safe to say that the Penn State-Iowa wrestling dual lived up to its billing on Friday night inside the sold-out Bryce Jordan Center.
The No. 1 Nittany Lions had to rally late with plenty of highlights throughout in a 23-14 victory over No. 2 Iowa.
One of those highlights included Penn State coach Cael Sanderson earning his 100th Big Ten dual win. Speaking to the media after the dual, Sanderson made it clear the milestone wasn’t top of mind.
“It means I’ve been here a long time is what it means. I don’t do a whole lot of work. I’m just sitting there watching like you all,” Sanderson said. “I didn’t know (we were) anywhere near that or whatever the deal is, but it’s not really a goal of mine or something that we really focus on. We just go out and compete well and move on to the next one.”
Another highlight came from the start of the dual.
Marco Vespa got the call at 125 in place of Gary Steen as Sanderson mentioned Steen “got a little banged up last week.” Vespa took on No. 1 Spencer Lee and surprised the three-time champ off the starting whistle.
Vespa snapped of a quick ankle pick on Lee and locked up a cradle for a split second. It was almost like a wake-up call.
Lee quickly broke the grip, collected a reversal and went to work. He tilted Vespa four straight times to secure an 18-2 technical fall in 2:14.
“You got to be ready. If you’re not ready, you’ll probably get one locked up on you,” Hawkeyes coach Tom Brands said. “I think that he (Spencer) chased him a little bit. The guy (Vespa) shot in on that low ankle. It shows that this is a knockout sport. There’s such a thing as a fall and guys are going to come out and try to knock you out with their best stuff.”
Each team tried to knock each other out with counter shots throughout the dual.
Penn State responded with Roman Bravo-Young facing former teammate and roommate Brody Teske at 133. The two-time NCAA champion had no problems scoring takedowns on the Iowa wrestler.
RBY seemed like he was looking for the right opportunity to pounce on his prey, and it came late in the third period. Up 7-2, the graduate took Teske down for a fourth takedown, but this time he locked up a cradle and decked Teske in 6:49.
The crowd erupted and RBY stepped off the stage and celebrated with former Nittany Lions linebacker and current Dallas Cowboys player Micah Parsons.
Iowa countered by winning the next two bouts, which also included their wrestlers only getting their lone takedowns of the night — two.
No. 2 Real Woods dispatched No. 4 Beau Bartlett at 141, 4-1. Woods’ first period takedown were the first points of the match, which ultimately would’ve won the bout as Barlett only tallied an escape.
No. 7 Max Murin needed a late blast double on No. 13 Shayne Van Ness to secure a 4-1 win at 149. Iowa led 11-6 at that point.
Not only did the Hawkeyes only have those two takedowns, but they were called for stalling six times in the dual.
“We need to get busy. It’s not something where you’re looking at the other team and that causes it,” Brands said. “It’s a mindset to go out there and attack. We have to address that.”
Another highlight of the dual came at 157 pounds, when Levi Haines came to the mat. With him competing, this meant his redshirt was being removed.
And he continued to show why it should come off.
The true freshman was in on two deep shots on No. 15 Cobe Siebrecht in the first period, but was unable to finish. Haines held a 1-0 lead to start the third period, but Siebrecht quickly tied it up.
With just over one minute remaining in the bout, Haines hit a sweet duck under to double leg finish for a takedown, and winning score in a 3-2 victory. It was his third straight ranked victory.
“It was a big win for him. Obviously, by wrestling the match tonight his redshirt is officially gone,” Sanderson said. “He’s the guy we’re going with, so we want him to be able to compete well after that. Now, he’s always part of the team, but now he’s the guy. We lost a couple tough matches right before him, but those guys will rebound and get better.”
Haines’ victory got the Nittany Lions to within 11-9 at halftime.
They dropped the next bout when No. 13 Patrick Kennedy used a four-second escape in the first ultimate tiebreaker to edge No. 5 Alex Facundo, 2-1.
No. 1 Carter Starocci took on No. 15 Nelson Brands, who is the son of associate head coach Terry Brands. Starocci had an escape in the second period, and nearly rode Nelson Brands for the entire third period.
Nelson escaped with just under 30 seconds remaining. Starocci went into his foot dancing he’s known for trying to line up another shot, but nothing came about in the 2-1 win. Nelson was rather disturbed about it and danced in front of Starocci right before Starocci’s hand was raised for the win.
No. 1 Aaron Brooks made a return to the lineup after giving a rest day last Sunday against Michigan State. He took on Drake Rhodes, who filled in for an injured No. 12 Abe Assad.
The two-time NCAA champion racked up nine takedowns in a 22-7 technical fall in 5:42 to give the Nittany Lions a 17-14 lead with two bouts left.
No. 4 Max Dean faced off with No. 7 Jacob Warner at 197 in a rematch of last season’s NCAA final. Dean had a takedown and collected 1:14 in riding time to secure a 2-0 win.
No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet finished out the dual by dominating No. 3 Tony Cassioppi in a 4-1 win. Kerkvliet amassed 2:27 in riding time as he rode out Cassioppi the entire second period.
“The team score we fell behind a little bit. Roman’s pin helped a lot. Obviously, that was a big deal,” Sanderson said. “Every point counts in a duel like that. You just don’t know. You just keep wrestling (because) you don’t know how it’s going to end up. ... It was kind of a slow match. A match like that, gets great ratings and a lot of people are hyped about it. Unfortunately, sometimes they’re not the most exciting, people aren’t flying around as much. Hopefully, it was still a great event for the spectators and television audience.”
No. 1 Penn State 23, No. 2 Iowa 14
Friday at University Park
125: No. 1 Spencer Lee, I, tech. fall Marco Vespa, 18-2 (2:14)
133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, pinned No. 17 Brody Teske, 6:49
141: No. 2 Real Woods, I, dec. No. 4 Beau Bartlett, 4-1
149: No. 7 Max Murin, I, dec. No. 13 Shayne Van Ness, 4-1
157: No. 9 Levi Haines, PSU, dec. No. 15 Cobe Siebrecht, 3-2
165: No. 13 Patrick Kennedy, I, dec. No. 5 Alex Facundo, 2-1 (UTB2)
174: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU, dec. No. 15 Nelson Brands, 2-1
184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, PSU, tech. fall Drake Rhodes, 22-7 (5:42)
197: No. 4 Max Dean, PSU, dec. No. 7 Jacob Warner, 2-0
285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, dec. No. 3 Tony Cassioppi, 4-1
Takedowns: I 2, PSU 16
Records: No. 2 Iowa (12-1, 5-1 Big Ten), No. 1 Penn State (11-0, 4-0 Big Ten)
Next match: Penn State at Ohio State, Friday, 7 p.m.
