Penn State wrestling wins final 8 bouts with bonus points in 7 of them to crush Rutgers
How’s this for some stats?
Eight of ten bouts had bonus points scored in them. The dual took about 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete.
Penn State outdid itself with 38 takedowns in a 33-8 rout of Rutgers on Friday night inside the Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J.
The Nittany Lions gave up 14 takedowns in the dual with eight of them coming in the first bout of the night.
The Scarlet Knights’ No. 16 Dean Peterson tallied those eight takedowns in a 21-6 technical fall of Gary Steen in 6:11. Rutgers kept things going at 133 as Roman Bravo-Young didn’t make the trip for Penn State.
No. 15 Joe Heilmann took on Penns Valley graduate Baylor Shunk, who filled in for RBY. Heilmann came out on top of several scramble situations to top Shunk, 7-2.
The Nittany Lions trailed 8-0 on the scoreboard and 11-0 in the takedown column, but that was it for the rest of the night.
Beau Bartlett took on No. 19 Joseph Olivieri at 141, and held a 4-1 lead after two periods of wrestling. In the third period, Bartlett flipped a switch and nearly pinned Olivieri, but came away with a 12-1 major decision.
Shayne Van Ness had the same type of ending as Bartlett in his 149-pound match with Tony White. Van Ness led 10-6 after two periods. White actually picked up a takedown in the first period.
In the third period, Van Ness looked for bonus by trading takedowns and escapes with White. Van Ness’ second takedown in the period saw him put White on his back, but ultimately Van Ness claimed a 21-9 major decision.
The dual was tied 8-8.
Levi Haines kept his winning ways up at 157. However, he was the only one not to tally bonus points as he has become accustomed to.
The true freshman showed great poise by slowly working his way through three takedowns in scramble situations to defeat No. 33 Andrew Clark, 8-2. It was Haines’ sixth straight ranked victory.
Alex Facundo came out of the break, and put on a takedown clinic on Luke Gayer, who was making his Rutgers’ dual debut.
Facundo had two takedowns in the first period. In the second period, he added three more, and led 12-5.
Facundo really poured it on in the third period to the tune of six takedowns. He finished with a 25-12 major decision to put Penn State up 15-8.
Carter Starocci had no problems with Jackson Turley at 174 pounds. The two-time defending NCAA champion used five takedowns to secure a 16-3 major decision.
Aaron Brooks came out with his hair on fire against No. 14 Brian Soldano. The two-time defending NCAA champion recorded four first-period takedowns and added four nearfall points.
Brooks used a slick ankle pick to open the second period, recorded four more nearfall points to dispatch Soldano, 18-3 in 4:04 of wrestling.
Max Dean had a slow start to his bout with Billy Janzer. However, he closed it out by using three third-period takedowns to secure an 11-2 major decision.
Greg Kerkvliet took on back 285-pounder, Kyle Epperly, to finish the dual. The Scarlet Knights’ No. 21 Boone McDermott didn’t make the call, and Epperly paid for it.
Kerkvliet tallied a takedown five seconds into the bout. From there, he used an effective 2-on-1 tilt to record 14 nearfall points in a 16-0 technical fall in 2:05.
Note: Cael Sanderson moved into second place on the Nittany Lions coaching win list as he picked up win No. 189 of his career at Penn State. He was tied with Rich Lorenzo. Should the Nittany Lions win their final two matches, Sanderson won tie longtime coach Charlie Speidel at the top with 191 career wins at the helm of Penn State. ... The Nittany Lions would clinch the outright Big Ten dual title by beating Maryland on Sunday.
No. 1 Penn State 33, No. 23 Rutgers 8
Friday at Piscataway, N.J.
125: No. 16 Dean Peterson, R, tech. fall Gary Steen, 21-6 (6:11)
133: No. 15 Joe Heilmann, R, dec. Baylor Shunk, 7-2
141: No. 6 Beau Bartlett, PSU, major dec. No. 19 Joseph Olivieri, 12-1
149: No. 13 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, major dec. Tony White, 21-9
157: No. 8 Levi Haines, PSU, dec. No. 33 Andrew Clark, 8-2
165: No. 9 Alex Facundo, PSU, major dec. Luke Gayer, 25-12
174: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU, major dec. Jackson Turley, 16-3
184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, PSU, tech. fall No. 14 Brian Soldano, 18-3 (4:04)
197: No. 3 Max Dean, PSU, major dec. Billy Janzer, 11-2
285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, tech. fall Kyle Epperly, 16-0 (2:05)
Takedowns: PSU 38, R 14
Records: Penn State (14-0, 7-0 Big Ten); Rutgers (10-6, 2-5 Big Ten)
Next match: Maryland at Penn State, Sunday, 1 p.m.
This story was originally published February 10, 2023 at 10:18 PM.
