‘An absolute blessing.’ Penns Valley grad Baylor Shunk set for final Penn State wrestling dual
Six years ago, Baylor Shunk was in the middle of his final high school postseason at Penns Valley.
He had already made his mind up that he was heading to Penn State to compete collegiately, which was always one of his dreams.
Sunday will mark the end of that dream as Shunk, along with several other Nittany Lions wrestlers, will be honored during Senior Day against Edinboro.
“I’ve gotten to meet so many great people and coaches. Teammates that have come in, and transferred in, and ones that I’ve been with for four or five years,” Shunk said. “I’ve developed friendships and a network that I’m going to be able to carry with me for the rest of my life. The experiences, mindset, attitudes that these guys have, and surrounding myself with like-minded people has been an absolute blessing. I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity.”
When it comes to some of his greatest memories of donning the blue and white singlet, it’s simple for Shunk: just competing with his teammates, whether it was inside Rec Hall, the Bryce Jordan Center or on the road.
Of course, he also has the memories of being part of a Penn State team that claimed three of the last four contested NCAA championships — 2020’s tournament was canceled due to COVID-19 — and quite possibly four of the last five if it wins this year.
“You try not to take any of those moments for granted, especially the competition. You remember those things because you’re side by side with one another, competing with one another,” Shunk said. “Those are things you’ll be able to carry with you, and I’ll be able to share with a lot of kids and folks in my life down the road.”
The former Rams wrestler had a career mark of 14-24, and appeared in 10 duals for Penn State.
During the 2021-2022 season, Shunk started at 125 pounds for the Nittany Lions in their first four duals, and two other duals at 133 pounds later in the year. He had a 2-4 record in those duals.
Last season, he competed twice all year as a fill in for Roman Bravo-Young.
During the 2019-2020 season, Shunk was 8-8, with all of his action coming in open tournaments.
“Baylor is always ready to go. He’s very consistent, and going to give a great effort. He’s one of those guys that make the team better in a lot of ways,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “Obviously, he’s a great competitor, but he’s a peacemaker. He brings people together, and makes the team stronger. He’s just a good guy in addition to the wrestling stuff. He does everything right.
“It’s guys like Baylor that really pull things together. Those are the people you really admire, and really appreciate having in your program.”
When issues arise, Shunk is willing to work through them as opposed to adding fuel to the fire, Sanderson said.
“He’s good friends with everybody on the team, it doesn’t matter where you’re from or how old you are. He treats everybody with respect,” Sanderson said.
When Shunk was asked if transferring ever crossed his mind, knowing that he could probably be a full-time starter somewhere else, he didn’t hesitate in his response.
“No, not for me.”
He said the environment and his teammates were the biggest factors as to why transfer thoughts never came up. Plus, he’s all about honoring a “man’s word.”
Now that Shunk’s career is coming to a close, he’ll focus on the future. He also hopes to be able to share his experiences and mindset to the younger generations of wrestlers.
“I’ve gotten to share that (mindset) with my younger brother and some of the younger kids at Penns Valley, just what it takes to be successful in the sport,” Shunk said. “It’s not always about the wins and losses, but more than anything, just continuing to improve and get better every day.
“Now that I’m getting ready to wrap up my college career, I start to understand how those things play into being successful not only as a wrestler, but whatever you’re doing in your life.”
Edinboro (2-11) at No. 1 Penn State (11-0)
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Rec Hall
Radio: Big Foot Legends (103.7 & 104.3 FM)
TV: Big Ten + (paid subscription)
Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com
X: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest
| Nittany Lions | vs. | Fighting Scots |
| 125: No. 8 Braeden Davis (15-2) | vs. | Caleb Edwards (6-20) |
| 133: No. 11 Aaron Nagao (9-4) | vs. | Eamonn Jimenez (3-10) |
| 141: No. 1 Beau Bartlett (17-0) | vs. | Jacob Brenneman (12-16) |
| 149: No. 9 Tyler Kasak (12-3) | vs. | Colin Roberts (4-17) |
| 157: No. 1 Levi Haines (14-0) | vs. | Gannon Jaquay (1-8) |
| 165: No. 6 Mitchell Mesenbrink (18-0) | vs. | Max Kirby (10-15) |
| 174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (11-0) | vs. | Joey Arnold (5-17) |
| 184: No. 6 Bernie Truax (10-3) | vs. | Brody Evans (10-16) |
| 197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (13-0) | vs. | Jack Kilner (19-12) |
| 285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (11-0) | vs. | Aden Roe (9-8) OR Nick Lodato (8-18) |
