Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness makes emphatic return to mat in NWCA All-Star Classic
In last year’s National Wrestling Coaches Association’s All-Star Classic, Penn State was a combined 4-1.
The results were the same in Saturday night’s edition of the All-Star Classic, but with one difference.
The Nittany Lions’ Shayne Van Ness came out of the event healthy.
The redshirt sophomore made his return to the wrestling mat for the first time in almost a year. Van Ness saw last year’s season cut short because of an injury he suffered in the NWCA All-Star Classic against Kyle Parco, then of Arizona State.
“I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity, to have such a wonderful opponent, to be at home and have a packed house again,” Van Ness said. “I’ve been waiting a year for this. I can’t express how grateful I am for this moment.”
Van Ness’ gratitude shined as he came out with a giant smile on his face against West Virginia’s Ty Watters, who finished fourth in last year’s NCAAs — losing to Van Ness’ fill-in Tyler Kasak, at 149 pounds.
Van Ness got on the board first when he cranked Watters to his back with a three-quarter nelson. The Nittany Lions wrestler got a takedown and nearfall points for a 6-1 lead after one period.
In the second period, he hit a nice back trip and collected a stall point for a 10-3 lead. The third period saw Van Ness get a reversal to send Watters to his back for more nearfall points in a 16-4 major decision.
“It’s exciting for me. I’m just knocking the rust off after a long time on the bench,” Van Ness said of his win. “I feel like I’m only going to continue to grow and learn. The future is bright.”
Kasak, Levi Haines and Carter Starocci were the other winners for Penn State.
Kasak followed Van Ness at 157 pounds against Ohio’s Peyten Kellar. He jumped out to a 3-1 lead thanks to an early takedown that almost turned into a fall, but Kellar didn’t succumb to the pressure.
Kellar got to within one with an escape in the second period, but Kasak had built up a lot of riding time. The third period saw Kellar keep the Nittany Lions wrestler from escaping. However, Kasak came out with a 4-2 victory.
“This is kind of surreal. I feel I waited an eternity to get back on the mat. My last competition was nationals, so I’m just pumped,” Kasak said of the win and near pin. “He’s funky, I don’t know, but he’s Gumby. I thought I had him a couple times, but he got out of there, that’s just part of it. I feel like it’s little adjustments where I can get the pin there.”
Starocci’s match with Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen, the defending 184-pound NCAA champion, was the main event. The pair put on a show as they had to go to overtime to decide a winner.
They traded escapes in regulation to make it deadlocked at 1-1. However, neither was able to get to his offense.
However, with 27 seconds remaining in overtime, Starocci found an opening that he took and finished off the shot for the winning score.
“Obviously, you don’t want matches to go in overtime, but he’s a tough, strong kid. He’s a guy that’s probably looking forward to that matchup again if it happens,” Starocci said, “so that’s my job to make sure that I’m also ready. I thought he would engage a little more, and attack more than he did. I felt like he kept his distance, and managed his base well, that’s user error on my end. I’ll make sure that I’m able to apply more pressure (the next time).”
Haines’ match with South Dakota State’s Cade DeVos occurred right before Starocci’s at 174 pounds — the Penn State wrestler’s new weight.
Haines controlled from start to finish with a consistent pressure that forced two stall calls on DeVos. After two period of wrestling, the NCAA champion led 2-0.
In the third period, Haines had a full period ride, but was able to turn DeVos to his back for nearfall points. Haines added a riding time point for a 7-0 victory.
“I didn’t recognize much of a difference. If anything, I just have more energy,” Haines said. “I can really go put that pace on guys, and really get after it.”
Beau Bartlett was the other Nittany Lion wrestler to compete, but he came up short in a 4-1 loss to Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez.
Mendez’s takedown with one second left in the first period was the deciding score.
NWCA All-Star Classic
Saturday at University Park
MEN
197: No. 1 (D3) Massoma Endene, Wartburg major dec. No. 1 (D2) Derek Blubaugh, Indianapolis, 12-1
197: No. 5 Stephen Little, Little Rock dec. No. 10 Zac Braunagel, Illinois, 2-1 (UTB2)
285: No. 9 Taye Ghadiali, Campbell dec. No. 3 Nick Feldman, Ohio State, 8-3
125: No. 2 Jore Volk, Wyoming dec. No. 5 Tanner Jordan, South Dakota State, 8-2
133: No. 3 Lucas Byrd, Illinois dec. No. 2 Nasir Bailey, Little Rock, 1-0
141: No. 2 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State dec. No. 3 Beau Bartlett, Penn State, 4-1
149: No. 2 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State major dec. No. 3 Ty Watters, West Virginia, 16-4
157: No. 5 Tyler Kasak, Penn State dec. No. 3 Peyten Kellar, Ohio, 4-2
165: No. 3 Peyton Hall, West Virginia pinned No. 7 Hunter Garvin, Stanford, 5:54
174: No. 2 Levi Haines, Penn State dec. No. 3 Cade DeVos, South Dakota State, 7-0
184: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State dec. No. 2 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa, 4-1 (OT)
WOMEN
110: No. 4 Kendra Ryan, North Central dec. No. 1 Emma Baertlein, Southern Oregon, 4-2
124: No. 1 Amani Jones, North Central pinned No. 2 Maya Davis, Grand View, 1:20
131: No. 1 (D2) Victoria Baez Dillone, King dec. No. 1 (NAIA) Carolina Moreno, Southern Oregon, 6-2
145: No. 1 Jamilah McBryde, Life pinned No. 2 Aine Drury, King, :47
160: No. 1 (NAIA) Latifah McBryde, Life pinned No. 1 (D2) Cheyenne Bowman, King, 3:48
This story was originally published November 16, 2024 at 11:53 PM.
