BEA grad Coen Bainey set to lead American against Penn State wrestling in Rec Hall
Centre County has become a hotbed for high school wrestlers who go on to take the next step in their athletic careers, with nearly 20 currently competing at the Division I level alone.
One of those is Bald Eagle Area graduate Coen Bainey, who will return “home” Friday night when his school, American University, takes on Penn State inside Rec Hall at 7 p.m.
“It’s going to be awesome. I’ve grown up there,” Bainey said. “I’m going to have a good crowd there, family wise, and can’t wait to see all them.
“It’s going to be surreal. It’s going to be a great moment to be able to wrestle in a place that I watched at all the time.”
Bainey is the Eagles’ 125-pound starter and is in his first official year of college wrestling. It’s technically his second year, but he missed most of his first year after suffering an injury early on.
With an 8-9 record, Bainey has had an up-and-down season. However, he started the year off with a bang in a dual against Michigan State.
He took on the Spartans’ Caleb Weiand in a bout that had a final score of 18-17 in Bainey’s favor. The bout stuck out in Bainey’s mind, and it wasn’t because it was his first collegiate victory.
“I can definitely tell you, conditioning. Beginning of the season, I was not where I needed to be. I talked to my coaches about it, and they got me on a plan,” Bainey said of what he learned. “I really gave up a lot of points in the third period, and that’s where I’ve really tried to get better throughout the year. That first match was a great example of what I needed to work on.
“Coming off the mat, first win, I was really tired. Now, I’m making sure that I can go a full seven minutes and then wrestle even more in overtime and stuff like that.”
The Julian native will have his hands full with the Nittany Lions’ Luke Lilledahl. But he also comes into the dual on a three-match winning streak.
His most recent victory was 2-1 over George Mason’s Ben Monn last Sunday. Bainey said it wasn’t an exciting match, but he called it another eye-opener.
“I was good on bottom in high school, but when you get to college, the guys are a lot better on top. You’re wrestling kids in the room who are D1 athletes,” he said.
“They can ride a lot better than the kids could in high school. I definitely had a wake-up call. I was down one to nothing in the third, and was getting rode tough. I ended up hitting a reversal with a minute left in the period, and rode the kid out. When I look at it, I think that all the work that I’ve put in on working on bottom, and getting better there, how much of a factor it’s played.”
American (10-9) at No. 1 Penn State (14-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Rec Hall, University Park
Radio: Big Foot Legends (103.7 & 104.3 FM)
Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com; Video, Big Ten Plus
X: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest
| Nittany Lions | vs. | Eagles |
| 125: No. 9 Luke Lilledahl (14-2) | vs. | Coen Bainey (8-9) |
| 133: No. 7 Braeden Davis (8-3) | vs. | Raymond Lopez (16-8) |
| 141: No. 1 Beau Bartlett (17-0) | vs. | Elijah White (5-12) |
| 149: No. 2 Shayne Van Ness (16-1) | vs. | Gage Owen (6-13) |
| 157: No. 1 Tyler Kasak (13-1) OR Joe Sealy (0-2) | vs. | Jack Nies (7-13) |
| 165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (18-0) | vs. | Kaden Milheim (9-10) |
| 174: No. 2 Levi Haines (16-1) | vs. | Caleb Campos (17-9) |
| 184: No. 1 Carter Starocci (17-0) | vs. | Breon Phifer (3-5) |
| 197: No. 2 Josh Barr (14-1) | vs. | Liam Volk-Klos (3-9) |
| 285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (15-0) | vs. | No. 32 Will Jarrell (17-9) |
