How Penn State-connected wrestlers fared in Real American Freestyle’s RAF 02
The Bryce Jordan Center has hosted numerous Penn State wrestling matches, Big Ten wrestling championships and most recently the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. There was even a Bellator fight card in 2017, but Saturday night brought a new wrestling event to the venue.
Real American Freestyle’s RAF 02 had a quartet of championship titles on the line. RAF, a freestyle wrestling league of college, UFC and Olympic wrestlers, was co-founded by the late Hulk Hogan, and Saturday’s event was only its second ever.
The card at the BJC also had a pair of former Nittany Lions in Carter Starocci and Nico Megaludis competing, along with Nittany Lion Wrestling Club member Kyle Dake and NLWC coach Jake Varner. Of the group, Dake and Varner were the lone winners of the night.
Each match consisted of three periods of wrestling, two minutes in each period. The scoring followed freestyle wrestling rules and the matches took place on an elevated mat, just like during Penn State duals.
Dake had to defend his RAF cruiserweight (190 pounds) title against Slovakian wrestler Boris Makoev.
The champ jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a pushout and passivity point. The second period saw the same.
In the third period, Dake gave up a pushout, but got another one of his own, and got exposure late for a 7-1 win to defend his title.
“I’m really happy to be able to come out here and compete in front of a home crowd. I’ve been here for three years, and it feels like home already,” Dake said. “This is a lot of fun. I just loved coming out here, doesn’t matter if it’s a match with five people or 3,000 or a million watching from home. I’m just really excited to be here and just super thankful for all the people that were able to put it together.”
Varner, who made his RAF debut, faced off with controversial wrestler Pat Downey in a battle of former Iowa State wrestlers.
Varner collected a passivity point in the first period for the lone points in the period. The second period saw Downey get a passivity point from Varner.
However, the coach grabbed a slick ankle pick late for a four-point score. There was no scoring in the third period, which gave Varner a 5-1 victory.
“It’s been a while, but kind of familiar once you get out there,” Varner said. “It was fun going out there and competing, especially out in the BJC. I never got to compete there when I was in college.”
Starocci made his RAF debut against former Indiana wrestler Nate Jackson.
Jackson, who is in his early 30s, took the five-time NCAA champion down and to his back right out of the gate. He tacked on a pushout point to lead 5-0 after one period.
There was no scoring in the second period. Starocci attempted to mount a comeback with a pair of pushout points early, but Jackson countered a takedown attempt, and won 7-2.
“It’s always a pleasure wrestling for the State College fans. We’ve spent a lot of years together, so it’s always good,” Starocci said. “Obviously, it didn’t look great, so never want to perform like that for them. I think they appreciate my willingness to go out there and compete, so I always appreciate them coming out and supporting.”
Megaludis, who was Penn State’s last 125-pound NCAA champion, faced former Iowa wrestler Austin DeSanto in his return to the Bryce Jordan Center for the first time since graduating in 2016. It was both wrestlers’ RAF debut.
DeSanto scored first with a passivity point to lead 1-0 after one period of wrestling. The second period saw DeSanto tally a takedown and exposure points late. Megaludis’ corner challenged the exposure points, but the challenge was lost.
DeSanto started the third period up 6-0, and recorded a pair of counter takedowns to secure a 10-0 technical superiority in 5:17 ruining the Nittany Lions wrestler’s return home.
“I mean, competing for the RAF and here at Penn State was just incredible to be out there. It was cool hearing a lot of the Penn State cheers and everything,” Megaludis said. “When you don’t finish three or four shots, it’s pretty hard to win. But I’m pretty fortunate I was able to do this.”
Notes: David Carr collected a 17-6 technical superiority over Amr Reda for the welterweight (165 pounds) championship in 3:44. ... Nathan Tomasello topped Matt Ramos, 5-3, to defend his bantamweight (135 pounds) crown. ... Helen Maroulis shutout Samantha Stewart, 6-0, for the women’s flyweight (130 pounds) championship.
RAF 02
Saturday at University Park
135 pounds: Austin DeSanto tech. Nico Megaludis, 10-0 (5:17)
165 pounds: Tajmuraz Salkazanov dec. James Green, 4-4
Unlimited: Mason Parris tech. Alexandr Romanov, 11-0 (3:51)
Open: Cayden Henschel tech. Mugsy, 11-1 (5:29)
190 pounds: Nate Jackson dec. Carter Starocci, 7-2
Unlimited: Jake Varner dec. Pat Downey, 5-1
165 pounds championship: David Carr tech. Amr Reda, 17-6 (3:44)
135 pounds championship: Nathan Tomasello dec. Matt Ramos, 5-3
Women’s 130 pounds championship: Helen Maroulis dec. Samantha Stewart, 6-0
190 pounds championship: Kyle Dake dec. Boris Makoev, 7-1
