How wrestlers with ties to Penn State fared at U20 World Team Trials, U23 Nationals
Penn State had a combined 12 wrestlers with ties to the program competing in the U20 Wrestling World Team Trials and U23 Nationals that took place in Genvea, Ohio, from Friday through Sunday.
Current Nittany Lions wrestler Connor Mirasola (125 kg, U23 nationals) and soon-to-be Nittany Lions wrestler Jayden James (74 kg, U20 World Team Trials) each came away as winners.
State College graduate Pierson Manville, who competes for Arizona State, earned a U23 Greco-Roman Nationals title.
Others that competed with ties to Penn State included Dalton Perry (65 kg, U23 Nationals, current), Kysion Garcia (65 kg, U23 Nationals, current), Connor Pierce (70 kg, U23 Nationals, current), William Henckel (79 kg, U23 Nationals, current), Sam Beckett (79 kg, U23 Nationals, current), Sean Degl (79 kg, U23 Nationals, current), Asher Cunningham (79 kg, U20 World Team Trials, current), Sam Herring (65 kg, U20 World Team Trials, commit), Clinton Shepherd (65 kg, U20 World Team Trials, commit) and Grey Burnett (57 kg, U20 World Team Trials, commit).
Henckel and Pierce were the only other wrestlers to place as they reached the consolation finals of their respective weights. Pierce won his match as Henckel dropped his.
Shepherd and Burnett each made the best-of-three finals at their respective weights, but were each swept by their opponents.
Mirasola, who wrestled 197 pounds in the season, bumped up two weights and cruised to the quarterfinals. As the No. 1 seed, he collected three technical superiority victories, while giving up no points.
Mirasola reached the semifinals by topping Chattanooga’s Carter Neves, 12-7. He used a five-point first period to top Navy’s Spencer Langosa, 5-2, to make the best-of-three finals.
In the finals, the Nittany Lions wrestler took on Virginia Tech’s Jimmy Mullen. Mullen pinned Mirasola in the first match in 44 seconds.
However, Mirasola responded by winning the next two matches. He used a five-point second period to rally past Mullen, 5-3, in the second match.
The third match saw Mirasola put Mullen on his back for a fall in 2:58 for the crown.
James, who last week almost got himself into position for a spot on the Senior team at the age of 17, rode that momentum to earn a spot on the U20 team.
He was automatically in the best-of-three finals because of that performance. James faced Oklahoma State’s Ladarion Lockett, who need a four-point second period to overtake teammate Kody Routledge, 4-2.
James swept Lockett in a pair of highly contested bouts.
In the first match, the soon-to-be Penn State wrestler countered a Lockett takedown attempt for a score of his own with 57 seconds left in the match to collect a 5-4 win.
The second match saw James trailing the Cowboys wrestler late again. However, with 32 seconds left in the match, the teenager got a winning takedown in a 4-2 victory.
Manville cruised to the best-of-three finals of his weight giving up no points along the way, while only wrestling a total of 3:50. In the finals, he kept the dominance up by sweeping Shane Sherrill.
Manville didn’t give up any points in the finals either. In the first match, he earned an 8-0 technical superiority in 50 seconds. The second match saw the former Little Lions wrestler pin Sherrill in 39 seconds for the title.
The Sun Devils wrestler did compete in the freestyle portion of the U23 Nationals, but came up one round shy of placing.
