Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1445781
4 4 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M T he main question in many college wrestling programs this season — Penn State most certainly included — is whether the head coach is meeting more often with his assistants or with the team's trainer. The only wrestlers to compete in each of Penn State's first 13 dual meets were sophomore 174-pounder Carter Starocci and junior 197-pounder Max Dean. Considering the constant threat of CO- VID-19, an unrelenting flu bug that has been sweeping through college campuses since the late fall, the increasingly popu- lar transfer portal, and a tweaked knee or two, penciling a lineup in the scorebook is a workout in itself. Penn State's lineup this season has been affected by all of the above. Coach Cael Sanderson has moved backup wrestlers up a weight to fill in for starters afflicted by illness, he's tried three different wres- tlers at 157, and he now has two highly experienced wrestlers in his lineup who weren't on the team last year, one of whom who wasn't even wearing a Penn State singlet as recently as this past fall. And what would the season be without a surprise? At PSU this year, the biggest surprise has to be the return of senior Brady Berge. It had seemed as though Berge's col- legiate wrestling days were behind him. Last year, he overcame concussion issues before injuring a knee at the NCAA Tour- nament, prompting his decision to retire from wrestling. He was coaching at South Dakota State, but he got the urge to com- pete again and complete his eligibility, and he re-enrolled at Penn State, joining the team at 165 pounds. You can't make this up. "He's a great kid, and win or lose, we're just super happy to have him back in the program," Sanderson said. "He's just an all-around awesome person." That's the nature of college wrestling today — not just in State College but across the nation. What the pandemic and the flu have taken away — at least temporarily — the transfer portal and changes of heart have restored. That's how this year's Penn State team has been augmented. With four defending NCAA champions in the lineup and other wrestlers turning in clutch performances here and there, the Nittany Lions were 13-0 and ranked No. 1 heading into a trip to second-ranked Iowa on Jan. 28. They've won matches by margins large and small, the most recent being a 29-6 victory Jan. 21 at No. 3 Michigan before a wild crowd in Ann Arbor, and 28-9 win two days later at Michigan State. They've added a pair of key transfers: Drew Hil- debrandt, a former All-American at Cen- tral Michigan, at 125 pounds, and Dean, a 2019 NCAA runner-up and 2018 place- winner at Cornell at 197. It's a commitment to win by bring- 2 0 2 1 - 2 2 W R E S T L I N G S C H E D U L E Date Opponent Result/Time (ET) Nov. 13 Oregon State* W, 32-7 Nov. 13 Sacred Heart* W, 47-3 Nov. 18 Army W, 32-7 Dec. 3 at Penn W, 20-16 Dec. 5 Lehigh W, 23-16 Dec. 20-21 Northern Iowa^ W, 29-9 Dec. 20 Cornell^ W, 21-16 Dec. 21 Arizona State^ W, 29-10 Jan. 7 at Maryland W, 46-0 Jan. 9 Indiana W, 29-11 Jan. 16 Rutgers W, 27-11 Jan. 21 at Michigan W, 29-6 Jan. 23 at Michigan State W, 28-9 Jan. 28 at Iowa 9 p.m. (BTN) Feb. 4 Ohio State# 7 p.m. (BTN) Feb. 6 Nebraska 12 p.m. (BTN) Feb. 20 Rider 2 p.m. Mar. 5-6 Big Ten Tournament TBA Mar. 17-19 NCAA Tournament TBA * Journeyman Duals at Manheim, Pa.; ^ Collegiate Wrestling Duals at Nice-ville, Fla.; # at Bryce Jordan Center LINEUP FLUCTUATIONS CHANGE NITTANY LIONS' OUTLOOK Brady Berge had retired from wrestling after his junior season due to injuries but later changed his mind and was 3-0 at 165 pounds heading into Penn State's visit to Iowa on Jan. 28. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL