Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1486024
4 8 D E C E M B E R 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 THREE BEST WRESTLERS 1. Max Dean | Sr. | 197 The defending NCAA champion at 197 is off to another strong start. Dean steamrolled Lock Haven's Brad Morrison in the Nittany Lions' opening dual meet, winning by fall in 2:03 to send the Rec Hall crowd into a frenzy. He then dominated his weight class at the Black Knight Invitational at Army West Point, finishing with four wins, two of which came by fall, and a title. The tournament's organizers also named him the event's most outstanding wres- tler. He spent a little more than seven minutes on the mat out of a possible 28. 2. Shayne Van Ness | R-Fr. | 149 Van Ness has already impressed those inside and outside of the Penn State wrestling program. In his first Rec Hall match, the New Jersey native decked Lock Haven's Connor Eck in 6:32. Then, at the Black Knight Invitational, he scored three consecutive wins, including an upset 5-3 decision over Central Michigan's Johnny Lovett, to win the 149-pound title. 3. Beau Bartlett | Jr. | 141 Bartlett is at his more natural weight now, and it's making a huge difference. He looks fast, confident, and aggressive at 141 pounds after starting his career at 149. Bartlett scored a major decision over Lock Haven's Ty Linsenbigler in the opener, then won the 141-pound title at the Black Knight Invitational by racking up three consecutive wins before beating teammate David Evans in the final. KEY MOMENT With the Nittany Lions having gotten off to a typically strong start, there are a number of possibilities here. Let's go with the third period that Van Ness wrestled in the team's season-opening 44-3 victory over Lock Haven. The redshirt freshman led 16-2 with about 40 seconds remaining in the third period against overmatched Bald Eagles 149-pounder Connor Eck. Van Ness could have just tilted him one more time and secured a technical fall and five team points. Instead, he fought for and locked up a cradle to earn a fall in 6:32 and the full six team points that come with it. That sequence showed that Van Ness under- stands coach Cael Sanderson's score-at-all-costs mentality, and that's a good indicator of what he can accomplish moving forward. BEST HIGHLIGHT We picked three different wrestlers up top, knowing we would highlight the three who shined at the NWCA All-Star match here. The Nittany Lions sent three wrestlers to the Nov. 22 exhibition event in Austin, Texas, and all excelled. Junior 285-pounder Greg Kerkvliet finally beat Iowa's Tony Cassioppi, earn- ing the win by an 8-5 score. The Penn State standout was aggressive and fended off a late charge from his Hawkeye rival. At 184 pounds, senior Aaron Brooks stopped Northern Iowa's Parker Keck- eisen 12-8 in a matchup of the nation's first- and second-ranked wrestlers in that class. Then, at 174 pounds, junior Carter Starocci defended his win over Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis in last season's NCAA final by beating the Hokie standout 2-0 thanks to a second-period escape and punishing third-period rideout. This was another great night on a national stage for Sanderson's program. BOLD PREDICTION Despite losing to Levi Haines in the final round of the Black Knight Invi- tational, junior Terrell Barraclough will continue to hold off his freshman teammate for the top spot at 157 pounds. Haines can still redshirt this season, and if Barraclough continues improving, he'll have All-America as- pirations, while Haines follows the path of Van Ness and redshirt freshman 165-pounder Alex Facundo, which seems to be working well so far. — Greg Pickel PENN STATE WRESTLING SUPERLATIVES NOV. 11-22 Defending 197-pound NCAA champ Max Dean opened his senior season by pinning Lock Haven's Brad Morrison in a little over two minutes. The Nittany Lions romped to a 44-3 dual meet victory over the Bald Eagles on Nov. 11 to open their season. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE