Guess Who’s Back: Penn State Opens Season With 44-3 Win Over Lock Haven
On Veterans Day this past Friday, Penn State officially kicked off its 2022-23 wrestling season with a home opener against Lock Haven. With an impressive showing from some Nittany Lion newbies, Penn State rolled over Lock Haven winning 9 out of 10 bouts.
First up, redshirt freshman Gary Steen dropped the first match at 125 against No. 13 Anthony Noto, who got Lock Haven on the board early with a major decision win. From there, Penn State took off. RBY with a tech fall, Beau Bartlett with a major in his debut match at 141, and Terrell Barraclough with a close upset win over No. 28 Ashton Eyler. Lock Haven was docked a team point after that match for an unsportsmanlike call.
Redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness had an unforgettable first collegiate match with a pin at 149. Shortly after, fellow freshman Alex Facundo dominated his way to a tech fall at 165. Then, the veterans wrapped up the dual with a major from No. 1 Carter Starocci, tech fall for No. 1 Aaron Brooks, and back-to-back pins for No. 1 Max Dean and No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet.
In case you lost count, that was three pins, three tech falls, and two majors on the day for a total of 17 bonus points. Also Lock Haven’s only takedowns for the entire dual came from the 125 match. If this was a peek into what the rest of the season has in store, Penn State wrestling fans are in for a treat.
Next, Penn State attends the Black Knight Open at Army West Point on Sunday, November 20th. The start time is still TBD.
Penn State - 44; Lock Haven - 3
BOUT BY BOUT:
125: LHU No. 13 Anthony Noto maj. dec. PSU Gary Steen PSU, 14-4
133: PSU No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young tech fall LHU Gable Strickland, 23-8 (TF; 6:55)
141: PSU No. 16 Beau Bartlett maj. dec. LHU Ty Linsenbigler, 10-0
149: PSU No. 27 Shayne Van Ness pinned LHU Connor Eck, WBF (6:32)
157: PSU Terrell Barraclough dec. LHU No. 28 Ashton Eyler LHU, 3-1
165: PSU No. 23 Alex Facundo tech fall LHU Aiden Gaugler, 27-12 (5:35)
174: PSU No. 1 Carter Starocci maj. dec. LHU Tyler Stoltzfus, 19-5
184: PSU No. 1 Aaron Brooks tech fall LHU Colin Fegley, 24-9 (TF; 6:32)
197: PSU No. 1 Max Dean pinned LHU Brad Morrison, WBF (2:03)
285: PSU No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet pinned LHU Ethan Miller, WBF (1:21)
* Lock Haven Loses Team Point in 157-bout, unsportsmanlike on bench *
