Photo Credit: Penn State Athletics
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No. 2 Penn State Shuts Down Maryland, 44-0

Penn State freshmen came up with some huge wins on Monday night’s matchup with Maryland on February 22. The Nittany Lions won all ten bouts, eight of which were bonus point wins.

Freshman Greg Kerkvliet made his collegiate debut and started off the meet at 285. It was a quick debut, taking only one minute and twelve seconds to pin his Maryland opponent Garrett Kappes. Fellow freshman Robert Howard followed suit with another pin at 125 over Zach Spence.

Now considered a veteran on Penn State’s young squad, No. 3 Roman Bravo Young racked up an impressive 24-13 major decision with his relentless attacking style. No. 2 Nick Lee also had a major decision right after.

Beau Bartlett and Luke Gardner both put up strong wins then it was back to another Penn State freshman No. 14 Joe Lee at 165. Lee delivered the third pin of the night over Jonathan Spadafora. The final three matches were major decision wins by No. 5 Carter Starocci, No. 2 Aaron Brooks, and No. 16 Michael Beard.

Penn State finishes this short season 6-0 and shares the Big Ten Wrestling Dual Meet Championship crown with Iowa, who also finished the season with a perfect record. The two teams were, unfortunately, unable to meet during the regular season due to a postponed match that could not be rescheduled.

Not to worry, the Lions will match with several Hawkeyes in the hunt for a Big Ten Championship title on March 6 and 7 in the Bryce Jordan Center. For the first time, the Big Ten Network will provide coverage for both days of championship wrestling. The semifinals will be the Saturday night and the finals matches will be on Sunday.

BOUT BY BOUT

PSU- 44, MD- 0

285: PSU Greg Kerkvliet pinned MD Garrett Kappes, WBF (1:12)

125: PSU Robert Howard pinned MD Zach Spence, WBF (3:38)

133: PSU No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young maj. dec. MD Jackson Cockrell, 24-13

141: PSU No. 2 Nick Lee maj. dec. MD Danny Bertoni, 14-2

149: PSU Beau Bartlett dec. MD Hunter Baxter, 9-3

157: PSU Luke Gardner dec. MD Michael Doetsch, 8-2

165: PSU No. 14 Joe Lee pinned MD Jonathan Spadafora, WBF (5:56)

174: PSU No. 5 Carter Starocci maj. dec. MD Phillip Spadafora, 15-6

184: PSU No. 2 Aaron Brooks maj. dec. MD Kyle Cochran, 17-5

197: PSU No. 16 Michael Beard maj. dec. MD Jaron Smith, 13-3