Penn State Rises Up to Rutgers, 38-6
With ex-Penn Stater Nick Suriano redshirting this season at Rutgers to pursue the 2020 Olympics, there wasn’t quite as much tension for the PSU-RU matchup.
The Nittany Lions tallied three pins and a tech fall in their 38-6 victory of the Scarlet Knights. In total, the Lions won eight out of ten bouts. Brandon Meredith lost to his No. 16 ranked opponent 10-4 and the other dropped match came at 157 in a heartbreaking tiebreaker 1-0 loss for Bo Pipher.
No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young took on RU’s No. 9 Sammy Alvarez in what ended up being the longest match of the day. It began with the familiar high tempo we’re used to seeing from Bravo-Young, the two exchanged shots but the first ended scoreless. Alvarez chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Again, the tempo was high and the opportunity was there for both wrestlers but no takedowns. Bravo-Young chose down to start the third and tied things up with an escape.
Bravo-Young worked hard on a high double as the clock ticked down but to no avail. The bout went into sudden victory -again no takedowns and onto the tiebreaker. Alvarez got the escape for a 2-1 lead, which Bravo-Young matched to tie it up at 2-2 and into a second sudden victory. The two continued to battle evenly during the first 55 seconds, then Bravo-Young connected on a low single with five seconds left and notched the takedown for a thrilling victory.
No. 2 Nick Lee followed that performance with a tech fall, adding to Penn State’s lead. No. 1 Vincezo Joseph, No. 8 Aaron Brooks and Seth Nevills took care of the three pins of the day, Nevills being the quickest in just 2 minutes and 24 seconds.
No. 20 Shakur Rasheed also beat a ranked opponent, No. 18 Jordan Pagano. With Kyle Conel and Anthony Cassar both out for the season at 197 and 285, Penn State is looking to fill the gap in those two weight classes. Sunday’s lineup looked solid and will prove Penn State’s roster-depth is a force to be reckoned with.
PSU v. RU BOUT BY BOUT:
125: RU No. 16 Nicolas Aguilar dec. PSU Brandon Meredith, 10-4
133: PSU No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young dec. RU No. 9 Sammy Alvarez, 4-2 (SV2)
141: PSU No. 2 Nick Lee tech fall RU JoJo Aragona, 19-4 (TF; 7:00)
149: PSU Jarod Verkleeren dec. RU Nick Santos, 7-3
157: RU Mike Van Brill dec. PSU Bo Pipher, 1-0 (TB1)
165: PSU No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph pinned RU Brett Donner, WBF (6:15)
174: PSU No. 1 Mark Hall inj. def. RU Joseph Grello, Inj. Def. (6:37)
184: PSU No. 8 Aaron Brooks pinned RU Billy Janzer, WBF (4:36)
197: PSU No. 20 Shakur Rasheed dec. RU No. 18 Jordan Pagano, 6-0
285: PSU Seth Nevills pinned RU Alex Esposito, WBF (2:24)
Up next, Penn State heads to No. 7 Nebraska for a Friday night matchup with the Huskers on January 24 at 7PM EST. This will be the biggest test for the Nittany Lions so far this season as they face eight ranked wrestlers in the Husker lineup.
The Nittany Lions tallied three pins and a tech fall in their 38-6 victory of the Scarlet Knights. In total, the Lions won eight out of ten bouts. Brandon Meredith lost to his No. 16 ranked opponent 10-4 and the other dropped match came at 157 in a heartbreaking tiebreaker 1-0 loss for Bo Pipher.
No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young took on RU’s No. 9 Sammy Alvarez in what ended up being the longest match of the day. It began with the familiar high tempo we’re used to seeing from Bravo-Young, the two exchanged shots but the first ended scoreless. Alvarez chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Again, the tempo was high and the opportunity was there for both wrestlers but no takedowns. Bravo-Young chose down to start the third and tied things up with an escape.
Bravo-Young worked hard on a high double as the clock ticked down but to no avail. The bout went into sudden victory -again no takedowns and onto the tiebreaker. Alvarez got the escape for a 2-1 lead, which Bravo-Young matched to tie it up at 2-2 and into a second sudden victory. The two continued to battle evenly during the first 55 seconds, then Bravo-Young connected on a low single with five seconds left and notched the takedown for a thrilling victory.
No. 2 Nick Lee followed that performance with a tech fall, adding to Penn State’s lead. No. 1 Vincezo Joseph, No. 8 Aaron Brooks and Seth Nevills took care of the three pins of the day, Nevills being the quickest in just 2 minutes and 24 seconds.
No. 20 Shakur Rasheed also beat a ranked opponent, No. 18 Jordan Pagano. With Kyle Conel and Anthony Cassar both out for the season at 197 and 285, Penn State is looking to fill the gap in those two weight classes. Sunday’s lineup looked solid and will prove Penn State’s roster-depth is a force to be reckoned with.
PSU v. RU BOUT BY BOUT:
125: RU No. 16 Nicolas Aguilar dec. PSU Brandon Meredith, 10-4
133: PSU No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young dec. RU No. 9 Sammy Alvarez, 4-2 (SV2)
141: PSU No. 2 Nick Lee tech fall RU JoJo Aragona, 19-4 (TF; 7:00)
149: PSU Jarod Verkleeren dec. RU Nick Santos, 7-3
157: RU Mike Van Brill dec. PSU Bo Pipher, 1-0 (TB1)
165: PSU No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph pinned RU Brett Donner, WBF (6:15)
174: PSU No. 1 Mark Hall inj. def. RU Joseph Grello, Inj. Def. (6:37)
184: PSU No. 8 Aaron Brooks pinned RU Billy Janzer, WBF (4:36)
197: PSU No. 20 Shakur Rasheed dec. RU No. 18 Jordan Pagano, 6-0
285: PSU Seth Nevills pinned RU Alex Esposito, WBF (2:24)
Up next, Penn State heads to No. 7 Nebraska for a Friday night matchup with the Huskers on January 24 at 7PM EST. This will be the biggest test for the Nittany Lions so far this season as they face eight ranked wrestlers in the Husker lineup.
