Trending
UNIVERSITY PARK -- Penn State redshirt freshmen Shayne Van Ness and Alex Facundo sat at the head table in the Rec Hall Media Room answering questions Friday night like seasoned veterans instead of the first-year wrestlers that they are.
That wasn't the only place those two looked experienced.
Van Ness, ranked No. 27, racked up a fall in his collegiate debut at 149 pounds and Facundo, ranked No. 23, followed two weights later with a technical fall to help fuel the No. 1 Nittany Lions' season-opening 44-3 win over Lock Haven in front of a sell-out crowd of more than 6,500 fans. The 62nd consecutive sell-out crowd was treated to the raising of the 2022 NCAA Championship banner prior to the dual meet.
"I thought they looked great. I was excited to watch them wrestle, probably just like everybody else in the crowd or across the country," coach Cael Sanderson said of Van Ness and Facundo.
Penn State won nine of 10 bouts, racking up three falls, three technical falls, two major decisions and a decision. The Nittany Lions accumulated an incredible 51-6 edge in takedowns. Lock Haven's takedowns all came in its only win, at 125.
Van Ness locked up a cradle and scored his fall in 6:31. Top-ranked 197-pounder and defending NCAA champion Max Dean used his patented bow-and-arrow to score a fall in 2:03. And, at 285, second-ranked Greg Kerkvliet ran a power half-Nelson with legs in and earned a fall in 1:21.
No. 1 133-pounder Roman Bravo-Young, the two-time NCAA champ, used 10 takedowns to fashion a 23-8 technical fall in 6:52. Facundo racked up 13 takedowns to roll to a 27-12 tech fall in 5:35. And two-time NCAA champ Aaron Brooks, ranked No. 1 at 184, used 11 takedowns en route to a 24-9 tech fall in 6:31.
No. 16 141-pounder Beau Bartlett (10-0) and two-time defending NCAA champ and top-ranked Carter Starocci (19-5) cruised to major decisions. At 157, Terrell Barraclough parlayed a second-period reversal and a point for 2:02 in riding time into a 3-1 decision.
"I think overall the team wrestled well. I think Coach Moore and the Lock Haven kids looked good. They all were strong and in good shape, and they came in here ready to wrestle," Sanderson said. "So, I thought it was an exciting match. We had a great turnout. Everything went really well."
Despite the lopsided score, Bald Eagle coach Scott Moore seemed pleased with the fight and intensity of his squad.
"I was impressed. I knew that we would come out and fight hard and obviously they’re a very good team. The main message was have a good time, work hard, a lot of effort and just be in the match, be in the moment and take advantage of the opportunity to wrestle in front of one of the best crowds in the country and one of the best teams in the country," he said.
"We've got a young team. We've got a few of our few better guys out but there's always stuff to improve on and when you wrestle in this environment, and you show flight, it’s gonna get easier throughout the year. So that’s one of the reasons we took this match. But also, you know, we're right down the road, we haven’t been here in seven years. So, I just think we owe it to the fans and owe it to our guys just to get this experience to compete in such an historic setting."
Moore said he and his team were driving to Bethlehem immediately after the match to wrestle No. 8 North Carolina State in the Journeyman WrangleMania at Bethlehem Liberty High School.
No. 13 Anthony Noto gave Lock Haven its only lead of the night, using six takedowns in a 14-4 major decision. That lead was quickly erased by Bravo-Young.
For both Van Ness and Facundo, the anticipation of their first collegiate match in Rec Hall was a year in the making. Neither disappointed.
"For me, being out for a year with injury, this has been a long time coming. And you know, I just wanted to go out there and I only get to do this once, have my first match, and so I wanted to make sure I had a lot of fun and make sure it was memorable and I think I did a pretty good job with that," Van Ness said.
"I just wanted to wrestle to the best of my abilities. And I wanted to make sure that when I remember (this night), I remember that I wrestled as hard as I could."
Facundo, too, talked about creating memories of his first time in front of a Rec Hall crowd that he said "was really loud."
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing to have a Rec Hall debut," he said. "This is a moment I will be able to have for the rest of my life and it was just exciting. I was waiting all summer and all last year. And just to finally go out there in a Penn State singlet, it was awesome."
No. 1 Penn State 44
Lock Haven 3
(Friday at University Park)
125: No. 13 Anthony Noto, LHU, maj. dec. Gary Steen, 14-4.
133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, won by tech. fall over Gable Strickland, 23-8 (6:52).
141: No. 16 Beau Bartlett, PSU, maj. dec. Ty Linsenbigler, 10-0.
149: No. 27 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, pinned Connor Eck, 6:31.
157: Terrell Barraclough, PSU, dec. No. 20 Ashton Eyler, 3-1.*
165: No. 23 Alex Facundo, PSU, won by tech. fall over Aiden Gaugler, 27-12 (5:35).
174: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU, maj. dec. Tyler Stoltzfus, 19-5.
184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, PSU, won by tech. fall over Colin Fegley, 24-9 (6:31).
197: No. 1 Max Dean, PSU, pinned Brad Morrison, 2:03.
285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, pinned Ethan Miller, 1:21.
* Lock Haven deducted one team point.
Ridge Riley Award winner: Shayne Van Ness, 149 pounds
Attendance: 6,500+
Takedowns: Lock Haven 6; Penn State 51.
Records: Lock Haven 0-1; Penn State 1-0.
Next match: Lock Haven vs. No. 8 N.C. State at Journeymen WrangleMania, 3 p.m. today at Bethlehem Liberty High School; Penn State at Black Knight Open, Nov. 20 at West Point, New York.