No. 1 Penn State Wrestling Defeats Lehigh 24-12

No. 1 Penn State wrestling (3-0) downed No. 22 Lehigh (3-3) 24-12 on Sunday for the Nittany Lions’ second road victory of the weekend and first over a ranked team this season.

Shayne Van Ness highlighted the Penn State win with his second pin of the season, while Greg Kerkvliet and Carter Starocci earned technical fall and major decision wins, respectively. Top-ranked 197-pounder Max Dean lost his second consecutive bout, dropping an 11-9 decision to former Nittany Lion Michael Beard.

How It Happened

The dual started at 125 pounds with Penn State’s Gary Steen facing No. 25 Carter Bailey. Steen battled throughout but could only score on a third-period escape. Bailey’s first-period takedown proved the difference in a 3-1 decision as the Mountain Hawks took an early 3-0 lead.

Next to the mat was Karl Shindledecker, making his Penn State dual meet debut against Lehigh’s No. 19 Connor McGonagle at 133 pounds. Filling in for top-ranked Roman Bravo-Young, Shindledecker fell behind 2-0 on a McGonagle takedown in the opening seconds and, like Steen before him, trailed 3-0 after the second period. McGonagle added a takedown and a riding time point in the third en route to a 6-1 decision and a 6-0 Lehigh advantage.

No. 9 Beau Bartlett was the first ranked wrestler to take the mat for the Nittany Lions and the first to take a lead as he used a quick takedown to go up 2-1 on No. 30 Malyke Hines in the first period of the 141-pound bout. An escape and a late second-period takedown expanded Bartlett’s lead to 5-1 after two. Hines used an escape and a double leg takedown to cut the deficit to 5-4 early in the third, but Bartlett escaped and countered a Hynes shot with a takedown of his own to win an 8-4 decision and get the Nittany Lions on the board, trailing 6-3.

At 149 pounds, Penn State’s No. 20 Shayne Van Ness made quick work of No. 26 Manzona Bryant IV. Bryant got an early takedown and a 2-1 lead, but Van Ness responded by taking the Mountain Hawk to the mat and locking up a cradle. Van Ness registered the pin at the 2:38 mark to put Penn State in the lead 9-6.

Lehigh’s No. 8 Josh Humphreys countered two first period shots from No. 30 Terrell Barraclough for takedowns to open up a 4-1 first-period lead in the 157-pound bout. Barraclough had a full period rideout in the second, but his third-period escape and riding time point would not be enough. Humphreys countered another shot by the Nittany Lion for a takedown and secured a 6-3 decision that tied the dual at 9-9.

After the intermission, No. 17 Alex Facundo faced Lehigh’s Brian Meyer at 165 pounds. Following a scoreless first period, Facundo escaped and got a takedown on a low single to go up 3-1 after two. Meyer escaped to start the third before Facundo worked another low single into a takedown and finished the bout on top. With a riding time point, Facundo won a 6-2 decision and put the Nittany Lions back in front 12-9.

Starting off the final stretch, No. 1 Carter Starocci took on Lehigh’s Jake Logan at 174. Starocci was on the offensive early and took the lead 7-1 after two, The Nittany Lion then went to work in the third, finishing off the bout with seven takedowns in the final period for a 22-8 major decision win that put Penn State ahead 16-9.

No. 1 Aaron Brooks kept the momentum going for Penn State in the 184-pound bout against No. 22 Tate Samuelson. Brooks struck first going up 2-1 in the first period and keeping the Mountain Hawk on the defensive. Brooks added two takedowns and an escape in the second and a stall point in the third for an 8-3 decision and a 19-9 Nittany Lions lead.

No. 1 Max Dean faced former Nittany Lion and No. 9-ranked Michael Beard in the 197-pound bout. Beard got an early takedown, but Dean responded and the bout was tied 3-3 after one. The back-and-forth action continued in the second, with both wrestlers trading take downs and Dean using two escapes to hold a 7-6 lead after two. Beard tied it on an escape to start the third then got a takedown with 1:20 remaining to take a 9-7 lead. Dean escaped and worked for a late takedown to win, but Beard countered a shot for a takedown of his own and held on for an 11-9 decision. After dropping just one bout all of last season, the loss was Dean’s second in a row in the early going this year, following a defeat to Rider’s Ethan Laird on Friday night.

The final bout of the afternoon saw No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet make easy work of Lehigh’s No. 22 Nathan Taylor. Kerkvliet got a takedown and six near fall points to go up 8-0 after the first period, then poured it on with a reversal and eight back points for an 18-0 tech fall at the 4:01 mark. Penn State closed out the dual with a 24-12 victory.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions return home to host Oregon State at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec.11, in Rec Hall. The dual will be broadcast on ESPNU.