Bravo-Young and company crush Clarion to close regular season

UNIVERSITY PARK — Roman Bravo-Young stepped on the mat on Feb. 19 in his Rec Hall finale with one goal in mind.

“Today, I just wanted to get a pin. I think I started here in Rec Hall with a pin and I wanted to end with a pin. That’s what I went out there trying to do,” Bravo-Young said. “It’s kind of weird being done. I came a long ways. It’s a surreal moment. I think it’s more than I imagined. I’m lucky, blessed. I’ve grown a lot here. I’ve loved every bit of it.”

That was the perfect bookend to Bravo-Young’s career, which started with a fall on Nov. 11, 2018, in Rec Hall.

RBY put on a show in his final Rec Hall appearance. He twice hit wicked headlocks on Mason Prinkey in building a 16-4 lead. After his second headlock, he stepped out in front and turned Prinkey for a fall in 4:30.

That was just one of six bonus-point wins as the Nittany Lions (16-0, 8-0 B1G) won nine of 10 bouts and crushed Clarion (11-6, 8-2 MAC) 40-6 in front of another sellout Rec Hall crowd of 6,545 fans. Once again, Penn State piled up a lopsided advantage in takedowns, 40-4.

The victory ran the team’s winning streak to 44 straight dual-meet wins and capped its seventh undefeated season in the past eight years.

Donovon Ball, Bravo-Young, Max Dean, Paul Feite, Konner Kraeszig, Joe Lee, Seth Nevills and Eddie Smith were honored prior to the match in Senior Day festivities.

“It’s been a great group of guys. I think they’re a pretty close group,” Head Coach Cael Sanderson said. “Guys from all over the country and different backgrounds. We still have the big stuff left in the season to see how things turn out. But so far they’ve been pretty great.”

Gary Steen gave the Nittany Lions a rare lead after 125 pounds, as he scored a couple late takedowns, the first on a headlock, ahead of the second- and third-period buzzers in a 5-1 win over Joey Fischer.

“It feels great,” Steen said. “I know I have all the tools I need to beat these guys. I just have to continue to grow as a person and just get better in the room every day. Just build that confidence.”

After RBY’s win, fifth-ranked Beau Bartlett pushed Penn State’s lead to 13-0 with a 12-4 major decision over Seth Koleno, the Bald Eagle Area High School graduate. Bartlett exploited an advantage on his feet as he gathered five takedowns.

Shayne Van Ness unleashed a relentless offensive onslaught against Kyle Schickel at 149. The nation’s 13th-ranked wrestler built an 11-1 lead after a period and then used a takedown and 4-point tilt to end the bout with a 17-1 technical fall in 4:59.

The Nittany Lions led 23-0 at the break after eighth-ranked Levi Haines rolled up an 18-3 technical fall over Trevor Elfvin. In addition to five takedowns, Haines twice turned Elfvin for 4-point nearfalls.

Out of the break, No. 9 Alex Facundo and Cam Pine put on an entertaining performance at 165. Pine tossed Facundo toward his back for a takedown and early 3-2 lead, but that only seemed to inspire Facundo. The Nittany Lion redshirt freshman then went on to to score six more takedowns for seven total in a 16-10 decision to seal another undefeated season for Penn State.

Top-ranked 174-pounder Carter Starocci make quick work of John Worthing. Starocci scored four takedowns and added four nearfall points to take a 12-3 into the second. He escaped to start the second, added a takedown and then turned Worthing for another 4 for a 19-3 technical fall in 5:00.

Clarion’s 21st-ranked Will Feldkamp prevented a shutout for the Golden Eagles as he tossed Donovan Ball to his back and pinned him in 1:20 at 184.

Third-ranked Max Dean decisioned Ty Bagoly 9-5 at 197. Dean held a 7-1 lead heading into the third period and held off a late rally by the Clarion wrestler, who took Dean down twice in the final period, for a 9-5 decision.

Second-ranked Greg Kerkvliet tied a bow on the dual with a pin at 285. Kervliet led Austin Chapman 8-1 at the start of the third. Chapman chose neutral to start and Kerkvliet used an underhook to toss Chapman to his back and recorded the fall at the 5:21 mark.

Penn State now prepares for the postseason, which starts with the Big Ten Championships on March 4-5 in Michigan’s Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor. “Ready or not, here we come. I think the guys look good,” Sanderson said. “Overall, the guys wrestled well. A couple mistakes here and there, but if you’re not making mistakes you’re probably not progressing. We’re happy where we’re at. We’ll just get a couple good weeks of training in and get ready to roll.”