No. 2 Penn State wrestling took care of business Sunday afternoon, beating No. 21 Lehigh 23-16 in front of a packed home crowd at Rec Hall.

With several reviews by officials more often than not working against the Nittany Lions, they were still able to come out and win thanks to a strong performance through the second half of weight classes.

How It Happened

Starting at 125 pounds, senior Jake Campbell made his debut for Penn State, taking on No. 14 senior Jaret Lane. Lane got off to an early lead, taking down Campbell for a 2-0 lead. Campbell was able to grab a point of his own after escaping. After starting on the bottom in the second, Lane could get up and get an escape. Lane nearly put Campbell on his back late in the second, obtaining several near fall points. Campbell had a reversal and scored two points making it 10-3 after two. Campbell ultimately won the match in major fashion 11-3, which gave Lehigh an early 4-0 lead.

At 133 pounds, senior Roman Bravo-Young went up against sophomore Sheldon Seymour. Bravo-Young managed to pick up three takedowns through the first period, giving him a 6-2 lead after one. Bravo-Young got right back into his groove, tacking on four more points in the second period giving the top-ranked wrestler a 10-3 lead. Bravo-Young took care of things in the third period as if it was nothing, and picked up a major decision win 19-3 and tying the dual meet score 4-4.

With the match tied, the 141-pound bout took place as senior and No. 1 Nick Lee and junior Connor McGonagle met. Lee finished the first period up 5-0 and 2:30 of riding time following a takedown and three near fall points. Lee picked up a few more takedowns into the second, while McGonagle executed an escape and a reversal, making the score 9-3 with 3:46 in riding time.

With a significant lead for Lee, McGonagle didn’t give up and picked up a takedown at the end. However, it didn’t matter as Lee managed to come out on top 13-6 with a win by decision. This win was Lee’s 100th career victory. Penn State took the lead in the dual score 7-4.

At 149 pounds, sophomore and No. 20 Beau Bartlett wrestled opposite sophomore Manzona Bryant IV. Bartlett had a quick takedown through the first period and managed to come out on top into the second 2-1. Bartlett managed to grab three more points giving him a 5-2 lead through two periods. The third period was the most interesting of the day to that point. Late in the period, Bartlett was down 6-5 and was close to an escape to tie things up, but ultimately, the officials gave no escape point even after a challenge by Penn State.

Bryant gave Lehigh the tie at 7-7 following the 6-5 upset.

Junior Tony Negron made his Penn State debut in the 157-pound bout, taking on No. 10 Josh Humphreys. Through the first, Negron made the most of his debut by getting a takedown in the first period. Before the second, Penn State lost another review by the officials in which a potential takedown was not awarded to Negron. The third period was underway with the score in favor of Humphreys. Penn State finally had a review by the officials work in its favor as Rec Hall’s crowd erupted when Negron was awarded a takedown.

Negron came up with another takedown to give him a 6-5 lead with under ten seconds left in the bout. However, after further review, the takedown was revoked, and Humphreys came out on top 5-4. Lehigh led 10-7.

As Lehigh led halfway through, the 165-pound bout saw No. 32 Creighton Edsell against senior and No. 27 Brian Meyer of Lehigh. There was not much action in the first period, which ended with no points given to either wrestler. Through the third period, Meyer tied up the low-scoring bout 1-1 after an escape. Thanks to a point awarded from 1:23 riding time, Edsell took a late 2-1 lead that was enough to give him a victory. The Nittany Lions tied the dual score 10-10.

Redshirt sophomore and No. 1 Carter Starocci found himself up against Jake Logan at 174 pounds. Starocci had two takedowns in the first period, including a simple and textbook single-leg takedown giving him a 4-1 lead and 1:23 in riding time. Starocci extended the lead in the second period as he was racking up points and ended the second period up 9-2 with 2:17 in riding time. Picking up a quick takedown in the third period, Starocci built a comfortable lead. Following a 13-3 major decision victory, Penn State took the lead in the dual score 14-10.

Trying to extend the lead, the Nittany Lions had sophomore Donovon Ball represent them in the 184-pound bout facing AJ Burkhart. Through one, Ball was able to pick up a takedown and end the period up 2-1. The second resulted in another takedown for Ball in which he led 4-3. Ball picked up an escape in the third and had a takedown taken away. Despite the takedown being withdrawn, Ball managed to sneak out with the 5-3 win extending the Nittany Lions’ lead 17-10.

At 197 pounds, junior Max Dean did not come to mess around against JT Davis. Following a takedown, Dean led 6-0 as he could pin Davis at the 2:58 mark of the first period. This match-clinched the dual victory for Penn State, giving it a 23-10 lead.

The 285-pound match was forfeited by Penn State, giving No. 10 Jordan Wood the victory for Lehigh. Penn State won the dual 23-16.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions won’t have any action for just over two weeks. They’ll return to the mat for the Collegiate Wrestling Duals on Monday, December 20 in Niceville, Florida. Cael Sanderson’s group is set to take on University of Northern Iowa and Cornell.