No. 2 Penn State wrestling remained undefeated (6-0) by taking down Northern Iowa (0-3) 29-9 at Raider Arena Monday night to open the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in Niceville, Fla.

Scoreless first periods and three losses highlighted the first half of the dual. However, the Nittany Lions dominated the end of the dual through several exciting close matchups.

How It Happened

125-pound senior Jake Campbell started off the dual against former Nittany Lion No. 10 Brody Teske. The first period was uneventful and ended without a score. Teske managed to take a 1-0 lead into the second following an escape. Following a point coming off of riding time, Teske was able to grab an early decision victory of 2-0. Penn State trailed 3-0.

At 133 pounds, No. 1 Roman Bravo Young looked to remain undefeated as he took on No. 31 Kyle Biscoglia. Bravo-Young didn’t waste time as he managed to grab a couple of takedowns while giving up only one escape that gave the senior a 4-1 lead after one period. Bravo-Young kept things rolling into the second, managing to grab a point from riding time in addition to a takedown. This bout needed only two periods as Bravo-Young rolled Biscoglia into a pin at the 4:34 mark. This win gave Bravo-Young 19 straight victories and boosted the Nittany Lions to a 6-3 lead.

No 1. Nick Lee also had a ranked opponent in No. 26 Cael Happel at 141 pounds. Lee had a dominant first period and grabbed a couple of takedowns and 2:18 in riding time to take an early 8-1 lead. In the second period, Lee tacked on two more takedowns and accumulated over three minutes of riding time while only giving up an escape giving him a 13-2 lead. A successful third period, over four minutes of riding time, and a few more takedowns gave Lee a major decision victory of 18-4. The Nittany Lions then led the dual 10-3.

No. 22 Beau Bartlett wrestled No. 28 Triston Lara at 149 pounds. The highly anticipated bout lived up the hype but had no score after a period. Both wrestlers managed to tack on a takedown and escape in the second period, leading to a 3-3 start of the third period. In the third period, Bartlett took a 4-3 lead following an escape. The one point would be enough for Bartlett to emerge victorious by decision. Penn State led 13-3.

At 157-pounds, junior Tony Negron faced Derek Holschlag of Northern Iowa. Following a trend of the dual, this pair of wrestlers remained scoreless after the first period. After two, Holschlag was able to come away with an escape that gave him a 1-0 lead. Negron was able to grab an escape early in the third but also posted 1:06 in riding time. However, Holschlag hit a beautiful double leg takedown giving him a 3-1 lead. Shortly after, Holschlag hit another takedown giving him a 5-2 lead. Negron dropped a decision 5-2 as Holschlag came out on top. Penn State still led the dual 13-6.

No. 26 Creighton Edsell took on No. 23 Austin Yant at 165 pounds at the midway point. Once again, neither wrestler could come away with a point in the second period. Edsell was able to grab an early escape in the second period taking a 1-0 lead, but it wasn’t long until Yant tacked on a takedown and took a 2-1 lead, and had 1:14 in riding time. Unfortunately, Edsell was unable to score any more points and ultimately lost by a decision of 4-1. Penn State still led the dual 13-9.

No. 1 Carter Starocci was opposite Pat Schoenfelder of Northern Iowa at 174 pounds. Starocci came out with a 6-1 lead and more than two minutes in riding time following three takedowns. Starocci chose bottom to start the second period and found much success as he advanced to the third period with an 11-3 lead and 2:24 in riding time. Starocci clinched a major decision with only ten seconds in the third period following a takedown winning 13-4. The Nittany Lions led the dual 17-9.

In a rematch of last year’s 184-pound NCAA semifinals, No. 1 Aaron Brooks looked to once again defeat No. 4 Parker Keckeisen. The first period came to an end and Brooks still hadn’t given up a takedown this season nor did Brooks obtain any points himself as it was tied with no score. Brooks was able to get a takedown with only 30 seconds left in the second period, giving Brooks the 2-1 lead. After going back to neutral with just over a minute remaining in the bout, Brooks was able to come out with a 3-2 victory by decision after an intense low-scoring battle between two of the nation’s best wrestlers. This victory gave Penn State a 20-9 lead in the dual.

At 197 pounds, No. 3 Max Dean looked to avoid an upset over Northern Iowa’s Noah Glaser. Right off the bat, Dean was able to grab a takedown and an early 2-0 lead. Before the end of the first period, Dean had over two minutes in riding time in addition to four points coming off of near-fall, giving Dean a 6-0 lead. Dean grabbed several takedowns in the second period and intentionally gave up a few escapes that gave him a 15-3 lead after two periods and 3:20 in riding time. The officials called the match about ten seconds too late, but Dean came away with a 19-3 technical fall victory over Glaser. The Nittany Lions led the dual and clinched their victory as they led 25-9.

At 285 pounds, No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet represented Penn State against Tyrell Gordon. Kerkvliet took an early 2-0 lead following a takedown. Shortly after, Kerkvliet locked up Gordon in a cradle and obtained four near-fall points taking a 6-0 lead and two minutes in riding time. Kerkvliet accumulated 2:34 in riding time in the second period extending the lead 9-0. With little remaining time, Kerkvliet hit a beautiful double leg takedown, extended his lead, and ultimately obtained the major decision victory of 12-1. This win wrapped up Penn State’s 29-9 victory over Northern Iowa.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will return to the mat to face No. 11 Cornell at 9 p.m. on Monday in their second of two dual matches.