No. 1 Penn State wrestling (3-0) dominated its first ranked matchup of the season against No. 22 Lehigh (3-3) on Sunday.

Shayne Van Ness highlighted the Penn State win with his second pin of the season. Greg Kerkvliet and Carter Starocci also had themselves a day, earning a technical fall and major decision wins, respectively.

How It Happened

The dual started at 125 pounds with Gary Steen facing No. 25 Carter Bailey. Steen was the first to go down in the bout after a late takedown in the first period. The second period brought on an escape from Bailey, furthering Steen’s deficit 3-0. Steen then earned one point in the third period, but it was not enough and he dropped the bout 3-1.

Next to the mat was Karl Shindledecker against No. 19 Connor McGonagle at 133 pounds. Taking the usual place of Roman Bravo-Young, Shindledecker immediately went down 2-0 after the first and fell quite similarly to Steen being down 3-0 after the second period. The third period then saw three more points for McGonagle, and Shindledecker dropped his bout 6-1.

The first-ranked wrestler for Penn State came next at 141 pounds with No. 9 Beau Bartlett and No. 30 Malyke Hines. Bartlett was the first to grab the lead for the Nittany Lions, as he went up 2-1 during the first period. Bartlett kept adding on points, upping his score 5-1. He then finished the bout winning by a score of 8-4.

Bartlett also cut Penn State’s team score deficit in half, 6-3.

At 149 pounds, No. 20 Shayne Van Ness made quick work of No. 26 Manzona Bryant IV. Van Ness registered the pin at the 2:38 mark from a cradle to put Penn State in the lead 9-6.

Shayne Van Ness — The First Period Fall — Lions lead 9-6! #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/xXbsfHfAec

— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) December 4, 2022

Moving on to 157 pounds, No. 30 Terrell Barraclough saw No. 8 Josh Humphreys. Five points were scored in the first period, but Barraclough was down 4-1. Barraclough then had a full second-period rideout, but it was not enough for the Nittany Lion as he dropped the bout to a 6-3 decision.

After the intermission, No. 17 Alex Facundo faced Lehigh’s Brian Meyer in the 165-pound weight class. The score was knotted 0-0 after the first period before Facundo went up 3-1 after the second period. Facundo then finished out with a solid 6-2 score over Meyer.

Starting off the final stretch, No. 1 Carter Starocci wrestled Jake Logan. Starocci took the lead 7-1 after two, and then he finished off the bout with an astounding ten takedowns in the final period. He was then the first Nittany Lion of the day to get a major decision win, 22-8.

No. 1 Aaron Brooks then kept the momentum going against No. 22 Tate Samuelson at 184 pounds. Brooks struck first going up 2-1. He then continued to dominate upping the score 7-2 after two periods. Brooks was able to hold on and earn the 8-3 decision win.

Next up, No. 1 Max Dean faced No. 9 Michael Beard. Looking for his comeback from last week, Dean and Beard were tied 3-3 after the first. Dean then grabbed the lead 7-6 after two, but ultimately lost in an 11-9 decision.

The final bout of the afternoon saw No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet and No. 22 Nathan Taylor. Kerkvliet accumulated a takedown and six near falls to go up 8-0 after the first period. Kerkvliet continued to dominate and won 18-0 by a technical fall.

Penn State then won by a final team score of 24-12.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will return home to Rec Hall at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 11, against Oregon State. The dual will also be streamed on ESPNU.