No. 1 Penn State wrestling (5-0) dominated Central Michigan (0-3) in its first dual of the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in New Orleans, Louisiana on Monday night.

Seven pins highlighted the massive win for the Nittany Lions as Roman Bravo-Young, Beau Bartlett, Shayne Van Ness, Levi Haines, Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks, and Max Dean all came through with the fall victories. Alex Facundo and Seth Nevills also earned major decision wins.

How It Happened

Penn State’s 125-pound Gary Steen faced Anthony Walker to open the dual. The two kept the match close as the score was 0-0 through the first period. Walker managed to take the lead when he jumped Steen 3-2. Steen fought hard for a comeback, but a late challenge for his takedown was not overturned, and he dropped the bout 5-4.

Next, No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young took on Vince Perez at 133 pounds. The bout took no time and Bravo-Young secured the pin with 53 seconds left in the first period.

Following Bravo-Young, No. 5 Beau Bartlett saw No. 20 Jimmy Nugent. Bartlett dominated from the beginning and led 6-0 after one period. Bartlett then got the second pin of the night at the 4:09 mark in the second period.

This fall put the Nittany Lions team score at 12-3.

Similarly to Bartlett, No. 17 Shayne Van Ness wrestled No. 20 Johnny Lovett and immediately jumped to a 3-0 lead. Van Ness kept the intensity high and upped the score 10-1 before getting the fall at the 4:47 mark. Van Ness secured the third-straight pin of the night.

Next up, Levi Haines faced No. 31 Corbyn Munson. Despite going into the bout as the underdog, Haines made quick work of his opponent and got the pin at the 1:38 mark in the first period.

At 165 pounds, No. 14 Alex Facundo met Tracy Hubbard. While this was one of the few bouts that didn’t result in a pin, Facundo made sure to jump out 4-2 in the first period. He continued to score and extended the lead to 11-4 after the second period. Facundo kept the pressure on and finished with a major decision win 16-7.

Going into the last four bouts, No. 1 Carter Starocci wrestled Alex Kramer at 174 pounds. Much like a number of his teammates, Starocci also got the first-period fall, which came at the 2:21 mark.

Penn State led the team category with a score of 34-3 after Starocci’s matchup.

The 184-pound weight class brought on No. 1 Aaron Brooks and Ben Cushman. Once again, the pin came early for the Nittany Lions and Brooks finished the bout with the fall at just 1:18 into the period.

No. 5 Max Dean was next to the mat and faced Cam Wood in the 197-pound slot. Dean dominated early and capitalized on an 8-1 lead, and eventually got the seventh pin of the night for the Nittany Lions at the 3:21 mark.

Finally, taking the place of No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet, Seth Nevills took on Central Michigan’s Bryan Caves. Nevills made some noise in his debut and led 10-1 with 2:32 of riding time after the first period. The Nittany Lion scored one more point in the second period but finished the bout with a 17-5 major decision win.

Penn State finished the dual with a statement 50-3 win.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will have their second dual of the night against North Carolina at 9 p.m. on December 19, and continue their run in the Collegiate Wrestling Duals.