No. 1 Penn State Wrestling Dominates Hofstra 43-10
Penn State wrestling (2-0) rolled over Hofstra (0-2) 43-10 on Sunday at Rec Hall in the Nittany Lions’ final dual meet of 2023.
After an uncertain and injury-stained week in the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex, Rec Hall fans were left guessing who would take the mat for the Nittany Lions. Despite this, a second straight lineup full of fresh faces took down the Pride on the backs of four pins from Levi Haines, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Bernie Truax, and Aaron Brooks.
With Senior Nationals on the horizon, Penn State seemed to be firing on all cylinders as it plans to fight for individual hardware.
How It Happened
125 Pounds
Kicking off the match at 125 pounds, Braeden Davis battled against Dylan Acevedo-Switzer. After a minute ticked away in the first, Davis secured the opening takedown of the dual and the bout, taking a 3-1 lead with 60 seconds left in the first period. The score remained the same as the second period came underway with Davis beginning in bottom position, from which he quickly escaped inside the first 30 seconds of the middle period. Another takedown from Davis extended his lead to 7-1 as the bout headed into the final two minutes. A third and final takedown in the waning seconds of the opening bout gave Davis the 11-2 major decision in his Rec Hall debut.
133 Pounds
No. 4 Aaron Nagao was next to the mat, taking on Ryan Arbeit. Nagao started the bout strong with a total of three takedowns and two minutes of riding time accumulated, heading into the second with a 9-3 lead. An additional four takedowns in the middle period gave Nagao what looked like an effortless tech fall at 4:20.
The Nittany Lions led the dual 9-0 after the first two bouts.
141 Pounds
Coming to the mat at 141 pounds were David Evans and Alex Turley. In a similar fashion to the last match, Evans opened the scoring with two takedowns in the first, creating a 6-1 lead headed into the second period in bottom position. After an early escape, Davis secured another takedown, extending his lead to 10-1 with over three minutes of riding time heading into the final period. More offensive firepower in the final two minutes gave Evans the 19-4 tech fall at 6:13, the second tech fall in a row for the Nittany Lions in the dual.
149 Pounds
Connor Pierce wrestled next against Noah Tapia at 149 pounds. After falling victim to a takedown and a three-second near fall, Peirce found himself down 6-0 as the action carried over into the second. A second takedown from Tapia extended his lead to 10-1 headed into the final two minutes. Total control from Tapia in the third gave Hofstra its first bout win of the dual, and Tapia walked away with an 11-2 victory.
157 Pounds
Walking out at 157 pounds was No. 1 Haines taking on Dylan Zenion. In no time at all, Haines secured the match’s first takedown, rolling Zanion onto his back for the pin at 1:02
Penn State led the dual 20-4 heading into the intermission.
165 Pounds
After the intermission, No. 14 Mesenbrink took on Matt Waddell at 165 pounds. In emphatic style, a Mesenbrink takedown in the middle of the first led to a pin at 1:24, the second pin in a row.
174 Pounds
Trying to make it three pins in a row, No. 1 Carter Starocci battled against Eric Shindel. Four total takedowns from Starocci in the first period gave the defending national champion a 12-3 lead heading into the middle period. Starocci went on to dominate the entire second period with top control, giving him the 14-3 with over four minutes of riding time heading into the final two minutes. Another takedown from Starocci gave him the 19-3 tech fall at 5:38.
Penn State led 31-4 after Starocci’s bout.
184 Pounds
In the next bout, No. 2 Truax took on Will Conlon. After three takedowns to start the period, Truax took a dominant position and finished the match with a pin at 1:51
197 Pounds
At 197 pounds, Brooks faced off against Nikolas Miller. Two takedowns in the first from Brooks gave him a 6-1 lead heading into the middle period. Two additional takedowns in the second lead to the fourth pin of the night, this time coming from the hands of Brooks at 4:22.
285 Pounds
In the final bout of the day, AJ Fricchione took on No. 21 Keaton Kluever. After giving up two takedowns in the first, Fricchione found himself down 6-1 heading into the second. After falling victim to another takedown, Kluever secured the pin over the Nittany Lion wrestler.
Despite this, Penn State won the dual with a final score of 43-10.
What’s Next?
A handful of Nittany Lions wrestlers will be in action next at the Senior Nations from December 15 to 17 in Fort Worth, Texas. All matches will be streamed on FloWrestling.
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