It disappointed Shayne Van Ness, who had just been named an All-American the season before as a redshirt freshman, to redshirt his sophomore year. After starting 3-0, Van Ness reaggravated a lingering injury to his knee that sidelined him for the rest of the season.

“I was getting really frustrated with the process and how slow it was,” Van Ness said Tuesday. “Focusing on one day at a time really helped me to get through the process. And when I stopped looking at the big picture, the days started to string together a lot faster.”

The 149-pounder had an outstanding start to his career in Happy Valley. During his redshirt freshman year, Van Ness recorded a 24-7 record with seven major victories, two technical falls, and five pins. He placed fourth in the Big Ten Tournament and finished third in the NCAA Championships.

“This past year, I did a lot of learning, trying to improve my game and put some new things into play,” Van Ness said. “I went back and watched some of my old film of myself to see what I was already good at and what I did really well, and I went right back to that, and now I have all these new tools that I learned over the last year that just add to what I’ve already been doing.”

Van Ness shined in his return to Rec Hall when he participated in a high-profile exhibition of the NWCA All-Star Classic on Friday. He made sure to take a moment and appreciate the opportunity to wrestle again.

“It had been a long time, and I just wanted to be grateful for the experience. I took a moment to take in the atmosphere again before it started,” Van Ness said. “I couldn’t help but just have this big grin on my face knowing that I was about to go do what I love.”

The Nittany Lion, ranked No. 2 by InterMat, took on the No. 3-ranked Ty Watters of West Virginia, a former All-American in his own right. The matchup was never close as Van Ness dominated his way to a 16-4 major victory.

“The most surprising thing was how much fun and how much I enjoyed it. I didn’t realize how much I missed it. I knew I missed it a lot, but I just felt like, that’s what I do, the dominating, powerful style,” Van Ness said. “That’s who I am. That’s how I want to wrestle every time. So that was expected, but the amount of joy that it brought me was a little bit unexpected.”

Starting this season, Van Ness has a new mental outlook. Instead of worrying about the big picture, the former All-American will live day-to-day, taking in every experience that comes his way.

“I just want to be absolutely the most grateful person that I can be for every experience that I get because I know what it’s like when those opportunities get taken away from you, and I don’t want to be looking back wishing that I would have soaked in the moment a little bit,” Van Ness said.

Head coach Cael Sanderson was impressed with Van Ness’ showing at the All-Star Classic, noting he was happy to see the young wrestler’s confidence against a tough opponent.

“He’s just really good at wrestling, obviously, and he’s just very tenacious, and he’s always experimenting, playing with the sport, trying to get better,” Sanderson said. “Jumping into a high-level match right away after having not competed in a long time, you’re hopeful that he’ll just go be himself and do his thing, but you never know until it happens.”

Although Van Ness was antsy after his lower leg surgery, he knew it would be better to be patient and come back ready for another breakout year. The 149-pounder is in line to start again for the weight class after his replacement, Tyler Kasak, moved up to the 157-pound weight class this offseason. After a strong showing at the All-Star Classic, Van Ness is set to make a run for the Big Ten title and national championship just as he had planned.

“I was never in a rush to get back. I was always patient,” Van Ness said. “Whenever I was ready, that’s when I was going to go compete.”