No.1 Penn State wrestling goes to No.2 Iowa and wins, 19-13: Takeaways
Penn State wrestling has improved to 14-0.
The No. 1 Nittany Lions Lions won a thriller, 19-13, over No. 2 Iowa on Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Nothing came easy for either of the nation’s top-ranked programs. But, in the end, head coach Cael Sanderson’s program secured the dual meet late to stay unbeaten.
Here are our takeaways.
Dean wins the Penn State-Iowa match of the night
No first period reversal, no problem, for Penn State 197-pounder Max Dean.
The Nittany Lion trailed Iowa’s Jacob Warner 2-0 after one. Sanderson threw the challenge brick with hopes that referee Angel Rivera would award Dean a reversal at minimum, and possibly back points, as well, for action near the end of the opening stanza. Neither was given, however.
Dean persevered regardless, even if he was trailing 3-0 after two.
After escaping early in the third period, the Penn State wrestler pulled within 3-2 after Warner was hit with his second stalling call of the match. Then, Dean worked for a takedown and locked in his signature bow and arrow for a four-point turn. The eight-point period gave him an 8-3 decision and the Lions an insurmountable 19-10 dual lead with just one bout to go.
Starocci put Dean in position to win it
The 174-pound showdown between top-ranked Lion Carter Starocci and second-ranked Hawkeye Michael Kemerer was everything outside observers thought it could be.
After a deadlocked first three periods, Kemerer and the Hawkeye faithful believed the Iowa wrestler had a late takedown that would have given him a 3-2 victory at the end of sudden victory. Instead, the call was overturned, which sent the match to tiebreaker.
Starocci was down first and escaped. Then, he rode out Kemerer for a 2-1 victory that put the Lions ahead 13-10.
How Penn State-Iowa got to that point was thrilling
Penn State has won 25 straight dual meets. Many have been easy wins. This one wasn’t.
Drew Hildebrandt kicked things off with a 9-0 major decision win over Iowa backup Jesse Ybarra at 125 pounds. Roman Bravo-Young then gutted out a 3-2 win over Austin DeSanto at 133, even though he was not the aggressor. A 6-4 win for No. 1 Nick Lee over No. 2 Jaydin Eierman extended the Lions lead, but consecutive losses at 149, 157, and 167 tied the bout at 10.
From there, Starocci gave the Lions the lead back. No. 1 Aaron Brooks then extended it with a hard-fought 7-3 decision over Abe Assad at 184.
Dean then salted the team race away before Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi beat Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet 7-2 at heavyweight. It gave the home crowd something to cheer about, but the Lions left victorious.
In the end, this meet lived up to the hype. It was well-wrestled and hard-fought by both sides. Each will have gripes with the officiating, as well.
In the end, Penn State pushed the pace at enough weights and scored when it counted to win.
Final Penn State-Iowa results
125: Drew Hildebrandt PSU wins by major decision over Jesse Ybarra Iowa, 9-0; PSU 4-0
133: Roman Bravo Young PSU wins by decision over Austin DeSanto Iowa, 3-2; PSU 7-0
141: Nick Lee PSU wins by decision over Jaydin Eierman Iowa, 6-4; 10-0 PSU
149: Max Murin Iowa wins by decision over Beau Bartlett Penn State, 4-1; 10-3 PSU
157: Kaleb Young Iowa wins by decision over Terrell Barraclough PSU, 2-0; 10-6 PSU
165: Alex Marinelli Iowa wins by major decision over Brady Berge PSU, 10-2; PSU 10-Iowa 10
174: Carter Starocci PSU wins by decision over Michael Kemerer Iowa 2-1; PSU 13-10
184: Aaron Brooks PSU wins by decision over Abe Assad Iowa, 7-3; PSU 16-10
197: Max Dean PSU wins by decision over Jacob Warner Iowa, 8-3; 19-10 PSU
285: Tony Cassioppi Iowa wins by decision over Greg Kerkvliet PSU, 7-2; 19-13 PSU
