Penn State wrestling blasts Michigan from start to finish in 29-6 victory: 5 takeaways
Penn State yet again showed the country why it is the top-ranked wrestling team in the land on Friday night.
An expected close match at No. 3 Michigan was anything but, as the Nittany Lions won eight of 10 bouts en route to a 29-6 blowout victory over the Wolverines at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.
“It was a great effort,” Penn State associate head coach Cody Sanderson told the Penn State Sports Network. “That’s a great [Michigan] team out there. That’s a great crowd. They had a great environment.
“Just so happy and proud of our guys to come through and just fight and win some close matches. I thought the tone was established right out of the gate.”
Here are our takeaways as head coach Cael Sanderson’s team improved to 12-0 on the year.
`1. The tone was set early
Penn State won three of the first five matches. Two of them went unexpectedly.
After former Lion and top-ranked Wolverine Nick Suriano beat Drew Hildebrandt by decision, 2-1, at 125 pounds, Penn State ran the table over the next three bouts. Defending NCAA champ Roman Bravo-Young won an 8-1 decision Dylan Ragusin at 133 pounds next. Then, an expected super bout between No. 1 Nick Lee and No. 4 Stevan Micic didn’t happen. Instead, Drew Mattin faced Lee, who scored a 21-6 technical fall in 6:36.
Then, something else unexpected happened: Beau Bartlett threw Cole Mattin off the opening whistle at 149, but Mattin immediately signaled that he was injured as Bartlett tried to work for a fall. After a brief evaluation, Martin hopped off the mat with no pressure on his left leg. It equaled a win by medical default for Bartlett, and suddenly the Lions were leading the team race 14-3.
Michigan would never get back into the match. No. 15 Will Lewan did win a 5-2 decision over Terrell Barraclough, who wrestled in place of Tony Negron, at 157. But, at intermission, the scales tilted heavily in Penn State’s favor.
2. Brooks shows incredible strength to win the bout of the night
We wrote in our match preview that the bout of the night would be between No. 1 Aaron Brooks and No. 2 Myles Amine at 184 pounds. It did not disappoint.
Brooks escaped early, tying the bout at one in the third period. The Penn State standout then put on a world-class defensive display to fend off an Amine single-leg shot before ultimately winning a long scramble and working his way behind the Michigan grappler for a 3-1 decision victory.
“Myles Amine is tough, one of the best guys in the world. He’s got an Olympic bronze medal,” Cody Sanderson told the Penn State Sports Network. “When he got in on that leg at the end, the way he kept his hands locked and he was shifting positions, that was world-class single leg finish.
“On the other end, Brooks just stayed ahead of it. At one point, he was in trouble, but he kept adjusting his hips and just found a way to find himself on top again. That was really impressive. I was surprised they let them work that long in that position, but it ended up working to our advantage.”
3. Penn State nets big wins up and down the lineup
This was an impressive effort from the Lions up and down the lineup.
Brady Berge netted his second win since returning to the Penn State team. He topped No. 10 Cameron Amine by scoring the lone takedown and adding an escape to win, 3-1, at 165 pounds.
Then, at 197, No. 2 Max Dean held off No. 8 Patrick Brucki in sudden victory, 6-4. Dean did it by riding out Brucki in the third period and then ducking behind for the winning score early in the extra period.
Last, and certainly not least, No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet had plenty of gas tank left to upset No. 2 Mason Parris 8-5 with 1:06 in riding time. The Penn State heavyweight scored the winning takedown by converting a single-leg shot and then tripping Parris to the mat with about a minute left.
4. Odds and ends
–PSU continues to search for answers at 157. But, based on the radio broadcast, it certainly sounds like Berge will be sticking at 165. That’s been a hot topic of conversation for Penn State fans in recent weeks.
–Here’s hoping the best for Michigan’s Martin. That injury sequence certainly did not look good.
–Penn State also won at 174, where Carter Starocci secured a 3-2 decision. The Lions had a 15-6 takedown advantage.
–Nick Lee now has 25 career technical fall victories, according to Penn State Athletics.
–The Lions return to the mat on Sunday at Michigan State. BTN+ will televise the dual, which starts at 1 p.m. ET.
5. Full Penn State-Michigan results
Bout-by-bout recap courtesy of Penn State Athletics:
#1 Penn State 29, #3 Michigan 6
January 21, 2022 – Ann Arbor, Mich.
125: #1 Nick Suriano MICH wins by decision over #7 Drew Hildebrandt PSU, 2-1; 3-0 Michigan
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young PSU wins by decision over #8 Dylan Ragusin MICH, 8-1; 3-3
141: #1 Nick Lee PSU wins by technical fall over Drew Mattin MICH in 6:36; 8-3 PSU
149: #19 Beau Bartlett PSU wins by injury default over Cole Mattin MICH in 13 seconds; PSU 14-3
157: #15 Will Lewan MICH wins by decision over Terrell Barraclough PSU, 5-2; 14-6 PSU
165: #16 Brady Berge PSU wins by decision over #10 Cameron Amine MICH, 3-1; 17-6 PSU
174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU wins by decision over #6 Logan Massa MICH, 3-2; 20-6 PSU
184: #1 Aaron Brooks PSU wins by decision over #2 Myles Amine MICH, 3-1; 23-6 PSU
197: #2 Max Dean PSU wins by decision over #8 Patrick Brucki MICH, 6-4, in sudden victory; 26-6 PSU
285: #4 Greg Kerkvliet PSU wins by decision over #2 Mason Parris MICH, 8-5; 29-6 PSU
