Penn State wrestling: Cael Sanderson talks situation at 157 pounds; latest on Lions in the rankings

Penn State wrestling returns to the mat for the first time in 2023 on Friday when it takes on Wisconsin at the UW Field House. The dual will start at 9 p.m. ET and air on the Big Ten Network.

So far, head coach Cael Sanderson’s team is 7-0 after a perfect run during the 2022 portion of its schedule. The Lions were last on the mat at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in New Orleans, when they topped Central Michigan 50-3 and North Carolina 37-3 on Dec. 19 before taking out Iowa State 22-12 on Dec. 20. The two-day, three-match stretch was a learning experience for 149-pounder Shayne Van Ness and 165-pounder Alex Facundo, who were competitive with but eventually dropped matches to No. 3 Paniero Johnson and No. 3 David Carr, respectively, against the Cyclones.

“I think both Shayne and Alex believe and know that they’re real close,” Sanderson said Tuesday. “Just sometimes obviously, with the young kids; first with Shayne, he just hasn’t had a lot of matches right. He was out all year. So, we expect that he’ll continue to improve at a really fast rate.

“Facundo is right there. He’s a very hard worker. Very talented kid. He’s wrestling Carr, who’s a national champ and obviously a very good wrestler. I think we expected that they would be in those matches, but it’s one thing to be in a match and another one to win the match. So we just got to keep getting better and kind of climb and get over that ledge there. It’s a big ledge.”

What’s the plan moving forward at 157?

Sanderson will rarely tip his hand about lineup decisions. So, the fact that he said the competition at 157 pounds will continue to play out should come as little surprise. First, the longtime head coach of the Penn State program explained why freshman Levi Haines wrestled all three matches at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in place of starter Terrell Barraclough.

“[Barraclough is] doing fine,” Sanderson said. “He was a little banged up going into the Collegian duels. And so as you know, it just gave us a chance to wrestle Levi [in] all three matches. And, it only counted as one date. So that worked out just fine. But he’s doing fine. He’s good. It was just kind of a temporary thing.”

Haines won his first bout at the event by fall. He then scored a 4-1 decision victory against the Tar Heels and an 8-3 decision against the Cyclones. Does that mean a change is coming to the starting lineup? Not so fast, Sanderson suggested. Haines has two more available competition dates before the program must decide whether or not it will burn his redshirt. And, so, that decision will be made at a late date.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve necessarily resolved anything,” Sanderson said. “I mean, Terrell has been the starter there. And you know, Levi has done a great job. And we know he’s more than willing to step in and compete. But yeah, it’s just one of those deals where you kind of let things play out a little bit and just kind of see what happens.”

Both Barraclough and Haines are listed as potential starters in the program match notes for the meeting with the Badgers.

Penn State in the rankings

InterMat updated its college wrestling rankings on Wednesday as the new year kicks off with a big slate of dual meets this weekend. Here’s where Penn State wrestlers stand:

125 pounds: Gary Steen, Not ranked (Last week: Not ranked)

133 pounds: Roman Bravo-Young, No. 1 (1)

141 pounds: Beau Bartlett, No. 4 (5)

149 pounds: Shayne Van Ness, No. 15 (15)

157 pounds: Terrell Barraclough, No. 25 (28)

165 pounds: Alex Facundo, No. 16 (14)

174 pounds: Carter Starocci, No. 1 (1)

184 pounds: Aaron Brooks, No. 1 (1)

197 pounds: Max Dean, No. 4 (5)

285 pounds: Greg Kerkvliet, No. 1 (1)

BWI’s Thomas Frank Carr contributed to this report.