Penn State wrestling: Lions shine in first session at NCAA Championships; what awaits them in session two?

Penn State wrestling performed nearly flawlessly during session one of the NCAA Championships. The Lions lead the team race and have eight of nine competitors alive in the main bracket after one round of action inside of the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

The most exciting bout of the opening round for the Lions came at 149 pounds. Shayne Van Ness, who is the 12 seed, trailed Maryland’s Ethen Miller, who is the No. 21 seed, 9-1 entering the third period. It was then that the Penn State redshirt freshman picked up the pace. He went on the offensive against the Terp, who he beat roughly a month ago by technical fall. He closed the gap to 12-9 with under a minute to wrestle before sticking the Big Ten foe to move onto round two.

Alex Facundo was the only Nittany Lion upset in round one. The redshirt freshman, who is the No. 13 seed, could not get his offense going at 165 pounds. He fell by decision, 5-2, to No. 20 Holden Heller of Pitt.

Otherwise, things went as expected. Defending 133-pound champ Roman Bravo-Young scored a major decision triumph over Ethan Oakley of Appalachian State, 13-2. At 141, junior Beau Bartlett scored an 8-2 decision win over Shannon Hanna of Campbell. Big Ten champ Levi Haines continued his stellar freshman season by winning his first NCAA Tournament appearance by decision, 10-3, over Ashton Eyler of Lock Haven at 157.

Moving into the heavyweights, Carter Starocci pinned Clarion’s John Worthing in 1:21 at 174. At 184, Aaron Brooks scored a 13-4 major decision over Matthew Waddell of Chattanooga. Max Dean beat Levi Hopkins of Campbell 6-1 at 197. And finally, at heavyweight, Greg Kervkliet pinned Purdue’s Hayden Copass in 34 seconds.

Penn State leads the team race over North Carolina State, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, and Iowa.

When is session two, and how can I watch?

It begins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. ESPN+ will also stream it. Those who have it can choose which mat they want to watch. It is the only way to guarantee that you’ll see each Lions match.

Second matchup for each Penn State wrestler

All are championship bracket matches unless otherwise noted:

125 pounds: No competitor

133 pounds: No. 1 Roman Bravo Young, Penn State vs. No. 17 Brady Palmer, Chattanooga

141 pounds: No. 6 Beau Bartlett, PSU vs. No. 11 Clay Carlson, North Dakota State

149 pounds: No. 12 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State vs. No. 5 Paniro Johnson, Iowa State

157 pounds: No. 2 Levi Haines, PSU vs. No. 15 Jacob Wright, Wyoming

165 pounds: No. 13 Alex Facundo, Penn State vs. No. 4 Julian Rameriez, Cornell (consolation)

174 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU vs. No. 17 Donnell Washington, Indiana

184 pounds: No. 3 Aaron Brooks, Penn State vs. No. 14 Will Feldkamp, Clarion

197 pounds: No. 9 Max Dean, PSU vs. No. 8 Silas Allred, Nebraska

285 pounds: No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU vs. No. 14 AJ Nevills, South Dakota State

Second session quick hits

–Beau Bartlett has a big match for Penn State in the team race. The 141-pound junior must contend with former All-American and 11-seed Clay Carlson of North Dakota State. The sixth-seeded Nittany Lion has a seeding advantage. But, this will be a battle to stay in the championship bracket.

–Shayne Van Ness will have his hands full with Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson at 157. One positive, though, is that the Sun Devil needed regulation, sudden victory, and then tiebreaker to win his opening match.

–Alex Facundo will need to bring his A-game to avoid being eliminated. Fourth-seed Julian Rameriez was upset in the opening round. It’s a brutal consolation bracket opener for the Nittany Lion.

–Donnell Washington beat Carter Starocci once at 174 pounds. But, the multi-time champ from Penn State has knocked him out numerous times since.

–Max Dean vs. Silas Allred at 197 should be fascinating, considering the Cornhusker just beat the Nittany Lion two weeks ago at Big Tens.