Penn State wrestling notes: When will PJ Duke make his debut? Cael Sanderson on Levi Haines' injury and more

Penn State wrestling blasted No. 22 Oklahoma 45-0 on Friday night at the Bryce Jordan Center. The No. 1 Nittany Lions scored eight bonus point victories, including a triumph by senior Levi Haines by fall over No. 33 Carter Schubert in 4:50 at 174 pounds following an earlier injury scare. Five Nittany Lions — Marcus Blaze (133 pounds), Joe Sealey (157), Rocco Welsh (184), Connor Mirasola (197), and Cole Mirasola (285) — won their first dual meets.

“I think our guys wrestled well,” head coach Cael Sanderson told reporters after the match. “First match of the year, first folk style match of the year for a lot of these guys, first match in a long time. So yeah, I thought they did.

“Oklahoma didn’t have some of their guys in the lineup. But our guys wrestled hard and scored a bunch of points, and we’ll just keep getting better, and our shape will just continue to improve, also. So, good first match.”

Here are the top takeaways from Sanderson’s full news conference.

Penn State press conference takeaways: Oklahoma

Sealey’s first win as a Nittany Lion came via a technical fall. He scored a 19-4 technical fall over Landyn Sommer in 5:47. The redshirt freshman wrestled in place of freshman standout and Class of 2025 No. 1 recruit PJ Duke, who was expected to start. Sanderson afterward that Duke is likely to wrestle next weekend. But, he did not say why Sealey filled in for Duke.

“I think PJ’s first competition, the plan is going to be for the [Army] Black Knight open next week,” Sanderson said. “I mean, we have a lot of confidence in Joe, and he looked really good.”

Expect both wrestlers to compete at the Black Knight Invite next Sunday. They might even meet in the finals. It will be interesting to follow this week.

In other news, Haines survived an injury scare before rolling to his first pin of the season. He collided with Schubert and fell to the mat. That sent him to the locker room and the concussion protocol. But, after a quick check by trainer Dan Monthley, Haines returned to action and built a 7-0 lead before taking the Sooner to his back.

“I don’t know exactly [what happened],” Sanderson said. “I have to go watch the video, but it looked like he took an elbow to the chin or something, just kind of, they just collided and he dropped. Think it kind of shocked him.”

Last but not least, Penn State has the best 197-pound situation in the country. Redshirt freshman Connor Mirasola, who filled in for injured All-American Josh Barr, rolled to a 13-3 major decision over No. 8 DJ Parker.

Final word

Marcus Blaze, on his first win at Penn State:

“I think it’s just like a dream come true. I think when you’re a little kid, you dream of moments like that, just to wrestle in front of a big crowd. So it was just super fun, and I love the energy that the Penn State fans bring.”