Penn State wrestling pod: Reacting to Terrell Barraclough's transfer portal entry, recapping the U20 US Open
A new episode of the Penn State wrestling podcast from Blue-White Illustrated is live. Host Thomas Frank Carr and reporter Greg Pickel start the final show of April by reacting to the breaking news of program veteran Terrell Barraclough entering the NCAA transfer portal. The oft-used backup did not have a path to the starting lineup, in all likelihood, for his final season of college eligibility. Thus, it makes sense that he will leave State College as a graduate transfer with hopes of finding a school that has an open spot at either 165 or 174 pounds, with the latter being the more likely of the two.
“We love having him in the program,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said in February, per FLO. “He’s an incredibly valuable piece of what we’re doing. “I think he keeps getting better. He’s been in and out of our lineup since he was a freshman and he’s been in big matches and he’s always competed really well. He’s always consistent. He prepares for every match as if he’s going to wrestle. That’s a pretty rare thing.”
Barraclough was the definition of an elite teammate. The Lions will undoubtedly be sad to see him go. But, they should be equally as happy that he will now have a chance to shine elsewhere. Pickel and Carr discuss that, too, in this Blue-White Illustrated wrestling podcast.
Segment two of the BWI Penn State wrestling show recaps the U20 U.S. Open
Following the discussion of Barraclough’s portal pivot, Carr and Pickel move on to a recap of the U20 US Open. Class of 2024 commit Luke Lilledahl was the 57-kilogram champion and the tournament’s outstanding wrestler. Class of 2025 commit PJ Duke won the 70-kilogram division, and Class of 2024 commit Zack Ryder the 79-kilogram weight class after both scored technical fall victories in the finals. And, fellow Class of 2024 commit Connor Mirasola won the 92-kilogram weight class. All get a big advantage toward making the U20 U.S. team by virtue of doing so. They will sit until the best-of-three finals in their weight class at the Trials, which start May 30 in Ohio.
Beyond the champions, numerous Nittany Lions were top eight finishers as well and punched their tickets to the U20 US Trials. Kysion Garcia was fifth at 61 kilograms. Joe Sealey was second at 74 kilograms. Class of 2025 commit William Henckel was third at 79 kilograms. Sophomore-to-be Josh Barr was second at 86 kilograms. And, Class of 2024 commit Cole Mirasola was second at 97 kilograms. Pickel and Carr discuss those results.
Then, they close the show by focusing in on Barr and Penn State sophomore-to-be Braeden Davis, who bumped up to 61 kilograms but did not place after losing to Garcia in the championship bracket before falling in his second consolation bout to be eliminated from the tournament. What does Barr’s effort tell us about his chances to be in the Nittany Lions’ 2024-2025 lineup? And, what, if anything, does Davis competing at a bigger weight tell us about what might be in store for his second season in State College? Carr and Pickel discuss that, as well.
You can watch this week’s show in video player above and also on YouTube. Or, you can listen at your favorite destinations for audio like SPOTIFY and APPLE.
