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Penn State Wrestling’s top 25 dual meets in the Cael Sanderson era

By Chris Snyder

STATE COLLEGE, PA - JANUARY 31: A view of the sell out crowd during a match between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Michigan Wolverines on January 31, 2016 at Recreation Hall on the campus of Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State won 35-7. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - JANUARY 31: A view of the sell out crowd during a match between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Michigan Wolverines on January 31, 2016 at Recreation Hall on the campus of Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State won 35-7. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /
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Nick Lee of the Penn State Nittany Lions wrestles Chad Red of the Nebraska Cornhuskers (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

No. 17

January 24, 2020
Lincoln, Neb
No. 2 Penn State 20, No. 7 Nebraska 18

The trip to Lincoln in late January was the first B1G road trip the Nittany Lions had on the season.

And to say the home team Cornhuskers were slightly geared up for this dual meet would be a gross understatement.

Nebraska had not beaten Penn State Wrestling since way back in 2009 and hopes were high in Big Red country that they could topple the wrestling giants.

How high, you ask? Well 5,960 people smashed themselves inside the Devaney Center to set a new Nebraska wrestling attendance record with the hope of watching their beloved Cornhuskers come out victorious.

As it does with most duals, the night started out at 125 where Nebraska started off on the right foot in earning a sudden victory decision to grab the 3-0 lead.

The dynamic duo of No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) and No. 2 Nick Lee (PSU) took care of business in winning a major decision and a decision to take back the lead 8-3.

Jarod Verkleeren (PSU) then got pinned with a minute to go in the match and Bo Pipher (PSU) lost a close decision for Nebraska to regain the lead 12-8.

No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph (PSU) cruised to a 5-1 decision and No. 1 Mark Hall (PSU) ripped out the Cornhusker’s hearts with a thrilling fall with only eight seconds remaining in the match. The Nittany Lions once again took the lead 17-12.

With only three matches remaining, Penn State needed to pull out one of them and hopefully not give up any bonus points. On paper this looked very doable as No. 6 Aaron Brooks (PSU) and No. 19 Shakur Rasheed (PSU) were each set to toe the line.

But things didn’t exactly go as planned as both grapplers lost decisions and the seesaw battle continued with one match to go and Nebraska up 18-17.

In the final matchup that evening (285), No. 15 Christian Lance (NU) went up against Seth “Big Snacks” Nevills (PSU). This was way back in the day before Nevills decided to take his talents to the football field.

And Nevills was ready for the spotlight as he controlled the match from the opening whistle until the final whistle, winning the match 4-0, winning the decision, sealing the victory for Penn State 20-18, and leaving the record setting Nebraska crowd stunned.

How’s your “hope” now, Nebraska?

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