Penn State Wrestling: 5 takeaways from the Journeymen Duals
By Chris Snyder
Takeaway No. 3 Max Dean is for real
As I’ve stated before, If Cael Sanderson is interested in you wrestling at Penn State, then chances are, you’re pretty darn good at it. And when the Nittany Lions landed Cornell transfer Max Dean to wrestle at 197, needless to say, I was slightly giddy.
The former Grand Rapids standout finished runner-up at 184 the last time he was on a college wrestling mat in the 2019 NCAA Championships. And his brother, Gabe Dean, was a two-time NCAA Champion himself. It’s safe to say excellent wrestling runs in their blood.
The only real conundrum I had was the fact Penn State already had an All-American at 197 in Michael Beard. And while Beard looked at times like a top-five wrestler last season, there were also times he looked like someone who shouldn’t even be ranked. Which is understandable for a redshirt freshman. Sometimes they might not be the most consistent performers.
So I wanted to see with my own two eyes how good Max Dean really is. And he did not in any way disappoint yesterday.
In his Penn State Wrestling debut against Sacred Heart’s Donte DelBonis, Dean wasted little time in earning the technical fall 18-0 exactly 3:00 minutes into the match.
Next up was Oregon State’s J.J. Dixon. And if anyone was wondering how strong Dean is from the top position, then wonder no longer. The dude is flat-out nasty.
Max held a 9-2 advantage after the second period with 3:25 of riding time already accumulated. Dean then finished out the match, snagged the major decision 16-3, and earned over five minutes of riding time.
Yes. Five full minutes. A strong human being tried to stand up for over 300 seconds while another strong human being weighing the same amount wouldn’t let him.
Wow.