Penn State Wrestling powers past Rutgers 27-11: Full results

The Penn State Wrestling Team improves to 11-0 on the season as they took down Rutgers 27-11 in the friendly confines of Rec Hall

The Scarlet Knights rode into a snowy and bitterly cold Happy Valley on Sunday to take on Penn State Wrestling in a battle of strength, will, and determination.

Rutgers represented the biggest Big Ten test yet for the Nittany Lions‘ dual meet season, and Penn State responded with a 27-11 win, so let’s take a look at how it all went down!

Onto the action!

The dual meet started out at 125 where the Rec Hall crowd erupted to life as Drew Hildebrandt pulled out a buzzer-beating takedown to win a 4-2 decision. The call was reviewed and upheld and the Nittany Lions jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

After missing Penn State Wrestling’s last dual against Indiana, Roman Bravo-Young was back in the lineup for Penn State and he wasted little time in going to work. RBY used a flurry of takedowns in the first period to open up an early lead. Bravo-Young eventually cruised to an 11-5 decision and the Nittany Lions extended their lead to 6-0 on the evening.

As we reported earlier in the day, Nick Lee was unfortunately not in the lineup. This for fans of college wrestling was unfortunate as any Seabass/Lee matchup is must-see TV.

Cael Sanderson and crew ended up sending out Brandon Meredith, however, he was no match for Rivera and lost a technical fall giving Rutgers their first points of the night.

Next up was the second-ranked match of the dual and Beau Bartlett was looking to build on his impressive 2021-2022 resume. The match was a thrilling back and forth fight that went all the way into a second overtime with neither guy willing to give an inch. However Bartlett was unable to land a shot in the final 30 seconds and he lost the decision 4-3, giving Rutgers their first lead 8-6.

On a side note, it appeared Beau won the match on two separate takedowns. But Angel Rivera (head referee) struck yet again. Moving on.

The gritty Tony Negron next took to the mat at 157 and even though he built up a 4-1 lead early on, he was unable to hold on and lost a heartbreaking 6-4 decision in the first sudden victory. Heading into the break Rutgers owned an 11-6 lead.

Coming out of halftime, the home crowd was greeted to an entrance from a familiar face as Brady Berge made his season debut at 165. Would Berge need to knock any rust off stemming from the long hiatus?

Heck no!!

Brady looked strong in finishing off his opponent with a third-period escape and takedown to earn the 5-1 decision and close the gap 11-9.

Carter Starocci went to absolute work in the next match at 174 and he obliterated his foe with a bevy of takedowns, back points, and painful-looking positions in winning the technical fall 19-2 in the second period. The Nittany Lions once again claimed the lead in the dual 14-11 with three matches to go.

Then at 184, in the highest-ranked matchup of the dual, Aaron Brooks continued to steamroll through the competition. John Poznanski, the No. 5 ranked grappler at 184, was no match for the quickness and finishing ability of Brooks. Aaron jumped all over Poznanski from the opening whistle and snagged the 10-2 major decision and the Nittany Lions pushed the lead to 18-11.

Starocci and Brooks took care of their business, would the remaining guys continue Penn State’s dominance in the heavier weight classes?

Is water wet?

In the Nittany Lions’ case, it’s drenching.

Max Dean’s match against Greg Bulsak represented the fourth and final ranked matchup of the dual. And boy did it not disappoint. Dean took an early lead, but Bulsak fought back to build a narrow lead of his own. Then in the third period with the match tied at 6-6, Max was able to land yet another takedown after a brief scramble. Dean ended up holding onto the 9-6 decision added by the riding time point.

In the final match of the night, Greg Kerkvliet does what he does best. Win, and win big.

Kerk Kong completely smothered his opponent and locked in a cradle halfway through the first period. Angel Rivera slapped the mat and Kerkvliet earned the fall as Penn State defeated Rutgers 27-11 in a highly entertaining dual meet.

Next up for the Nittany Lions is a trip to Ann Arbor where they will face a dangerous Michigan team. The dual is set for 6:00 pm on January 21st and will air on the Big Ten Network.

No. 14 Rutgers 11 No. 1 Penn State Wrestling 27

125 No. 9 Drew Hildebrandt (PSU) dec over Dylan Shawver (RU) 4-2, RU 0 PSU 3
133 No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) dec over No. 20 Joey Olivieri (RU) 11-5, RU 0 PSU 6
141 No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (RU) tech fall over Brandon Meredith (PSU) 17-1, RU 5 PSU 6
149 No. 18 Mike Van Brill (RU) dec over No. 19 Beau Bartlett (PSU) 4-3, RU 8 PSU 6
157 Robert Kanniard (RU) dec over Tony Negron (PSU) 6-4, RU 11 PSU 6
165 Brady Berge (PSU) dec over Andrew Clark (RU) 5-1, RU 11 PSU 9
174 No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) tech fall over Connor O’Neill (RU) 19-2, RU 11 PSU 14
184 No. 1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) maj dec over No. 5 John Poznanski (RU) 10-2, RU 11 PSU 18
197 No. 2 Max Dean (PSU) dec over No. 7 Greg Bulsak (RU) 9-6, RU 11 PSU 21
285 No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) fall over Alex Esposito (RU) 1:45, RU 11 PSU 27