No. 1 Penn State Wrestling dismantles Rider 45-0 on Senior Day: Full results

The No. 1 ranked Penn State Wrestling took care of business against Rider 45-0 on Senior Day

Well, here we are, the end of the 2021-2022 regular season, and No. 1 Penn State Wrestling is as dominant as they have been all year.

What better way to wrap it up than in front of the hometown fans in Rec Hall for Penn State Wrestling’s Senior Day?

It simply doesn’t get much better than this. Unless you were a Rider wrestler or fan.

That’s because the Nittany Lions gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about as they absolutely blasted Rider 45-0 to finish the season a perfect 17-0.

Onto the action!

Everything you need to know about No. 1 Penn State Wrestling’s thrashing of Rider:

The dual started at the usual spot of 125 *RECORD SCRATCH*…Hold the phone! We’re starting out at 157 where none other than Brady Berge emerges for the Nittany Lions to make his final appearance in Rec Hall!

If you can remember all of the way back to yesterday, we at Victory Bell Rings hinted that a drop from 165 down to 157 was most likely inevitable for Brady Berge.

And, wow did Berge look good in his first match at 157 this season.

Berge was all over his Rider opponent from the beginning and his shots were sharp and they were committed. Brady ultimately finished the match by taking the major decision 14-4 and the Rec Hall crowd gave him a standing ovation as Penn State opened up a 4-0 lead on the afternoon.

On a side note, the dual lead off at 157 as Brady Berge also participated in an extra match following the conclusion of the dual.

Next up was Creighton Edsell at 165 to put his perfect 6-0 record in Rec Hall on the line. Could he make it a perfect 7-0 for his career at home?

The final answer to that question was “Yes” but it wasn’t easy for Edsell as he gutted his way through a quagmire of a match to win the decision 7-6. The match ultimately ended tied at 6-6, however Edsell was able to accumulate well over a minute of riding time to seal the additional point and the win. The Nittany Lions then extended their lead to 7-0.

Carter Starocci then hit the mat for the first time since his incredible battle against Iowa’s Michael Kemerer on January 28th. And other than a wrap on his left wrist there didn’t appear to be any rust Starocci needed to knock off. The recipe appeared to be “takedown, cut loose, rinse, and repeat”.

Carter ended up cruising to the 22-9 major decision and Penn State tacked on four more points to make their lead 11-0.

Next up at 184, Donovan Ball got the nod for the first time in an official dual meet match since he filled in for Aaron Brooks back on December 5th against Lehigh. Ball came up huge for Penn State during the “Struggle Bus Weekend” as he picked up wins in both the Penn and Lehigh duals when a depleted Nittany Lion squad was battling the flu. Could Ball make it 3-0 on the season?

You better believe it!

Donovan Ball was brilliant on the afternoon in piling up five takedowns to win the major decision 12-3 and push Penn State’s lead to 15-0 on the day.

The Bonus-A-Thon continued for the Nittany Lions as both Max Dean and Greg Kerkvliet pinned their opponents in the next two matches at 197 and 285. The Twin Towers didn’t punch the clock very long as both matches lasted a total of two minutes and five seconds, and Rider was starting to waive the white flag with Penn State Wrestling winning 27-0.

Well if two straight pins aren’t fun enough, how about three straight?

Drew Hildebrandt proceeded to book-end his Nittany Lion regular season with pins as he just beat the first period buzzer to secure the fall over his Rider foe. Penn State Wrestling strolled to a 33-0 lead with only three matches remaining in the dual.

Did Carter Starocci and Roman Bravo-Young have a bet before today’s meet?

Because Starocci piled up an impressive 10 takedowns in his match to lead the team. Well RBY wasn’t going to be outdone on the day as he put together a mind-blowing 13 takedowns in his match. Yes, 13!

RBY finished off the 26-11 technical fall in the third period and the scoreboard operators remained busy as the Nittany Lions lead 38-0.

Next up was the only ranked match in the dual meet with No. 1 Nick Lee facing No. 25 Quinn Kinner. And it by no means disappointed.

Going into the third period Lee owned a 4-2 lead, however Kinner had already accumulated over a minute of riding time. With Nick in the top position, he had to try to whittle the riding time down to under a minute and then not give up a takedown in the remaining time.

And Lee did one better than that.

He was able to knock down the riding time to under a minute and, following a scramble on the mat, he was also able to secure a late takedown to win the match 6-3. Nick Lee waived to the Rec Hall crowd following his final Penn State match at home and the Nittany Lions kept piling it on with the 41-0 lead.

And in the final match of the afternoon, Beau Bartlett took care of business to win the major decision 12-4 and preserve the shutout victory for Penn State.

Next up for the Nittany Lions is a trip to Lincoln Nebraska for the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships on March 5th and 6th.

No. 1 Penn State 45, Rider 0

157 Brady Berge (PSU) maj dec over Cole McComas (RU) 14-4, RU 0 PSU 4
165 Creighton Edsell (PSU) dec over Michael Wilson 7-6, RU 0 PSU 7
174 No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) maj dec over Shane Reitsma (RU) 22-9, RU 0 PSU 11
184 Donovan Ball (PSU) maj dec over Corey Connolly (RU) 12-3, RU 0 PSU 15
197 No. 1 Max Dean (PSU) fall over Azeem Bell (RU) 0:54, RU 0 PSU 21
285 No. 5 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) fall over David Szuba (RU) 1:11, RU 0 PSU 27
125 No. 5 Drew Hildebrandt (PSU) fall over Tyler Klinsky (RU) 2:59, RU 0 PSU 33
133 No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) tech fall over Richie Koehler (RU) 26-11, RU 0 PSU 38
141 No. 1 Nick Lee (PSU) dec over No. 25 Quinn Kinner (RU) 6-3, RU 0 PSU 41
149 No. 19 Beau Bartlett (PSU) maj dec over Bryan Miraglia (RU) 12-4, RU 0 PSU 45