Making The Case: Can Penn State Wrestling do what no other team has ever done?
By Chris Snyder
3. Penn State’s next great youngster will emerge this year
So if my math is correct from the first two bullet points, we now have a grand total of five NCAA Champions. And if Penn State’s 2022-2023 team is going to accomplish what no other team in the history of NCAA wrestling has done, then they need *grabs calculator* one more NCAA Champion.
And as luck would have it, this year’s Nittany Lion roster may be trotting out three highly competitive grapplers at 149, 157, and 165 respectively.
Between Shayne Van Ness, Levi Haines, and Alex Facundo, I believe the Nittany Lions may have a chance.
By now everyone should know where I stand on Levi Haines. I think he has the skill set, the work ethic, and the talent to immediately contend with some of the best of the best in college at 157.
As a senior in high school, Haines compiled a perfect 9-0 record against collegiate wrestlers in both the David Lehman Open and the Edinboro Open. And this includes an 8-3 walk over of Ohio State’s all-everything and super highly rated Paddy Gallagher.
But what about Van Ness and Facundo?
By all accounts Shayne Van Ness’ Penn State wrestling career has been relatively quiet. He participated in last year’s Clarion Open where in four matches, he put together a 2-0 record along with two medical forfeits.
And while a lot of the competitive Penn State guys compete in the freestyle circuit over the spring and summer, it doesn’t appear Van Ness took part in any tournaments. Which doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Maybe Shayne doesn’t enjoy wrestling freestyle? Or maybe he wanted to run to the summit of Mt. Nittany every morning?
Who knows.
But look, based on several recruiting outlets, Shayne Van Ness was the overall No. 1 recruit coming out of high school. And Cael Sanderson wanted him to wrestle at Penn State. All of which means he has the potential to be an NCAA Champion, albeit with an air of mystery.
Moving on to Alex Facundo, where his redshirt season and postseason were anything but quiet.
Facundo participated in the Clarion Open, Southern Scuffle, and Mat Town Open II last year and put together a solid 12-3 record. Alex then followed this up by competing in the 2022 U.S. Open in Las Vegas back in May.
To say Facundo was “good” in the freestyle event is an understatement and a gross negligence of the English language. Alex went a perfect 7-0 in the event and steam rolled his competition to the tune of a combined score of 63-5. Facundo’s performance was so dominant it landed him the O.W. (Outstanding Wrestler) honors in Las Vegas.
Alex Facundo is no stranger to the world of freestyle wrestling as he was a bronze medalist in the 2018 and 2019 U17 World Championships and he won gold at the U20 Pan American games earlier this year. The only real question that remains is can Facundo shine in folkstyle like he can in freestyle.
I’ll say that’s a healthy “maybe”.
However, the larger question that looms is whether or not Penn State can win another individual championship outside of Roman Bravo-Young, Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks, Max Dean, and Greg Kerkvliet. And with the stable of exciting and highly talented youngsters possibly gracing the lineup this season, I’m going to say “Yes, it’s very possible!“.
