Penn State Wrestling: Nittany Lions roll through the Hoosiers 35-8

No. 1 Penn State Wrestling cruises past the Indiana Hoosiers 35-8 in a bonus point filled dual meet

The Penn State Wrestling Team continued their road trip deeper into Big Ten country as the Indiana Hoosiers hosted them Sunday afternoon.

On the opening leg of their time away from Happy Valley, Penn State cruised to a 29-9 victory over Ohio State. On a night that saw a total of nine ranked matches, the Nittany Lions won eight of the ten overall matches and ultimately steamrolled the Buckeyes.

In Bloomington, the Penn State Wrestling Team trotted out a couple of different faces in their starting lineup. But the outcome was never in question as the Nittany Lions poured on the bonus points and waltzed to the 35-8 victory.

Now onto the action!

The dual meet started out at 125 where Marco Vespa got his second start of the season. And as the case has been for much of the season, the Nittany Lions were losing the dual meet after the first match.

Jacob Moran was all over Vespa and he dropped a 17-2 technical fall nearing the end of the second period. With this result, the Hoosiers jumped out to a 5-0 lead.

At 133, Baylor Shunk got the call and I really thought he looked impressive today.

In one of the more exciting and entertaining matches I’ve seen this season, Shunk just came up short as he gave up a takedown in sudden victory to drop the 9-7 decision.

But this match could have been over in the second period. Porter was trying to tilt Shunk at the center of the mat and Baylor made an incredible move to free himself and to be in a perfect position to pin his opponent.

The only problem was that the horn ended and the second period was over. Man, if Baylor only had a couple more seconds. But that’s wrestling for you.

Following the first two matches on the afternoon Indiana was up 8-0.

Then at 141 it was Beau Bartlett’s turn to get Penn State on the board. And boy did he did it in a hurry!

Blink and you’ll miss it.

Well that’s one way to do it.

Following the pin Shayne Van Ness and Levi Haines continued to keep the pressure on the Hoosiers as they took a major decision (17-5) and a decision (8-2) respectively.

At the halfway mark the Nittany Lions were leading Indiana 13-8.

Coming out of the break, Alex Facundo was looking to keep the momentum going after his big win against Carson Kharchla Friday night.

And although the first period saw some action, Facundo really kicked it into high gear in the second period by repeatedly taking his opponent to the mat. Alex then kept his foot on the gas in the final period to win a 20-9 major decision and push Penn State’s lead to 17-8.

In perhaps the most anticipated matchup of the afternoon, Carter Starocci was pitted against D.J. Washington. For those of you who don’t know, Washington dealt Starocci an “L” in his very first collegiate dual match for Penn State.

And to further add to the hype, this is their first meeting since that match back in 2020 because D.J. bumped up to 184 last season.

Let’s just say Carter probably hasn’t forgotten about it. Because after giving up a takedown in the first period, Starocci absolutely hammered Washington for the rest of the match and he outscored him 11-1 and piled up over a minute and a half of riding time from that point on.

Starocci’s major decision gave Penn State a 21-8 lead with only three matches left on the day.

Next up at 184, Donovon Ball was inserted into the lineup as he has done a handful of times over the past two seasons. Ball looked very impressive, he kept constant pressure on his Hoosier counterpart, and he cruised to the win by taking a 10-3 decision.

Max Dean was next up at 197 and the outcome of this match was definitely not shocking considering he was matched up against Indiana’s backup.

Dean slapped on his trademark bow and arrow, titled Harris to the mat, and the official awarded the pin halfway through the opening period.

The Nittany Lions then lead the dual meet by the score of 30-8 with one match remaining.

And in that final match, Greg Kerkvliet tied a perfect ribbon on the afternoon by dismantling his Hoosier foe to the tune of 17-0.

I guess you could also say Kerkvliet tied his opponent into a perfect ribbon as well. Basically the same thing!

Next up for Penn State is a trip to the lovely city of Piscataway, N.J. where the Nittany Lions will take on Rutgers this Friday at 7:00pm.

No. 1 Penn State 35 Indiana 8

125 Jacob Moran (IU) tech. fall over Marco Vespa (PSU) 17-2, PSU 0 IU 5
133 No. 29 Henry Porter (IU) dec. over Baylor Shunk (PSU) 9-7 SV, PSU 0 IU 8
141 No. 5 Beau Bartlett (PSU) fall over Cayden Rooks (IU) 0:12, PSU 6 IU 8
149 No. 13 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) major dec. over No. 30 Graham Rooks (IU) 17-5, PSU 10 IU 8
157 No. 9 Levi Haines (PSU) dec. over Derek Gilcher (IU) 8-2, PSU 13 IU 8
165 No. 8 Alex Facundo (PSU) major dec. over Robert Major (IU) 20-9, PSU 17 IU 8
174 No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) major dec. over No. 15 D.J. Washington (IU) 11-3, PSU 21 IU 8
184 Donovon Ball (PSU) dec. over Clayton Fielden (IU) 10-3, PSU 24 IU 8
197 No. 4 Max Dean (PSU) fall over Drayton Harris (IU) 1:29, PSU 30 IU 8
285 No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) tech. fall over No. 28 Jacob Bullock (IU) 17-0, PSU 35 IU 8