Penn State is Finally Ready to Begin Wrestling Season
After two postponed matches and a COVID-19 pause, the Penn State wrestling team finally appears ready to begin the 2021 season. Coach Cael Sanderson said that last week as well but expects Saturday's tri-match with Northwestern and Indiana to go as scheduled.
Now, it's also a matter of getting his roster enough mat time to be ready for the postseason, which is only five weeks away.
"I feel like our guys have been ready to wrestle and they're excited to wrestle," Sanderson said. "... We know we'll be ready to go for the postseason. We still have plenty of time to go."
So what to expect from third-ranked Penn State? Here's a primer on a compressed, unpredictable, yet compelling season.
The scheduling basics
Penn State is supposed to wrestle nine Big Ten matches, with two tri-meets, before hosting the Big Ten championships March 6-7. Two of those matches (vs. Rutgers and Michigan State) have been postponed. Sanderson said he's hoping to reschedule both.
In addition, a Feb. 7 tri-meet with Michigan and Wisconsin in Ann Arbor has been postponed. Sanderson said that Penn State intends to wrestle Wisconsin, provided a location can be set.
Penn State's marquee night is Feb. 12, when it hosts top-ranked Iowa.
Because schedules are so fluid, teams are permitted to schedule exhibition bouts for those wrestlers not in the regular lineup. Penn State can travel 20 wrestlers to Northwestern this weekend. Sanderson hopes to get as many involved as possible.
Why the pause?
Penn State allowed wrestlers to leave campus and visit family over the holidays, a decision that Sanderson said contributed to a rise of COVID-19 positive test results.
"I'd make that same decision again," Sanderson said after the pause was announced. "It was a team decision. It was something we discussed as a program and it's what the kids wanted to do, so I supported it 100 percent."
Sanderson said that Penn State had returned to the Big Ten's "green" state in time for the Jan. 24 home match vs. Michigan State, but the Spartans did not want to travel. So instead, Penn State held a series of wrestle-offs at Rec Hall.
The team still has some wrestlers in COVID-19 quarantine, which requires a 17-day absence from team activities.
What does the lineup look like?
Sanderson has not discussed specific starters, though a healthy Penn State lineup looks loaded. The team has nine wrestlers ranked by InterMat Wrestling, including Nick Lee (No. 2 at 141 pounds), Roman Bravo-Young (No. 3 at 133) and Aaron Brooks (No. 3 at 184).
The lineup carries a mix of experience and intriguing youth. Freshman Beau Bartlett, for instance, is listed at 141/149, weight classes populated by Lee and Jared Verkleeren (No. 10 at 149). If Bartlett is available but not in the lineup, watch for him to get exhibition work.
In addition, redshirt freshmen Carter Starocci (No. 5 at 174), Joe Lee (No. 6 at 165) and Michael Beard (No. 13 at 197) look to make their college debuts.
Getting there
Penn State is scheduled to take a commercial flight to Chicago for the matches, which Northwestern is hosting. Sanderson said he's not concerned about the travel.
"Take your hand sanitizer and not lick any doorknobs, that kind of thing," he said. "Just be careful. Be smart."
How to follow
Penn State will wrestle Indiana at noon Saturday and Northwestern at 4 p.m. Both of the matches are on BTN+, the network's web subscription service. Penn State's radio broadcast will begin at 11:45 a.m.
Notes and numbers
Sanderson is entering his 12th season at Penn State. He has a career record of 196-26-2 (including three seasons at Iowa State) and has guided Penn State to eight national championships.
The Lions had won four consecutive NCAA tournament titles before the 2020 postseason was canceled.
Penn State has a combined record of 37-0-1 against Northwestern and Indiana.