A Penn State Freshman Shines at NCAA Wrestling
Penn State's Shayne Van Ness upstaged the defending champs on his roster Thursday at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, delivering a Day 1 performance to remember.
Van Ness, a redshirt freshman wrestling in his first NCAA championships, rallied from an 8-0 deficit to score a fall in his opener, turning that momentum into a trip to the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Max Dean won't defend his 197-pound title after falling in the second round to a new nemesis.
The Nittany Lions methodically began their march to a 10th NCAA team title in 12 years, qualifying seven wrestlers to Friday's quarterfinals. Penn State went 15-2 overall in Thursday's championship bracket in taking the early team lead over Iowa (26-21.5).
NCAA wrestling resumes at noon ET Friday with the quarterfinals on ESPNU. The semifinals and blood round to determine All-Americans begins at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
The medal rounds begin at 11 a.m. ET Saturday, with the championship finals starting at 7 p.m. ESPN again will televise the finals.
Thursday's Standouts
149: Shayne Van Ness
The redshirt freshman, who entered NCAAs as the 12th seed, compiled one of the best one-two punches of opening day. Van Ness scored a dramatic pin in his opening bout, then nearly added another in the second round before clinching a 14-8 win over Iowa State's Paniro Johnson.
Van Ness' first-round pin of Maryland's Ethan Miller was among Thursday's most dramatic moments. Miller, the 21st seed, led 8-0 after one period on the strength of a takedown and six near-fall points. But Van Ness aggressively fought back, scoring four consecutive takedowns and turning the last into a pin.
The win over Johnson was nearly as impressive. Van Ness, who lost to the fifth-seeded Johnson 3-2 in December, shot out of the whistle to a near pin. He built on that offense to scored 14 points and cap an impressive day.
Van Ness also might have caught a bracket break, as Indiana's 20th-ranked Graham Rooks upset fourth-seeded Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech. Van Ness has beaten Rooks three times this season, with two major decisions.
141: Beau Bartlett
Bartlett, a sixth-seeded junior, advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time with a 3-1 victory over San Diego State's Clay Carlson in the second round. Bartlett (24-2) scored a pair of strong decisions Thursday to earn a quarterfinal date with Pitt's Cole Matthews, the bracket's third seed. This will be the first bout between Bartlett and Matthews this season.
At the top of Bartlett's bracket, top-seeded Real Woods survived a 3-2 scare against Ohio State's Dylan D'Emilio, whose challenge of an uncalled takedown at the third-period buzzer was denied.
157: Levi Haines
The second-seeded freshman evidently came to wrestle. Leading 6-2 late in his second-round bout, Haines decided he wasn't finished, hitting a takedown for the 8-2 victory. That kind of edge usually propels Penn State wrestlers far.
Haines, who opened his first NCAA tournament with a 10-3 decision, will meet seventh-seeded Bryce Andonian in the quarters. Haines (23-1) brings a 22-bout win streak to Saturday.
184: Aaron Brooks
The two-time champ was seeded third, largely because of his low bout total and one loss, but appears thoroughly unfazed. Brooks scored a major decision and pin on Day 1 to make an easy return trip to the quarterfinals.
There, Brooks gets a Big Ten-title rematch against Ohio State's Kaleb Romero, whom he majored 12-2. He's on a semifinal collision course with North Carolina State's Trent Hidlay, the second seed.
One Repeat Denied
197: Max Dean
Dean will not win his second consecutive NCAA title at 197, thanks to a difficult draw that included a second-round pairing with Nebraska's Silas Allred. Dean gave up the first takedown in falling to Allred 6-4 in the Big Ten final.
In Thursday's second round, Allred once again scored the first takedown en route to a 7-2 victory that dropped the ninth-seeded Dean into the consolations.
Doing Their Thing
133: Roman Bravo-Young
Penn State's two-time defending champ worked methodically through his first two bouts, outscoring his opponents 17-5. In the second round, Bravo-Young scored the first two takedowns and remained in control for an energy efficient 5-2 win over Chattanooga's Brayden Palmer.
The top-seeded Bravo-Young (18-0) gets Big Ten final rematch against Minnesota's eighth-seeded Aaron Nagao in the quarterfinals. Bravo-Young won that bout 5-2.
174: Carter Starocci
The two-time defending national champ wasn't tested Saturday. He won by fall in his opening bout, then scored a reserved 4-0 victory over Indiana's DJ Washington, whom Starocci majored during the regular season.
Starocci (18-0) meets eighth-seeded Bailee O'Reilly of Minnesota in the quarters.
Hwt: Greg Kerkvliet
The third seed rolled up two bonus-point wins with a pin and a major against outmatched opponents. In the quarters, Kerkvliet will meet Wisconsin's 11th-seeded Trent Hilger, whom he defeated 6-2 in January.
Until Next Season
165: Alex Facundo
Redshirt freshman Alex Facundo went 0-2 in his first NCAA tournament appearance, losing 5-3 and 12-2. Facundo, who started the season 9-0, ran into a stiffer schedule for the remainder of the season and finished 19-6.
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