Penn State Wrestling Dominates the College Rankings
The No. 1 Penn State wrestling team begins the marquee stretch of its regular-season schedule Friday, hosting sixth-ranked Ohio State at Rec Hall. The Big Ten match begins an 11-day run in which the Nittany Lions will wrestle their match of the year at Iowa and then return to Bryce Jordan Center for throwback-singlet night.
But as always, Penn State coach Cael Sanderson is positioning Penn State as process-watching instead of schedule-watching. Sanderson, who is two wins from his 200th victory as Penn State's head coach, didn't get there by forgoing process for results.
"You want to focus on performance moreso than winning and losing," Sanderson told reporters in State College at his weekly media availability. "If you have the ability to get the fall, you want to get the fall. If winning by 2 points is your best effort, that’s great. If losing by six is your best effort, that’s fine. Focusing on performance as the higher standard, that’s kind of what we think about more than the win and losing."
The numbers bear out that the Nittany Lions are listening. Penn State is 60-10 in dual matches this season and an astonishing 36-4 in Big Ten duals. Penn State (7-0) has shut out two Big Ten opponents and not allowed more than nine points in a conference match. Seven primary starters are undefeated, and one has lost only to a teammate in a tournament final. Some other numbers underscore Penn State's dominance:
- Wrestlers with 20+ dual-meet points: 8
- Wrestlers with dual-meet bonus points: 12
- Penn State's combined season record at 157/165 pounds: 64-0
- Penn State's takedown advantage over opponents: 183-29
- Penn State's first-period takedown advantage: 92-14
After hosting Ohio State on Friday, the Nittany Lions get a week to prepare for a visit to No. 2 Iowa for college wrestling's match of the season. On Feb. 12, Penn State hosts it annual Bryce Jordan Center match against Rutgers. The team will wear throwback singlets for the match.
Penn State wrestling in the rankings
The Nittany Lions are ranked in the top 12 at all 10 weight classes, according to InterMat Wrestling, with four at No. 1. Freshman Braeden Davis has been among college wrestling's top newcomers this season, going from unranked to No. 3 at 125 pounds by the end of January. Davis (13-0) is the weight class' last remaining unbeaten wrestler.
Here's how Penn State lineup ranks headed into February, according to InterMat:
- 125: 3. Braeden Davis (13-0)
- 133: 5. Aaron Nagao (8-2)
- 141: 2. Beau Bartlett (13-0)
- 149: 12. Tyler Kasak (10-1)
- 157: 1. Levi Haines (10-0)
- 165: 7. Mitchell Mesenbrink (14-0)
- 174: 1. Carter Starocci (8-0)
- 184: 5. Bernie Truax (8-1)
- 197: 1. Aaron Brooks (9-0)
- 285: 1. Greg Kerkvliet (8-0)
Sanderson remains coy about 149
The last weight-class competition in Penn State's lineup likely ended last weekend, when Kasak defeated teammate David Evans in the 149-pound final of the Mat Town 2 Open. Still, Sanderson isn't ready to write Kasak's name in pen on the lineup card, at least publicly. That's because both wrestlers boosted their bout counts, a need for the postseason qualifying process.
"This Sunday obviously was an important part of the process, but now that they both were able to pick up some more matches, we have a little bit more flexibility in timing," Sanderson said. "It's not something we have to decide by Friday night. We can let it play out a week or two."
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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.
