Penn State Wrestling is Perfect Again
The Penn State wrestling team punctuated its seventh undefeated season in eight years with a 40-6 victory over Clarion on Sunday. The Lions also delivered a home farewell for nine seniors, two of whom wrestled for the last time at Rec Hall.
Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds) led the group with a second-period pin, one of two falls the Lions recorded Sunday. Bravo-Young, a two-time defending NCAA champ, ran his record this season to 13-0.
The Lions finished the regular season with a 16-0 record, marking Cael Sanderson's seventh unbeaten season as head coach. Penn State earlier clinched its ninth Big Ten regular-season title with an 8-0 conference mark.
Penn State has been the nation's most dominant dual-meet team over the past eight seasons. The Lions are 109-2 with three consecutive unbeaten records. In his 14 seasons as Penn State's head coach, Sanderson has a dual-meet record of 191-16-2.
The Lions overwhelmed every opponent in duals this season. No team won more than four bouts against Penn State, and seven opponents managed just one decision. Clarion's was a fall, recorded by 21st-ranked Will Feldkamp at 184, where Penn State's Aaron Brooks took the day off.
Six Lions recorded bonus points, with heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet capping the match with a fall. Shayne Van Ness (149), Levi Haines (157) and Carter Starocci (174) recorded technical falls, while Beau Bartlett (141) added a major decision.
The Lions overwhelmed Clarion with a dominant 40-4 advantage in takedowns, running their dual-meet takedown edge to 470-90 during the dual-meet season.
Penn State now turns to the postseason, where it can win a second consecutive NCAA team title and 10th under Sanderson. The Lions are favored to defend their NCAA championship and possibly challenge Iowa's 1997 tournament scoring record (170 points).
Penn State returns four NCAA champs and has eight wrestlers ranked among the top-10 at their weight classes, according to InterMat Wrestling. The Big Ten championships are scheduled for March 4-5 at the University of Michigan. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be contested March 16-18 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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