Penn State Wrestling Dominates Maryland for 51st Straight Win
The No. 1 Penn State wrestling team won its 51st consecutive match, and three-time NCAA champ Carter Starocci won his 60th straight bout as the Nittany Lions routed Maryland 42-6 in a Big Ten wrestling match Sunday in College Park.
Maryland announced a sold-out crowd for the match at the Xfinity Center, which was crowded with Penn State fans. The Lions (7-0) entertained their traveling contingent with eight wins, four by fall, to win in a crisp 90-minute match. Coach Cael Sanderson's team also had a few lineup changes, notably at 149 pounds. Here's the Penn State-Maryland wrestling recap.
Big wins for the Nittany Lions
The marquee bout matched the Big Ten's top two wrestlers at 197 pounds. Penn State's top-ranked Aaron Brooks decisioned fifth-ranked Jaxon Smith 13-4 in his most technically challenging bout of the season. Brooks (9-0) entered the bout with three pins and five technical falls, but Smith didn't give Brooks as much access to bonus points. Still, Brooks turned his quickness and determination into four takedowns, including one with 12 seconds left to secure the major.
Freshman Braeden Davis (13-0 at 125) didn't need even three minutes to clinch his fourth technical fall of the season. Davis dispatched Maryland's Tommy Capul 15-0 in 2:47. Davis launched himself 10 spots to No. 4 in last week's InterMat rankings and has some interesting bouts forthcoming against Ohio State's Brendan McCrone (No. 24) and Iowa's Drake Ayala (No. 5).
Beau Bartlett (13-0 at 141) dispatched No. 17 Kal Miller with an 11-1 major decision, scoring eight of those points (with two takedowns) in the third period. The second-ranked Bartlett has seven bonus-point wins this season.
Top-ranked Levi Haines delivered a much calmer victory this week, scoring a 15-0 technical fall in 5:58. Last week against Michigan State's Chase Saldate, Haines went on a wild ride that he ended with a dramatic reversal in the second tiebreaker period. Haines (10-0) has been exciting this season, but his win Sunday was clinical.
Redshirt freshman Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) has yet to lose a college bout, improving to 14-0 this season and 16-0 overall with a pin in 50 seconds Sunday. Mesenbrink, who has beaten seven ranked wrestlers this season, has climbed to No. 7 in the country.
Carter Starocci (174) returned to the mat after not wrestling on the Michigan road trip due to illness. Starocci could have pinned Mason Stein in the first period but evidently wanted to test his conditioning. The three-time NCAA champ took an 18-6 lead into the second period before pinning Stein with a cradle at the 4:26 mark.
Bernie Truax (No. 5 at 184) followed Starocci by turning a cradle into a first-period pin. Truax, a three-time All-American, improved to 8-1 with his second fall of the season.
Lineup changes
Penn State wrestled without two starters: fifth-ranked Aaron Nagao (133) and 12th-ranked Tyler Kasak (149). According to the Big Ten Network broadcast, Nagao was sick, while Kasak spent Sunday competing at the Mat Town 2 Open tournament at Lock Haven University. Penn State's David Evans (149) wrestled with Kasak as well, so the Lions turned to Conner Pierce against Maryland. Sanderson said last week that the 149-pound weight class is one Penn State has to "resolve here soon."
Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State's top-ranked heavyweight, didn't get a rematch with former teammate Seth Nevills, who did not wrestle for Maryland. So Kerkvliet finished the match with a first-period pin of the Terps' Jordan Gabriel.
Up next
Penn State returns home Feb. 2 for the first time in nearly three weeks to take on No. 7 Ohio State at Rec Hall. The match is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. ET start on Big Ten Network.
Penn State 42, Maryland 6
125: No. 4 Braeden Davis (Penn State) tech. fall Tommy Capul 15:0 in 2:47.
133: No. 21 Braxton Brown (Maryland) dec. Baylor Shunk 8-3.
141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) dec. No. 17 Kal Miller 11-1.
149: No. 14 Ethan Miller (Maryland) dec. Connor Pierce 5-0.
157: No. 1 Levi Haines (Penn State) tech. fall Michael North 15-0 in 5:58.
165: No. 7 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) pin Ryan Money :50.
174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) pin Mason Stein 4:26.
184: No. 5 Bernie Truax (Penn State) pin Chase Mielnik 1:44.
197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) dec. No. 5 Jaxon Smith 13-4.
285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) pin Jordan Gabriel :56.
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