No. 1 Penn State Visits Ohio State Seeking 40th Straight Dual Win
The Penn State wrestling team continues chasing its fourth consecutive unbeaten dual-meet season, with its top remaining challenge on deck Friday. The No. 1 Lions visit fifth-ranked Ohio State for a Big Ten match that begins at 7 p.m. EST. Big Ten Network will televise.
Following their 23-14 win over No. 2 Iowa, the Lions (11-0, 4-0 Big Ten) will wrestle three road matches, beginning Friday at Ohio State. The Buckeyes (11-1, 5-0 Big Ten) fell to Northern Iowa, which scored upsets of two ranked Ohio State wrestlers.
The Buckeyes enter Friday's match with 10 ranked wrestlers, according to InterMat Wrestling, but only one is a higher seed against Penn State. As a result, the Lions are heavy favorites to win their 40th consecutive dual match.
Still, the match features some intriguing bouts that could preview postseason matchups at the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. Here are some bouts to watch in the Penn State-Ohio State wrestling match at a sold-out Covelli Center.
133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) vs. No. 9 Jesse Mendez
The Big Ten's co-wrestlers of the week square off in a top-10 bout. Bravo-Young's huge pin against Iowa was instrumental for the Lions, while Mendez, a freshman, defeated two ranked wrestlers last week. Bravo-Young (10-0) clearly has the edge, but Mendez (11-1) has nothing to lose.
141: No. 5 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) vs. No. 19 Dylan D'Emilio
Bartlett (14-1) fell one spot in the InterMat rankings after his loss to second-ranked Real Woods of Iowa. The junior wrestled up at 149 last season, when he fell to the Buckeyes' Sammy Sasso. Bartlett is much better positioned for a postseason run this season. D'Emilio (12-7) has won five of his last six bouts.
149: No. 3 Sammy Sasso (Penn State) vs. No. 13 Shayne Van Ness
Sasso, a two-time NCAA medalist, is 30-0 in Big Ten duals. He has won six straight bouts, all with bonus points, since an upset loss to Northern Iowa's Colin Realbuto. Van Ness (11-3) looks to swing the upset after falling 4-1 to Iowa's Max Murin.
157: No. 9 Levi Haines (Penn State) vs. No. 25 Paddy Gallagher
After burning his redshirt with a 3-2 win against Iowa's Cobe Siebrecht, Haines should get a proper run to the postseason. He has been exceptional, winning 12 straight bouts, three over ranked opponents, to climb into the top 10.
174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. No. 7 Ethan Smith
Will anyone score a takedown against Starocci this season? The two-time NCAA champ has scored 59 dual-meet takedowns without allowing one. And though his 2-1 win against Iowa's Nelson Brands wasn't a beautiful bout, it demonstrated that Starocci can win in any situation.
184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Kaleb Romero
This is a potential Big Ten final preview between the conference's two highest-ranked wrestlers in this weight class. Brooks (7-1) has worked methodically through the season and will begin ramping his scheduled for the postseason. Romero (19-3) is a redshirt senior whose three losses were by a combined total of seven points. He knows how to keep bouts close, even though Brooks is a scorer: Six of his wins came with bonus points.
The Lions continue the road trip Sunday with a Big Ten match at Indiana. The match will be streamed on BIG+ beginning at 1 p.m. EST.
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