Penn State Routs Maryland to Claim Big Ten Regular-Season Title
Penn State's top-ranked wrestling team punctuated the Big Ten regular season with a 44-3 rout of Maryland on Sunday to win its ninth conference dual-meet title under head coach Cael Sanderson.
The match at Rec Hall served as the Lions' next step toward completing a perfect season that would culminate with Sanderson's 10th NCAA team championship.
The Lions (15-0, 8-0 Big Ten) won eight of the nine bouts wrestled against overmatched Maryland, which forfeited to Max Dean at 197 pounds. Penn State scored bonus points in six of those victories, including pins from regular starters Levi Haines (1:42) and Alex Facundo (5:38).
The Lions rested starters Aaron Brooks (184) and heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet for the afternoon bout, but their replacements performed well. Penn State's Donovan Ball scored a 10-3 win at 184, and Seth Nevills capped the match with a pin at heavyweight.
Perhaps the most impressive win belonged to redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness, who scored a 19-4 technical fall over Maryland's Ethan Miller. It was the match's only bout between ranked wrestlers. Van Ness entered the bout ranked 13th nationally according to InterMat Wrestling; Miller was 18th.
For Penn State, the victory extended a streak of dual-meet dominance that has lasted for eight seasons. The Lions have won 43 consecutive matches and have gone unbeaten in the Big Ten seven of the past eight years.
Penn State has won or shared three consecutive Big Ten regular-season titles and seven of the last eight. In Sanderson's tenure, the Lions have won five outright Big Ten regular-season titles.
Since the 2015 season, the Lions are 66-1 in Big Ten dual meets, losing only to Iowa during the 2019 season. Penn State hosts Clarion on Feb. 19 for its final match of the regular season. A win would give Sanderson his seventh unbeaten dual-meet season over the past eight years. Since 2015, Sanderson's teams are 108-2 in duals. That includes a 38-0 mark the past three seasons.
Penn State begins the wrestling postseason March 4-5 at the Big Ten championships. Michigan will host the tournament as the defending champion, but the Lions will be overwhelming favorites to win their first Big Ten title since the 2018 season.
The NCAA Division I wrestling championships are scheduled for March 16-18 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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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.