The dual between No. 1 Penn State and No. 3 Michigan had everything wrestling fans could possibly want — bonus points, overtime matches, No. 1 vs. No. 2 and Big Ten pride. In the end though, the Nittany Lions prevailed, with dominance, over the Wolverines to hold on to their No. 1 ranking and set up their dual with No. 2 Iowa next weekend.
Michigan notched wins from Nick Suriano and Will Lewan at 125 and 157 pounds, but, other than those two, the Penn State wrestlers roared in the Crisler Center, earning wins at 133, 141, 149, 165, 174, 184, 197 and 285.
No. 1 Nick Lee and No. 19 Beau Bartlett earned bonus points for the Blue and White by way of tech fall and injury default at 141 and 149 pounds, while No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, No. 1 Aaron Brooks and No. 1 Carter Starocci also earned wins to hold on to their top-ranked positions over ranked opponents. Brooks' win, in particular, helped him solidify himself as the top guy as he took down Olympian Myles Amine in a tight 3-1 decision.
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Building off of the momentum of his teammates, upperweights Max Dean and Greg Kerkvliet scored critical victories for their own individual rankings at 197 and 285 pounds, with Dean's coming off a quick re-attack in overtime and Kerkvliet's victory by nature of an upset over No. 2 Mason Parris. Kerkvliet wasn't the only guy with an upset win though, as Brady Berge topped All-American Cam Amine at 165 pounds to rack up another win on his season.
If there was any question that Penn State deserved to be No. 1, the Nittany Lions quieted the critics on Friday night. This was a definitive victory, and they'll have the Hawks next week as Big Ten action continues.
Full results from No. 1 Penn State over No. 3 Michigan Wolverines:
WEIGHT | NO. 1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS | NO. 3 MICHIGAN WOLVERINES | SCORE |
---|---|---|---|
125 | No. 7 Drew Hildebrandt | No. 1 Nick Suriano | Suriano: 2-1 — DECISION |
133 | No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young | No. 8 Dylan Ragusin | Bravo-Young: 8-1 — DECISION |
141 | No. 1 Nick Lee | Drew Mattin | Lee: 21-6 — TECH FALL |
149 | No. 19 Beau Bartlett | Cole Mattin | Bartlett — INJURY DEFAULT |
157 | Terrell Barraclough | No. 15 Will Lewan | Lewan: 5-2 — DECISION |
165 | No. 16 Brady Berge | No. 10 Cam Amine | Berge: 3-1 — DECISION |
174 | No. 1 Carter Starocci | No. 6 Logan Massa | Starocci: 3-2 — DECISION |
184 | No. 1 Aaron Brooks | No. 2 Myles Amine | Brooks: 3-1 — DECISION |
197 | No. 2 Max Dean |
No. 8 Pat Brucki |
Dean: 6-4 — DECISION (SV) |
285 | No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet | No. 2 Mason Parris | Kerkvliet: 8-5 — DECISION |