2021 NCAA champion Carter Starocci (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State finished with four NCAA champs last season, but still took second at the NCAA Championships by 15.5 points to Iowa, who finished first with 129 points.
The question entering the '21-22 season, then, is a simple one.
Can the Nittany Lions bring down the mighty Hawkeyes?
A Penn State lineup exists that could make this season's national tournament an electric two-team race, not unlike the epic Penn State-Ohio State showdown from the '17-18 season. That year ended with the Nittany Lions beating out the Buckeyes by just eight points, 141.5-133.5, to win what was then a third-straight NCAA team title.
What will it take this year? Penn State coach Cael Sanderson boiled the answer down to two words: bonus points. The Nittany Lions totaled just 17 bonus points at last season's NCAA Championships while the Hawkeyes scored 27.
That 10-point difference wouldn't have been enough to fully run down Iowa a year ago, but maybe this year's lineup could make up the difference and then some, which would make March all the more interesting.
“If you're trying to win big dual meets or win Big Ten and national championships, you need bonus points,†Sanderson said during the team's media day this week. “That's something we didn't have a lot of last year. Hopefully, our team is able to improve in that area.â€
“A lot of that is leadership and the attitude and energy you take onto the mat. Be less concerned with winning and losing and focus more on how you compete. If you do that, we'll be good to go.â€
TOP RETURNERS
Obviously, you start with the four NCAA champs: Roman Bravo-Young (133), Nick Lee (141), Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (184). Those four went a combined 55-3 last season and were responsible for 88.5 of Penn State's 113.5 total team points at the 2021 NCAA Championships.
Behind them, Penn State returns two other All-Americans from last season, in Michael Beard (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285). There's also Beau Bartlett (149), a bronze medalist at the Junior men's freestyle world championships this summer, as well as Robbie Howard (125), Joe Lee (165) and Brandon Meredith (125).
Sanderson said Howard, an NCAA qualifier at 125 last season, is not quite back to full speed yet after an offseason surgery, and mentioned that guys like Meredith and a slew of others who are in the mix to start at 125 this season. He also mentioned that both 157 and 165 will be competitive weights, too.
KEY DEPARTURES
The one key loss for Penn State is Brady Berge, a two-time NCAA qualifier at 157 pounds who has stepped away from competing due to “concussions and my own health,†he wrote in an announcement after last season had ended. He went 31-9 for the Nittany Lions, and has since been hired as a volunteer assistant at South Dakota State.
With Berge gone, the spot at 157 is up for grabs. Penn State listed both Joe Lee and Terrell Barraclough ahead of their duals against Oregon State and Sacred Heart. Perhaps they both get one match, or maybe one will get both. This will be a weight to monitor early on.
TOP NEWCOMERS
There's a lot of new faces to know at Penn State this season. Buckle up.
First up, there's a few noteworthy freshmen, in Alex Facundo (165), Shayne Van Ness (149) and Gary Steen (125). They were all top-line recruits in the 2021 class: Facundo, a two-time Cadet World medalist, was No. 2 overall, Van Ness was No. 5 and Steen was No. 55.
All three guys competed, unattached, at the Clarion Open last weekend. Facundo went 6-1 with two pins and three major decisions. Van Ness won twice, by pin and by major. Steen went 0-2. Seems like Van Ness will redshirt, but Facundo could go at 165 later this year. He's listed as a probable there for this weekend, alongside Creighton Edsall.
Next, a couple of transfers, in Jakob Campbell and Max Dean.
Campbell came over from Bucknell, where he went 18-14 between 2019-21. He wrestled both 125 and 133 while there, and Sanderson said he's making his way down to 125 to contend for that starting role,
Dean came over from Cornell, where he was 57-12 in two seasons with the Big Red and was a two-time All-American and NCAA finalist in 2019. He did all of that damage at 184 pounds, and plans to wrestle at 197 this season. He'll have to unseat Beard to start this season.
“Max is just a really good dude,†Sanderson said. “He works hard and brings a lot to the team. Michael Beard has really elevated his game, so this can be a blessing for both guys, having to compete at a higher level in practice just to make the team.
“We've got some wrestling to do there and we'll see how it plays out throughout the year, but we're very comfortable with both Max and Mike at this point.â€
WRESTLERS TO WATCH
We're rolling with Carter Starocci, a freshman national champion for the Nittany Lions a year ago who has only gotten better since then.
Really.
Starocci went 14-2 last year after going 19-0 while in redshirt in '19-20. Altogether, that's 33-2 with 16 bonus-point wins. More impressive, perhaps, was his 4-0 record last year in overtime matches. He beat Michigan's Logan Massa, Ohio State's Kaleb Romero, Nebraska's Mikey Labriola and Iowa's Michael Kemerer all in overtime.
Starocci followed that by finishing third at the Senior men's freestyle world team trials in September, during which he registered wins over Chance Marsteller, Evan Wick, and Jason Nolf — yes, really; score: 4-3 — to earn a spot on the U.S. national team. His performances have only heightened expectations heading into the '21-22 season.
“He works really hard,†Sanderson said. “He's one of those guys who we have to convince to take off the gas. He leads by example in that he just works really hard. He loves to compete. He believes, he's a very confident kid.â€
POTENTIAL LINEUP
125: Robbie Howard, Brandon Meredith, Baylor Shunk, Gary Steen, Jakob Campbell, Marco Vespa
133: Roman Bravo-Young
141: Nick Lee
149: Beau Bartlett
157: Joe Lee, Terrell Barraclough
165: Creighton Edsell, Alex Facundo
174: Carter Starocci
184: Aaron Brooks
197: Michael Beard, Max Dean
285: Greg Kerkvliet, Seth Nevills
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