No. 1 Penn State wrestling fought off an elite foe in No. 2 Iowa Friday night. Here are three takeaways from season’s biggest dual meet.
THE REDSHIRT IS OFF
Shades of when Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson pulled Mark Hall’s redshirt at Iowa, the Penn State boss removed freshman Levi Haines’s redshirt in Friday’s duel. Hall took on No. 15 Cobe Siebrecht. In the first period, Haines grabbed Siebrecht’s left leg, but a potentially dangerous call was made after the two scrabbled. Haines started the second period on bottom and escaped to take a 1-0 lead. The two jockeyed for position for the rest of the period, with Haines keeping that 1-0 lead. In the final period, Siebrecht, now starting on bottom, escaped, tying the score at one. With time winding down, Haines scored a takedown on a beautiful duck under (the Mark Hall special) to push the score to 3-1. After the two went out of bounds and returned to the center of the mat, Siebrecht scored another escape to pull to within one.
Haines fought off some final attempts from Siebrecht to score but held on for a 3-2 win. Levi Haines is here, and he is here to stay.
Levi Haines pulls ahead with the takedown!#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/3OWan8gUiK
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) January 28, 2023
NATIONAL CHAMPS COME THROUGH
Iowa led 14-9 before Penn State’s heavy hitters stepped onto the mat. Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks and Max Dean showed up and performed like national champions, which they all are and could be again. Starocci, out first at 174, took down sixteenth-ranked Nelson Brands 2-1. Brooks took on Drake Rhodes, who usually competes at 165 pounds, and won by technical fall 22-7. Dean showed his patience and won against seventh-ranked Jacob Warner 2-0 to push Penn State back ahead 20-14.
Carter Starocci wins on riding time!#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/0K8IeFoELF
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) January 28, 2023
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Aaron Brooks completes the tech fall victory!#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/7AjRaWJVFa
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) January 28, 2023
Max Dean third period ride out to secure the 2-0 win.#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/IpPOG5JRJ1
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) January 28, 2023
100 FOR CAEL
Wrestling runs through University Park, P.A. On a big stage, Sanderson added another milestone to his belt as one of the greatest coaches in the sport’s history. The win over Iowa marks the 100th Big Ten dual meet win of his legendary coaching career. After nine national titles at Penn State, Sanderson’s adding more cherries on top of his sundae. With Haines, Van Ness and Facundo leading the next charge of top guys at Penn State, Sanderson has a great chance to add to his already impressive total of 32 wrestlers to win individual NCAA Division I titles.
Tonight's B1G win, a milestone for Coach Cael…#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/5fhXcp6WUW
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) January 28, 2023
