Bernie Truax, a three-time All-American from Cal Poly, has committed to Penn State wrestling, he first announced on his Instagram account Tuesday evening.
I am official committed to Penn State! It has been a dream of mine to wrestle for this program since I was a little kid! pic.twitter.com/OG3nrkguSi
— Bernie Truax IV (@TruaxBernie) April 19, 2023
In the Instagram post, Truax, an Oceanside, California, native who’s transferring from Cal Poly, wrote that it’s “been a dream of mine to wrestle for this program since I was a little kid!!”
The post has two slides.
The first is a standard commitment graphic, and the second is of a young Truax wearing a Penn State wrestling sweatshirt from the 2011-12 season, holding a trophy that’s details aren’t clear from the picture.
The sweatshirt Truax’s wearing has the word “dynasty” on it, and that’s exactly what he’ll be joining when he begins to work with legendary coach Cael Sanderson in Happy Valley.
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Sanderson’s empire has won 10 team national championships in 12 seasons, the most recent coming last month in Des Moines, Iowa. Truax wrestled in that tournament, finishing in fourth place for the third year in a row. Truax beat Penn State’s Max Dean in the consolation bracket, grinding out an 8-6 overtime win. Interestingly enough, Dean also transferred to Penn State after two All-American seasons (Cornell) and proceeded to win a national title on 2022. That’s certainly a goal that’s in reach for Truax.
Deal also could be the guy Truax succeeds at 197.
The main reason it’s a “could be” is because it’s still unclear where Sanderson will put Truax in the lineup. In his five wrestling seasons— the first being as a redshirt in 2018-19–, Truax has wrestled everywhere from 149 pounds to 197, with his All-America finishes being at 174, 184 and 197 pounds. On Twitter, The Wrestling Room (Pat Mineo) predicted that Truax would wrestle at 184 pounds for Penn State while 3-time national champion Aaron Brooks would move from 184 to 197.
Now we know where Bernie will be spending his #weekends next season… @TruaxBernie joins the Nittany Lions! 🐾
He will go 184, as Brooks moves up to 197! pic.twitter.com/HTOJqxh60K
— The Wrestling Room (Pat Mineo) (@MrPatMineo) April 19, 2023
Brooks, who, like Bernie Truax, has a year of eligibility left, hasn’t confirmed whether or not he’s coming back to Penn State. Brooks has won all of three his national titles at 184 pounds. But, as Mineo pointed out, Truax was closer to 184 than 197 in this year’s NCAA Tournament, weighing in at 186 pounds.
