Penn State wrestling has lost one of its 2023 All-Americans.
Shayne Van Ness, who went 24-7 as a redshirt freshman last season and finished third in the 149-pound weight class at the NCAA Championships in March, is out for the season with an injury, PSU coach Cael Sanderson announced in his weekly media availability Tuesday.
Cael Sanderson says 149-pounder Shayne Van Ness will miss the rest of the season after suffering an injury in practice.
— Travis Johnson (@bytravisjohnson) December 5, 2023
Van Ness didn’t wrestle in Penn State’s first dual meet of this season— a 30-10 win over Lehigh at Rec Hall— that took place this past Sunday. True freshman Tyler Kasak competed in his place and beat Lehigh’s Drew Munch, 7-6. It remains to be seen what Cael Sanderson will decide long-term as far as 149 goes.
SVN had arguably the most exciting showing of any PSU wrestler at the NCAA’s in March. He almost lost in the first round, trailing Maryland’s 9-1. But Van Ness fought back to get a pin and ended up moving onto the semifinals, where he fell to the great four-time national champion Yianni Diakomihalis. But Van Ness bounced back to win his next two matches to finish third and ended the tournament with wins over three of the top five seeds at 149. Before Penn State, Van Ness was a star at New Jersey’s Blair Academy. There, he was a two-time National Prep Champion and was presented Northeastern Regional Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award.
Penn State’s next dual meet is Sunday after Hofstra. It’s scheduled for 1 at Rec Hall. Van Ness’ injury is a big blow for both himself personally and Penn State collectively. But Cael Sanderson has won 10 national titles in 12 seasons for a reason. Chances are he’ll he’ll figure out the best course of action.
