Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson and his staff ย have a decision to make regarding the 197-pound weight class, and he talked about that decision Tuesday.
Last season, Penn State had the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the country at 197 in Hodge Trophy winner Aaron Brooks.
Now, Brooks is gone. So Penn State doesnโt have a nailed on starter at 197.
In the teamโs first dual meet of the season this past Sunday against Drexel at Rec Hall, Penn State started Lucas Cochran at 197 and Cochran rolled to an 18-1 tech fall over Ethan Wilson.
But Penn State also has Joshua Barr, a former top 10 recruit who would likely be at 184 if four-time national champ Carter Starocci didnโt return for fifth year.
Thereโs also Connor Mirasola, the No. 11 recruit from the 2024 class but Sanderson has already said the plan is for him to redshirt.
So it seems that Cochran and Barr are Sandersonโs options at 197, and hereโs what he had to say about the situation at Tuesdayโs media availability.
WHAT CAEL SAID
Photo by Penn State Wrestling: Cael Sanderson
โI think itโs fluid. I think itโs up to the guys and how they compete. Every time weโre wrestlingโฆ you donโt want this to be a tryout every time you wrestle, right? But unfortunately, thatโs just part of the reality of everything that we do. So you want good head-to-head matches (that will) give you obviously great insight and then how theyโre doing against outside competition. Really a big thing for us is just in determining your team as we head into Marchโ which, we have a long time before thenโ is just how are they competing? Where are they trending? What kind of enthusiasm are they stepping out there with? Are they trying to get better? Those kinds of things will kind of determine where theyโre going to end up. So we just try to factor in all things. Itโs definitely not an easy decision.โ
WE MIGHT NOT KNOW FOR A WHILE
Photo by Penn State Wrestling: Cael Sanderson and Carter Starocci
Penn State had a similar situation last season, this time at 149 pounds. With projected starter Shayne Van Ness suffering a season-ending injury, it became a battle between true freshman Tyler Kasak and senior David Evans. It wasnโt until early February, when Kasak officially burned his redshirt, that we found out for sure. Considering Kasak ended up finishing third at nationals, itโs safe to say the decision paid off.
Select Penn State wrestling will be competing at the Army Black Knight invitational this Sunday in West Point, New York. The next dual meet is Sunday, Dec. 8 at Lehigh.
