It’s been more than a week since one of Penn State’s best wrestlers suffered an injury, and Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson addressed it Monday afternoon.
The good news for Penn State wrestling fans is that, per Sanderson, Josh Barr will be ready to roll for this week’s NCAA Wrestling Championships.
“Josh is gonna be ready to scrap on Thursday,” Sanderson told reporters Monday.
Seems pretty straightforward, no? Make no mistake, Penn State would be the odds on favorite to win its 12th title in 14 years regardless of whether Barr was 100% or 10%. But having Barr certainly helps. From an individual standpoint, he has a chance to make himself a part of college wrestling lore.
BARR’S IMPACT
So what has Barr’s impact been on this year’s Penn State wrestling team? Well, it’s been sizable. Barr— who previously competed at 184– had to move up to 197 since a four-time national champ named Carter Starocci moved up from 174 to 184. Barr’s handled it well. Of the 21 matches he’s wrestled this season, he’s only lost three, and one of them was a medical default to Minnesota’s Isaiah Salazar in the consolation round of the Big Ten Championships.
Barr’s success as a redshirt freshman has earned him the No. 4 seed. His first opponent is Lock Haven’s Tucker Hogan— no relation to Hulk— Thursday afternoon in Philadelphia.
THE INJURY
Here’s how Barr’s injury happened.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Leading into his bout with Salazar, Barr suffered an apparent left leg injury and had to be assisted off the mat.
At Big Tens, Barr rolled through his first bout, tech-falling Nebraska’s Camden McDanel 17-2.
This set up a rematch in the semifinal, where Barr took on Michigan’s Jacob Cardenas, seeded third.
In the regular season, Barr beat Cardenas in a tiebreaker.
This time, it was Cardenas getting the W, 4-1 in sudden victory.
Now that he’s apparently healthy enough to compete, main focus for Barr and Penn State now will be to win as many titles at possible at the championships scheduled for March 20-22 in Philadelphia.
