Penn State wrestling didn’t have its starting 197-pounder for Friday night’s opening dual meet against Oklahoma, and coach Cael Sanderson gave an update on Josh Barr’s status Tuesday afternoon.
“He is close,” Sanderson said. “He won’t be wrestling this weekend, though. But he’s getting close.”
As expected, it was a vague update.
But overall, it was a positive one. Penn State doesn’t start the Big Ten season for almost two months, so it sounds like Barr will be ready before then. It also doesn’t hurt that Barr’s backup, Connor Mirasola, is good enough to get a major decision over a guy ranked in the top 10, which he did Friday night against Oklahoma’s DJ Parker.
Penn State Wrestling: Connor Mirasola Starts Season With Upset Win
But Barr made it all the way to the national championship match at 197 last season, so Penn State would rather have him than not have him.
Barr is on the shelf due to a rib injury he suffered last month at the U23 World Championships in Serbia.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Penn State’s Josh Barr Suffers Potential Injury at U23 World Championships
Sanderson confirmed during his media day availability Nov. 11 that Barr was dealing with a rib injury, and pointed out the Barr has fought through injury before.
“He’s a tough dude,” Sanderson said. “I mean, you saw him come back from a pretty nasty (hamstring) injury in the Big Tens to make the finals of the national tournament.
“And you really don’t know how annoying (a rib injury) is until you actually have one. I used to kind of give guys a hard time when they (had one) and then I had a rib injury, and I was like, ‘OK, I understand.’ It’s everything’s twisting and you’re trying to breathe … but, yeah, he’ll be good to go soon.”
Penn State’s next dual meet is Friday, Dec. 5 at Drexel, scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
