Penn State wrestling freshman sensation PJ Duke will have a chance to avenge what has been the only setback of his college career thus far.
Duke is 18-1, and that one loss came against Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor during the Jan. 30 dual meet.
Despite not allowing a takedown, Duke wasn’t able to manage a takedown himself, and Taylor escaped with a 2-1 win in a tiebreaker.
Taylor came into the Big Ten Championships as the No. 1 seed, with Duke right behind him at No. 2. Each of them received a bye into the quarterfinals as a result. Duke took care of Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon, who was ranked No. 1 in the country but seeded seventh due to missing a month with an injury, 20-7. In the semis, Duke took on Illinois’ Kannon Webster, seeded No. 3, and got a 4-2 win to make it to the finals.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Taylor started his tournament against Wisconsin’s Luke Mechler, seeded eighth, and won, 5-1. In the semis, Taylor took on Michigan’s Cam Catrabone, seeded No. 4, and won, 7-1 win.
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson wasn’t worried about Duke after the Taylor loss, and Duke has won each of his four matches since.
“I think it’s a great match for him to get,” Sanderson said after Nebraska. “It’s a tough loss, obviously, in a double ride-out situation. But I mean, it’s just a situation where we have to go get a takedown and just, obviously, a tough opponent. Tactically, he’s hard to get to, and he’s strong in a lot of positions. But PJ’s going to be fine. He’ll just learn from it, keep getting better, and that’s the name of the game.”
