Over the past decade, one wrestling program has dominated the sport, winning national titles at a clip not seen since Dan Gable was calling the shots at Iowa. Penn State, winners of eight of the past nine NCAA Wrestling Championships, host Ohio State in the Buckeyes' final dual meet of the season.
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PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS |
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10-2, 7-1 BIG TEN ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
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7:30 P.M. – SATURDAY, FEB. 15 BRYCE JORDAN CENTER UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. |
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| BROADCAST: BIG TEN NETWORK |
To say that the Nittany Lions have become Ohio State's arch-nemesis on the mats might be underselling it a tad bit. Tom Ryan's Buckeyes are the only team to interrupt Penn State's almost decade-long title streak, and Penn State seemed to one-up Ohio State time after time in the 2010s, from a 1-point win in the "Dual of the Millenium" to upending any number of individual wrestlers en route to Big Ten and NCAA titles.
Oh, and there's that Kyle Snyder thing. And that Daniel Kerkvliet thing. Which may or may not be related things, depending on how you look at it.
With this much history, Ohio State fans may be forgiven for wishing nothing good and everything bad for that team from Happy Valley. Neither team entering Sunday's season finale is the same team that participated in last year's beatdown in Columbus, nor the aforementioned Dual of the Millenium.
This time a year ago, Penn State trotted out four top-ranked wrestlers, each with a national title already on their resume. This year they return just two previous title-winners, with only Vincenzo Joseph at 165 currently ranked top of the class.
Ohio State, conversely, had just one top-ranked guy in Myles Martin last time out, while this time the Buckeyes are the only team in the country with three No. 1s on the roster.
Unlike the last time this meet was hosted at Penn State, it will be contested in the larger Bryce Jordan Center, rather than the more stifling Rec Hall, which means there may be one or two fans of the visiting team in attendance this time. Either way, this meet will be a slugfest, every bit as tough as Ohio State's visit to Iowa earlier in the season.
The Penn State Nittany Lions
Head Coach: Cael Sanderson
| Wt | OSU | PSU |
|---|---|---|
| 125 |
Malik Heinselman (14-13, So.) -OR- Dylan Koontz (12-9, r-So.) |
Brandon Meredith (12-11, r-Fr.) |
| 133 | Jordan Decatur (11-7, Fr.) | No. 4 Roman Bravo-Young (15-1, So.) |
| 141 | No. 1 Luke Pletcher (23-0, Sr.) | No. 2 Nick Lee (16-1, Jr.) |
| 149 | No. 1 Sammy Sasso (21-2, r-Fr.) |
Luke Gardner (6-2, r-Jr.) -OR- Jarod Verkleeren (14-5, r-So.) |
| 157 |
Elijah Cleary (13-10, r-Jr.) -OR- Quinn Kinner (14-5, r-Fr.) |
Brady Berge (1-0, r-So.) -OR- Bo Pipher (9-11, r-Jr.) |
| 165 | No. 14 Ethan Smith (15-10, r-So.) | No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph (11-0, Sr.) |
| 174 | No. 7 Kaleb Romero (15-4, r-So.) | No. 2 Mark Hall (18-1, Sr.) |
| 184 | No. 12 Rocky Jordan (25-6, r-Fr.) | No. 7 Aaron Brooks (10-1, Fr.) |
| 197 | No. 1 Kollin Moore (23-0, r-Sr.) | No. 18 Shakur Rasheed (4-3, r-Sr.) |
| HWT | No. 23 Gary Traub (19-6, r-Jr.) | No. 13 Seth Nevills (12-2, Fr.) |
What can you say about Penn State's wrestling program that hasn't already been said? To paraphrase a popular song, all they do is win. Eight NCAA team titles in a decade is pretty rarified air, and it's still probably Cael Sanderson's second most-impressive wrestling feat, just a step behind going 159-0 as a college wrestler and becoming just the second man in history to win four NCAA titles.
This has been a tougher season for Penn State, relatively speaking. They've lost two dual meets this season, the first to Arizona State in a November loss that snapped a 60-meet win streak. (Ohio State would go on to beat ASU, if you're looking for positive signs heading into Saturday's meet.) Like the Buckeyes, Penn State also lost to Iowa in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Led by Joseph at 165 and No. 2 Mark Hall at 174, Penn State has potential titlists wrestling at 133 and 141 with Roman Bravo-Young and Nick Lee. Lee's match with Luke Pletcher is one of the biggest matches of the season, and seems likely to spark what could be a trio of matches between No. 1 and No. 2 to close the season.
Aaron Brooks at 184 and Seth Nevills at heavyweight are likely All Americans, and will give their Buckeye counterparts all they can handle. Ohio State will need to win toss-up matches at 125 and 157, along with winning the matches they should win at 141, 149 and 197, and then hope for an upset or count on bonus points to win the day.
Like I said, it's going to be a slugfest.
Notable Matchups
141 pounds: No. 1 Luke Pletcher vs. No. 2 Nick Lee
This is the obvious match of the night. Pletcher is one of the most battle-tested No. 1s in the country, having already dispatched half of the current Top 10. Lee has wins over three of those same wrestlers, and is 16-0 on the season to Pletcher's 23-0.
Lee finished fifth in the class at the past two NCAA tournaments, and he comes into this dual as the current Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, an honor earned after winning a 14-1 major decision over No. 7 Tristan Moran of Wisconsin and two days later pinning No. 5 Mitch McKee of Minnesota in the first period of their match.
.@MitchGerber caught up with Nick Lee ahead of this weekend's Bryce Jordan Center dual! #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/PqPFbzFHlH
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) February 11, 2020
Pletcher, meanwhile, has outscored Top-25 opponents by a combined score of 148-56 (+92), and is hitting bonus in 65% of his matches. This match is where the unstoppable force meets the proverbial immovable object.
184 pounds: No. 12 Rocky Jordan vs. No. 7 Aaron Brooks
Jordan is one of Ohio State's success stories this season. After losing the 174-pound spot to Kaleb Romero, the youngest of the Jordan brothers moved up to 184 and has launched himself into the top half of the rankings over the past three weeks.
Brooks is 10-1 on the season, with his lone loss to Nebraska's Taylor Venz, a wrestler Jordan beat in a 3-2 decision earlier this month. If Jordan can get the better of Brooks in this match, it could be the upset Ohio State needs to pick up their first win over Penn State since 2015.
Buckeye Breakdown
Sammy Sasso and Kollin Moore should win their matches handily, and Luke Pletcher is wrestling at such a high level that fans should have full confidence in his ability to handle Lee, as well.
Penn State will expect to win 133, 165 and 174, on the other hand, and as always will be gunning for bonus points along the way.
Tom Ryan told members of the media Thursday that the team hadn't decided if Malik Heinselman or Dylan Koontz would get the nod at 125, nor if Elijah Cleary or Quinn Kinner would wrestle at 157. Both of those are winnable matches for the Buckeyes, as Penn State lightweight Brandon Meredith is one match better than .500 and middleweight Bo Pipher is one match under.
Seth Nevills has done an excellent job at heavyweight and Aaron Brooks has just that one loss on his record at 184, so both of those matches are uphill battles for the Buckeyes.
This is the most vulnerable Penn State has been for a few seasons, but there is little question they think they'll win this dual. History is on their side, certainly, regardless of what the numbers in front of the names say.
Action gets underway from the Bryce Jordan Center at 7:30 p.m., and will air live on the Big Ten Network.
