PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lions, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, finished off a solid first day at the 2019 NCAA Championships by pushing six wrestlers through to the national quarterfinals and keeping all nine individuals alive for All-America status. The three-day event began today and runs through Saturday night. After an unbeaten first session, the Lions lead the team race after round two. While Penn State was done for the night, consolation action continued and Penn State leads the team race with 32.5 points as of 9:15 p.m. Ohio State is in second with 25.0 and Iowa is third with 24.0.
Sanderson's squad followed up a perfect 9-0 first round with a 6-3 second round. The Nittany Lions pushed six wrestlers in to the national quarterfinals set for Friday morning. The three Nittany Lions who dropped their second round bouts are all still alive for All-America laurels and can finish as high as third.
True freshman Roman Bravo-Young, the No. 10 seed at 133, took on No. 7 Austin DeSanto of Iowa in the second round. DeSanto was able to get an early takedown and led 2-1 after a quick Bravo-Young escape. The duo then battled in the center of the mat for the next minute with neither wrestler able to score. Bravo-Young nearly scored as the first period ended but clock hit zeroes and he trailed by one after one. Bravo-Young chose down to start the second period and worked his way to an escape and a 2-2 tie with 1:11 on the clock. His escape was the only scoring of the second period. DeSanto chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 3-2 lead. Bravo-Young nearly scored at the 1:12 mark but after a long review, no takedown was given and action resumed neutral with the Hawkeye leading by one. Bravo-Young forced a scramble late in the match but DeSanto countered it with seconds left and finished off a 7-2 win with a takedown and near fall points.
Sophomore Nick Lee, the No. 3 seed at 141, met No. 19 Se'Derian Perry of Old Dominion in the second round. The sophomore worked his way into an early takedown to open up a 2-1 lead. He added a quick second takedown and led 4-1 after the opening period. The Nittany Lion ended the bout quickly in the second period, taking Perry to the mat and to his back for nearfall points before finishing off the match by pinning the ODU grappler at the 3:42 mark.
Redshirt freshman Brady Berge, the No. 12 seed at 149, met No. 5 Matt Kolodzik of Princeton in the second round. Kolodzik drew first blood with a quick takedown to open up an early 2-1 lead after Berge escaped right away. The duo battled evenly for the rest of the period and the Lion freshman trailed by one after the opening stanza. Kolodzik chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. The Princeton senior added a second takedown midway through the period to open up a 5-1 lead and moved his riding time over 1:00. Berge would escape and cut into Kolodzik's lead as the period moved on. Trailing 7-4, Berge forced Kolodzik into a stall to cut the lead to 7-5 but the Tiger was able to wind out the clock and, with a riding time point, down Berge 8-5.
Senior Jason Nolf, the No. 1 seed at 157, took on No. 16 John Van Brill of Rutgers in the second round. Nolf quickly took Van Brill down to open up a quick 2-1 lead, then added a second takedown to lead 4-2 midway through the opening stanza. The Lion tacked on more points, including near fall points, to lead 8-2 after the opening period. Nolf chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 9-2 lead. He tacked on another takedown, then another, and nearly pinned Van Brill at the end of the period. He picked up four near fall points and led 17-3 after two. Van Brill chose down to start the third period and Nolf went to work on top. He built up over 3:00 in riding time before cutting Van Brill loose to a 17-4 lead. He finished off the bout with a final takedown to post the 19-4 technical fall at the 6:47 mark.
Junior Vincenzo Joseph, the No. 2 seed at 165, took on No. 18 Connor Flynn of Missouri in the second round. Joseph scrambled his way for a near takedown a minute into the bout but Flynn was able to work his way out of bounds and the match continued scoreless through the second minute of the opening period. The Lion junior took a 2-0 lead with a strong shot at the :40 mark and then finished the period on top to lead by two after the opening period. Joseph chose down to start the second period and worked his way to an escape and a 3-0 lead. He continued to pressure Flynn, forcing the Tiger grappler back out of bounds. Joseph finally got the stall call on Flynn and then took him down as the period ended to lead 5-0 after two. Flynn escaped to start the third period. Joseph notched another takedown after cutting him loose to lead 7-1. With time running out, Joseph pressed for a final takedown for bonus points but slipped through the move and Flynn got a late counter takedown. Joseph, with a riding time point, rolled to the 8-4 win.
Junior Mark Hall, the No. 1 seed at 174, faced off against No. 16 Brandon Womack of Cornell in the second round. The Lion junior set the tempo for the first period but was unable to break through Womack's defense until late in the opening period. Hall led 2-0 with a late takedown after the opening three minutes. Hall upped his lead to 3-0 with an escape to start the second period and then added a takedown to lead 5-0 midway through the stanza. The Lion carried the big lead into the third period and finished off the match with a takedown and riding time to roll to an 8-3 win.
Senior Shakur Rasheed, the No. 2 seed at 184, took on No. 15 Chip Ness of North Carolina in the second round. Rasheed opened up an early lead with a first period takedown. Ness was able to escape to cut the lead to 2-1 after the opening period. Ness chose down to start the second stanza and Rasheed was able to control the action for over 0:30 before Ness escaped to a 2-2 tie. The Lion senior continued to press the action, however, and finished off the period with a takedown and rideout to lead 4-2 with over 1:00 in riding time after 5:00 of wrestling. Rasheed chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 5-2 lead. Continuing to be aggressive, Rasheed forced a scramble that Ness was able to counter as the clock moved below the 0:30 mark. With Rasheed on offense, Ness was able to work his way into control of the scramble and managed to pick up four near fall points as Rasheed tried to get control of Ness' ankles. The late scrambling move, good for six points, put Ness up 8-5 in a flash and the score held, Handing Rasheed his first loss of the season, 8-5.
Senior Bo Nickal, the No. 1 seed at 197, battled No. 16 Josh Hokit of Fresno State in the second round. Nickal wasted no time in rolling out to a big lead. He took Hokit down right out of the gates to lead 2-1. He then took Hokit down again and nearly pinned the Bulldog early but settled for four back points. Leading 8-2 after cutting Hokit loose, Nickal quickly took the Fresno State grappler down and finished off the match with yet another fast fall, this one at the 2:27 mark.
Senior Anthony Cassar, the No. 2 seed at 285, met No. 15 Tate Orndorff of Utah Valley in the second round. The Lion battled Orndorff evenly for the bulk of the first period and took a 2-0 lead into the second period with a late takedown. Orndorff chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 2-1 score. But Cassar continued to showcase his offense, tossing Orndorff to the mat for a hard takedown to lead 4-1 at the 1:10 mark. Cassar finished on top to lead 4-1 with nearly 2:00 in riding time after two periods. He chose down to start the third and quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead. He then took Orndorff down once more, upping his lead to 7-1 at the :50 mark. Looking for bonus points, Cassar cut Orndorff loose late and then finished off the bout with a takedown with just 0:04 left. With 2:13 in riding time, Cassar posted the 10-2 major decision.
The Nittany Lions went 6-3 overall during the session two and added another 6.5 bonus points off a major, a technical fall and two more pins. Penn State went a combined 15-3 on the first day of the three-day event and tallied 18-5 bonus points off three majors, a tech and seven pins. Nickal now has 117 career wins, 15th all-time at Penn State. He has 58 pins, just two shy of the Nittany Lion record of 60, held by teammate Nolf. Nolf now has 114 career wins, tied for 19th all-time at Penn State. Nickal's 17 falls this season is the fifth best single season mark in Penn State history.
Penn State is aiming for its eighth NCAA title in the last nine years and its fourth straight, which would be a second four-year title streak within this, Sanderson's 10th year as Penn State's mentor. The Nittany Lions concluded the 2019 dual season with a 14-0 record and won a share of the Big Ten Regular Season (dual meet) title with a 9-0 conference mark. Penn State has now won 59 straight dual meets dating back to the end of the 2014-15 season. The Nittany Lions won the 2019 Big Ten Championship on March 9-10 in Minneapolis, crowning four champions to run away from the rest of the field, winning by 30.0 points.
The event continues with session three at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 22, and the national semifinals take place in session four on Friday at 8 p.m. The medal rounds begin day three of the event on Saturday, March 23, at 11 a.m. The Championship Finals are set for 7 p.m. on Saturday. The entire event will air live on the ESPN family of networks. All three morning sessions (1, 3, 5) will air live on ESPNU. All three evening sessions (2, 4, 6) will air live on ESPN. The entire event, including live mat-by-mat coverage is available online via ESPN3 and the ESPN App.