#1 Penn State defeated #7 Iowa State 22-12 in the blue pool championship final Tuesday night at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Penn State now improves to 7-0 to start the year, and had their hardest test of the season so far against the Iowa State Cyclones. The dual went back and forth, and Iowa State had a 13-12 lead going into the top-10 ranked 197-pound matchup between #2 Yonger Bastida and #6 Max Dean. The score shows a much different result, and it was a super competitive dual with another #1 ranked wrestler taking a fall.
Here is a breakdown of every match that went down in the blue pool final:
125 – Corey Cabanban over Gary Steen, 4-0
Iowa State’s Corey Cabanban worked his way to a 4-0 victory over Penn State’s Gary Steen to start the blue pool final. Cabanban got on the board first, scoring off a head-outside single-leg, and finished off the first period on top. Cabanban continued his tough ride into the second period, riding out Steen for the entirety of the period, and accumulated over 2:30 minutes of riding time going into the third period. Steen came close to scoring a couple of times in the third period, but Cabanban was able to defend off the shots with a great scrambles and give the Cyclones a 3-0 lead.
133 – #1 Roman Bravo-Young over #19 Ramazan Attasauov, 10-2
Penn State’s #1 Roman Bravo-Young pulled away with a 10-2 victory over Iowa State’s #19 Ramazan Attasauov. Attasauov did a great job of slowing down the high pace of Bravo-Young in the first period, using two-on-one ties to shut down the offense of Bravo-Young. However, Bravo-Young showed his ability once again to ride out his opponents when needed, which is something he’s previously had to do to win close matches. With seconds left in the second period, Bravo-Young locked up a near-side cradle on the edge of the mat for two backpoints. Bravo-Young’s offense on the feet opened up in the third period, scoring three overwhelming takedowns to get the major decision at 133-pounds.
141 – #4 Beau Bartlett over Zach Redding, 8-3
Penn State’s Beau Bartlett defeated Iowa State’s Zach Redding 8-3 to give PSU a 7-3 lead after three matches. After a scoreless first period, Bartlett got to work in the second with an escape and then a takedown off a counter-attack, taking a 3-0 advantage into the third period. Bartlett scored two more times of counter-attacks in the third period, as Bartlett was waiting for Redding to shoot in. Redding put up a good fight over a top-5 ranked opponent, and limited the PSU victory to a decision.
149 – #5 Paniro Johnson over #13 Shayne Van Ness, 3-2
Cyclone’s #5 Paniro Johnson got the victory in a razor thin top-15 matchup against Penn State’s #13 Shayne Van Ness 3-2. Although there were no takedowns in the first period, Van Ness was controlling the period with heavy pressure and super heavy hand-fighting, having Johnson circling away and backing up. Van Ness continued the heavy pressure in the second period after earning an escape, and defended off a great shot from Johnson to take a 1-0 lead going into the third period. Early in the third, Johnson got to his feet, and threw the pressure off from Van Ness, scoring off a slick slide-by to take the lead. Van Ness went after Johnson hard for the last 30 seconds, but Johnson was able to hold on for the victory.
157 – Levi Haines over Jason Kraisser, 8-3
Penn State’s true freshman Levi Haines looked super impressive in a 8-3 win over Iowa State’s Jason Kraisser. Haines scored two takedowns within the first minute of the bout, and took a 4-2 lead over Kraisser going into the second period. Kraisser got to his feet to make it a one-point match, and almost took the lead with seconds left in the second period after a wild scramble. Haines got to his feet in the third, and Kraisser was close to throwing Haines to his back with an inside-trip, but Haines stayed in better position with the body lock to score the final takedown of the match.
165 – #3 David Carr over #17 Alex Facundo, 4-2
Cyclone’s #3 David Carr cruised to a 4-2 victory over Penn State’s #17 Alex Facundo. Carr found his offense right away, scoring off a clean low-single, and went to work on top by riding out Facundo for the majority of the period. Facundo was able to defend off numerous shots from Carr in the second period, but was unable to find any offense of his own. The third period was reflective of the second, and it was Carr firing off more shots looking to score for the majority of the final period to close PSU’s lead to 10-9 through six matches.
174 – #1 Carter Starocci over Julien Broderson, 5-1
Penn State’s #1 Carter Starocci rolled for a 5-1 victory over Iowa State’s Julien Broderson. Broderson prevented Starocci from scoring until there were seconds remaining in the first period, when Starocci scored on a double-leg on the edge of the mat. Starocci picked his offense back up in the third period, with an escape and another slick takedown to extend his lead. Although getting the decision win, Starocci was prevented from getting bonus points for PSU at 174-pounds.
184 – #5 Marcus Coleman over #1 Aaron Brooks, 9-7
Aaron Brooks utilized his underhook on his feet, using it to open up a single-leg and a two-point score to end the first period. Brooks continued to pressure Coleman in the second, until Coleman rolled through in a scramble, and had Brooks stuck on his back for a takedown and four backpoints to take a huge momentous swinging lead. In a wild third period, Brooks worked his way through a super tough takedown, but Coleman immediately reversed Brooks for two more points. Brooks then reversed Coleman, and was nearly able to flip Coleman to his back, but Coleman stayed strong and pulled off a massive upset at 184-pounds. Coleman’s upset closed PSU’s lead to 13-12 with another top-10 ranked matchup in the waits.
197 – #6 Max Dean over #2 Yonger Bastida, 4-1
Penn State’s #6 Max Dean made a statement with a 0-0 victory over Iowa State’s #2 Yonger Bastida. It was scoreless after the first period, but Dean got on the board first with a quick escape and then scoring a takedown off a shot from Bastida. Dean did enough on top early in the third period to secure a minute of riding time, which forced Bastida to be on the pursuit with short time in the third. Bastida nearly scored off a last second attempt, but Dean held strong to pull away a victory for Penn State.
285 – #1 Greg Kirkvliet, winner by forfeit
After Dean’s win at 197-pounds, Iowa State didn’t send out a wrestler at heavyweight. Penn State was up 16-12 after 197-pounds, and Cyclone heavyweight #9 Sam Schuyler didn’t compete at any of the Collegiate Duals for Iowa State.
FINAL: Penn State over Iowa State, 22-12
