#1 Penn State defeated #4 Ohio State 0-0 on Friday night in Columbus, Ohio.
The Nittany Lions continued to roll with another big win over the Ohio State Buckeyes, and were dominant throughout 10 bouts. Penn State’s Alex Facundo bounced back in a big way with a win over Ohio State’s Carson Kharchla, and the Nittany Lions got big bonus points from Levi Haines, Max Dean, Greg Kerkvliet.
Here’s a recap of each bout that went down on Friday night:
125: #10 Malik Heinselman over Gary Steen, Fall
It didn’t take long for Ohio State’s #10 Malik Heinselman to start this dual off with a bang. Heinselman got to his offense right away, taking down Penn State’s Gary Steen just seconds off the whistle.
Heinselman was dominant on top for the first two minutes, cranking over Steen in a hip-over, and did that twice before he secured the fall for the Buckeyes at 125-pounds.
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young over #9 Jesse Mendez, 8-2
It was all Penn State’s #1 Roman Bravo-Young at 133-pounds, as he scored two late takedowns in the first and second period to put a cushion on his lead.
In the first period it was a slick low-single that scored for RBY, then it was a beautiful throw-by to score his second takedown of the bout. Both takedowns were scored with less than 30 seconds in the period, and RBY got another in the third to put a staple on his victory.
However, Mendez did a good job defending off RBY with short time in the third period to avoid the major for the Buckeyes.
141: #5 Beau Bartlett over #19 Dylan D’Emilio, 4-2
All it took was one takedown for Penn State’s #5 Beau Bartlett to defeat Ohio State’s #19 Dylan D’Emilio.
Bartlett took advantage in the first period with a clean duck-under to secure the only takedown of the bout. Following the takedown, Bartlett did an excellent job on top to ride out D’Emilio to end the first period, and quickly accumulated over a minute of riding time to secure an extra point.
In the third, D’Emilio was really close to scoring on a blast-double, but Bartlett’s elite-level defense prevented a score and Bartlett held on to win a close one at 141-pounds.
149: #3 Sammy Sasso over #13 Shayne Van Ness, 6-3
Despite giving up the first takedown, Ohio State’s #3 Sammy Sasso rallied back to a 6-3 decision win for the Buckeyes.
After giving up the first takedown, Sasso scored off defending another great shot from Van Ness. Sasso’s front offense proved once again to be essential, as he put Van Ness in a lot of danger.
Sasso scored again in the third with a reversal, and followed that with a dominant ride in the third to rack up riding time and clinch the win for Ohio State at 149-pounds.
157: #9 Levi Haines over Paddy Gallagher, 14-2
Once again, Penn State’s true freshman #9 Levi Haines had no trouble getting to his offense with a 14-2 win over Ohio State’s Paddy Gallagher.
Haines scored four takedowns throughout the bout, and worked for a tilt that eventually earned him four backpoints with short time in the third period to secure the major for the Nittany Lions.
Haines really showed off his skills on top, securing riding time in the second period and had Gallagher on his back nearly multiple times.
The true freshman continues to get better as the season goes on.
165: #8 Alex Facundo over #12 Carson Kharchla, 4-1
After a scoreless first period, it was Penn State’s #8 Alex Facundo who put points on the board first with an escape. Later on in the second period, Kharlchla was called for ‘hands to the face’, and it gave Facundo another point and a 2-0 lead to go into the third.
Kharchla was able to quickly escape to make it 2-1 early in the third period, and the penalty point in the second period caused Kharchla to go on the attack. With seconds left, Kharchla had double-underhooks and attempted a big throw, but Facundo defended well and ended up on top.
174: #1 Carter Starocci over #7 Ethan Smith, 11-5
Penn State’s #1 Carter Starocci was on the hunt for points the entire bout, as he racked up two takedowns in the first period to set the tone.
Starocci continued to score throughout the match, but Ohio State’s #7 Ethan Smith put up a good fight with a takedown in third period, and closed the bout to a close 7-5 match.
Starocci continued to heavily pursue in the third, and Smith flashed some great defense to keep the bout to a decision for Penn State.
184: #1 Aaron Brooks over #5 Kaleb Romero, 3-2
It was until late into the third period before Penn State’s #1 Aaron Brooks scored off a single-leg to take a 3-1 lead with a minute remaining in the bout.
Ohio State’s #5 Kaleb Romero did a good job defending off Brooks’ relentless attacks, and even got deep in a few counter-attacks that threatened a takedown in the third period. Romero got to his feet to make it a one-point match with 30 seconds to go, but Brooks was able to hold on to his 3-2 lead for another Nittany Lion win.
197: #4 Max Dean over #17 Gavin Hoffman, Fall
With short time in the first period, Ohio State’s #17 Gavin Hoffman got in deep on a low-single, but Penn State’s #4 Max Dean was able to roll through and scramble his way to a takedown as time expired in the first period.
Hoffman went down in the second, and Dean went to work on top, and eventually wrenched over Hoffman to his back in a hip-over for a quick fall as the second period came to an end.
285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet over #18 Tate Orndorff, 8-0
Penn State’s #2 Greg Kerkvliet didn’t waste any time, scoring a takedown in the first 15 seconds of the bout. Kerkvliet finished the period on top, and accumulated nearly three minutes of riding time to head into the second period.
Kerkvliet continued to score and looked to turn Orndorff with short time in the second, yet headed into the third period with a 5-0 lead and secured his riding time advantage.
In the third, Kerkvliet got his third takedown of the night, and ended the bout on top for the Nittany Lions’ third bonus points of the night.
