On Tuesday afternoon, Cael Sanderson announced that returning All-American and 149-pound starter Shayne Van Ness will miss the remainder of the 2023-2024 season with a suspected torn ACL.
Regardless of the Nittany Lions star-studded lineup, this a huge blow for Penn State as they will continue to be without a returning place winner and bolster to the team.
“Unfortunately he’s had issues with something, and it’s just kind of gotten tough,” Sanderson said. “Kind of got tweaked again in practice and made the decision for him to get it repaired and get ready for next year. Obviously he’ll be sorely missed.”
Now in his sophomore season it’s probable that Van Ness will apply for a medical redshirt, especially since he’s only wrestled three matches so far this year.
However, in the matches he did compete, Van Ness dominated and proved why he will be missed in the Nittany Lion lineup. At the NWCA All-Star Classic just two weeks ago, Van Ness cruised to a 5-1 victory over Arizona State’s #4 Kyle Parco and solidified his ranking at #2 behind Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett.
Sanderson and the Nittany Lions will have a decision to make regarding the 149-pound weight class, which consists of guys like Tyler Kasak, Connor Pierce, and David Evans. With Kasak getting the start and victory over Lehigh this past weekend, it seems that Penn State will roll with Kasak for the rest of the 2023-2024 season.
Looking at Penn State’s updated lineup without Van Ness, they still remain as the team to beat across the country. However, this could come back to haunt the Nittany Lions during the team race at the NCAA tournament, as they will be without multiple points expected from Van Ness who is coming off a third place finish at last year’s NCAAs.
Penn State is back on the mat at Rec Hall this Sunday, when they take on Hofstra at 1:00pm. I would not be surprised to see either Pierce or Evans in the lineup this weekend, as Coach Sanderson may want to get an extra look at the wrestlers he currently has at 149-pounds.