4 Penn State wrestling thoughts during the Lions' first February week off from competition

Penn State wrestling is enjoying a well-earned week off from competition.

The Nittany Lions will certainly be hard at work inside the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex over the next number of days, of course.

But, after eight duals meets over the course of the last month, the team has a week and change without a match before returning to the mat to take on Rider in the regular season finale on Feb. 20 at Rec Hall.

Head coach Cael Sanderson’s team has already locked up its eighth Big Ten regular season dual meet title since 2012. Much remains to be accomplished, however, as the individual postseason conference and national tournaments sit on the horizon.

“I think these guys did a great job,” Sanderson told reporters last Sunday after the Lions beat Nebraska. “They should be really proud and excited.”

Here are four thoughts on the Lions during the down week.

1. Penn State is talented, but also overcame plenty to sit at 16-0 so far

A staple of the Sanderson era has been that his teams tend to be ready to wrestle anywhere at any time. But, this year, most of the Lions’ biggest matches have come away from Rec Hall.

Based on the latest Intermat rankings, Penn State beat the nation’s No. 2 (Iowa), No. 3 (Michigan), No. 4 (Arizona State), No. 8 (Cornell), and No. 22 (Northern Iowa) teams on the road. The non-conference wins came at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals back in December. But, the Big Ten triumphs over two top-five teams helped secure the regular season crown.

Most of those victories also came without a full starting lineup. More on that below.

“Some of our bigger duals were on the road this year too,” Sanderson said. “I think it was good. We’ve had some great duals. Even going back to November, when we had guys out and sick, these guys found a way to win those matches.

“It kind of has rotated. Everyone’s had that opportunity to kind of step up in there and help the team. That’s what it’s going to take to win the Nationals and the Big Ten is a great team effort. So, we’ve got some good practice heading in.”

2. Health updates are a top curiosity

After taking in Sanderson’s post-match news conferences following Ohio State and Nebraska, we know some things and think some others.

At 165, Sanderson said Brady Berge missed last weekend to focus on his conditioning. That’s not a total shocker seeing that he returned to Penn State at the start of the spring semester following a volunteer assistant coaching stint.

“Brady’s just been kind of working on his weight, so he doesn’t have anything bothering him at all,” Sanderson said.

“He just wanted to really kind of take some time and step his conditioning up. It’s hard to do that if you’re trying to get ready for a match at the same time. They kind of go against one another. So I think he had a good solid week.”

At 174, then, Carter Starocci’s absence was health-related last weekend. He was seen on the Penn State-Ohio State television broadcast on the bench with a wrapped wrist.

“Carter’s just been nursing an injury and it just made sense to give him a little bit more time here and not kind of rush him into these duels,” Sanderson said after Ohio State.

An injury was also the reason Max Dean didn’t wrestle against the Cornhuskers last Sunday.

“You guys saw him wrestle on Friday,” Sanderson said after Nebraska. “He kind of limped off the mat a little bit. Everything’s good, images, X-rays, everything’s good. He’ll be good.

“There wasn’t any reason to force him back into a match 48 hours later when our team could kind of figure it out without him this time.”

Finally, there seems to be nothing to worry about with heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet after he limped off the mat a bit last Sunday.

3. What will happen for Penn State at 157?

Speaking of Berge above, one still wonders if he could make his way down to 157 for the postseason.

It seems unlikely. But, Sanderson saying he was working on his weight makes the mind wonder what could happen there. That’s so even if interviews over the last month have suggested that Berge is most comfortable at 165.

Terrell Barraclough put a pair of fine matches together resulting in a split over the weekend at 157. Could he have that starting job locked up for Penn State? Only time will tell. Backup and onetime starter Tony Negron did take the weight class title at the Edinboro Open last weekend, for what it is worth.

“Terrell has the potential to do that and beat those guys and be a contender,” Sanderson said. “He just needs the confidence, and when that’s coming or how he’s going to get it, I don’t know. Big win for him on Friday. I think he was pretty excited about that. And then, you know, he was in deep to finish on a [at the time] top-five guy today [in Nebraska’s Peyton Roob]. So, close. Still gotta finish obviously. But, I think he’s a guy that has a lot of potential. He works really hard.

“The guys all care about him just because he does all the right things. But, he’s still got to find a way to go win those matches. He certainly has the ability and the skills. We’re all cheering for him.”

4. Updated rankings

Here’s where Penn State wrestlers stand in the latest Intermat rankings:

125: Drew Hildebrandt up one spot to No. 5.

133: Roman Bravo-Young remains at No. 1.

141: Nick Lee continues to sit at No. 1.

149: Beau Bartlett down one spot to No. 19.

157: No Penn State wrestler ranked.

165: Brady Berge sits at No. 11. That is unchanged from last week.

174: Carter Starocci is still No. 1 despite the weekend off.

184: Aaron Broosk sits at No. 1.

197: Max Dean remains at No. 2.

285: Greg Kerkvliet remains at No. 5.