Penn State wrestling blasts Arizona State to end 2021 portion of its schedule with perfect mark

The Penn State wrestling team put together its most complete performance of the season in its final dual of 2021.

Head coach Cael Sanderson’s team won seven of 10 bouts and beat Arizona State 29-10 on Tuesday night in a battle between top-10 teams at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in Niceville, Fla. The Lions won all three matches there over two days of competition at Raider Arena. They also took duals opposite both the University of Northern Iowa and Cornell on Monday.

“This team is becoming the same team I had in high school,” 149-pounder Beau Bartlett told the Penn State Sports Network. “That tight group of guys. That energy, I feel it.

“I can’t really put a specific word on it. I feel it, the team feels it, the coaches feel it, and it’s getting better.”

How Penn State topped Arizona State

Tuesday night’s meeting between the Lions and Sun Devils looked nearly even on paper. But, when Jake Campbell held No. 3 Brandon Courtney to only an 18-7 major decision victory to kick things off at 125, it set the tone for how the evening would unfold.

Penn State picked up an upset at 149 when Bartlett beat No. 5 Kyle Parco 3-1 in sudden victory thanks to a pretty shot and takedown with 1:23 to wrestle in the extra period. That gave the Lions a 10-4 lead after four bouts.

“So far I am on track with what I planned for myself,” Bartlett told the Penn State Sports Network. “I just wrestled, I was confident in that match. Doing what I can do, I’m living up to my expectations and goals.

“It’s like making breakfast. I decided I was going to make it, I made it. I decided I was going to wrestle hard and get my hand raised, I got my hand raised.”

Arizona State would eventually tie the dual at 10 when No. 6 Anthony Valencia topped Creighton Edsell 10-5 at 165 pounds following a victory at 157. Even those losses favored the Lions, however, as they didn’t give up bonus points in the process. That fact set Penn State up to let the strength of its lineup do the heavy lifting to secure another win.

It did so with minimal resistance.

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Carter Starocci started that run with an almost effortless 17-2 technical fall victory in 5:40 over Zane Coleman at 174. Fellow defending champ Aaron Brooks then decked Josh Nummer in 1:48 at 184 to give the Lions a sudden 21-10 lead with two bouts to go.

Then, at 197, Max Dean was dominant and scored a 10-1 major decision win over No. 8 Kordell Norfleet to secure the dual victory.

Finally, heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet overcame a concussion test and some blood time stoppages to earn a 9-0 major decision with 4:24 in riding time over Chad Porter to reach the final margin. It is unclear why Sun Devils’ third-ranked 285-pounder Cohlton Schultz did not wrestle in that bout.

Penn State is now off until it opens the 2022 portion of the schedule with a Big Ten match at Maryland on Jan. 7. The Friday night dual will be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus.

Full PSU-ASU results

The list is courtesy of Penn State Athletics:

#2 Penn State 29, #3 Arizona State 10

125: #3 Brandon Courtney ASU wins by major decision over Jake Campbell PSU, 18-7; 4-0 ASU

133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young PSU wins by decision over #14 Michael McGee ASU, 6-2; 4-3 ASU

141: #1 Nick Lee PSU wins by major decision over #15 Jesse Vasquez ASU, 14-3; 7-4 PSU

149: #22 Beau Bartlett PSU wins by decision over #5 Kyle Parco ASU, 3-1 (SV); 10-4 PSU

157: #3 Jacori Teemer ASU wins by decision over Tony Negron PSU, 8-3; 10-7 PSU

165: #6 Anthony Valencia ASU wins by decision over #26 Creighton Edsell PSU, 10-5; 10-10

174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU wins by technical fall in 4:50 over Zane Coleman ASU, 17-2; 15-10 PSU

184: #1 Aaron Brooks PSU pinned Josh Nummer ASU in 1:48; 21-10 PSU

197: #3 Max Dean PSU wins by major decision over #8 Kordell Norfleet ASU, 10-1; 25-10 PSU

285: #4 Greg Kerkvliet PSU wins by major decision over Chad Porter ASU, 9-0; 29-10 PSU