Skip to main content
penn-state logo

Penn State wrestler wins 2022 U.S. Open freestyle gold medal

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•05/02/22•

GregPickel

On3 image
The Penn State Nittany Lions were well represented at the 2022 U.S. Open freestyle wrestling tournament.

A Penn State wrestler has won a major national wrestling tournament.

Second-year Nittany Lion Alex Facundo took the 74-kilogram title at the U20 National Freestyle Championship over the weekend.

Facundo redshirted for head coach Cael Sanderson’s Nittany Lions last season. However, he is likely to slot in for the team this fall at 165 pounds. Seventy-four kilograms equates to roughly 163 pounds, so his freestyle weight is nearly equivalent to his college weight.

The event was held in Las Vegas, Nev. The Penn State wrestler won his matches in impressive fashion by scores of 11-0, 10-0, 14-4, and 8-1 to reach the semifinals. He topped South Dakota State’s Jack Thomsen 11-0 in the semis before winning the finals bout 9-0 over Northern Colorado’s Vincent Zerban. For his efforts, Facundo was selected as the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler.

Facundo is from Essexville, Mich. He came to Penn State as a four-time state champ at Davidson High School. Now, he’s added a freestyle crown to his already impressive resume. It gives the Nittany Lions even more belief that he’ll be ready to compete in blue and white as a starter during the 2022-2023 season.

How did other past, current Penn State wrestlers fare at the U.S. Open?

Facundo was not the only Penn State wrestler competing at the event.

At 57 kilograms or roughly 125 pounds, Robbie Howard reeled off an incredible eight straight victories to finish third in his weight class. He is one of the numerous Nittany Lions who will compete for the job vacated by previous starter Drew Hildebrandt, who has now graduated. The list of competitors is likely to include Gary Steen. He also wrestled in the 57-kilogram classification and finished seventh. Penn State has to feel good about its options there at this point in time.

Finally, as far as the current roster goes, Lucas Cochran finished 3-2 at 86 kilograms or roughly 190 pounds.

Moving on to former Penn State wrestlers, Jason Nolf was dominant in winning the 74-kilogram title. He beat his opponents by a combined score of 48-0 en route to a gold medal. Other Penn State Olympic RTC competitors included Josh Rodriguez, who finished 4-1 and with a silver medal at 61 kilograms, while Jenn Page-Rogers finished second in the 62-kilogram division. Rodriguez lost his senior freestyle title bout to former Lion Nico Megaludis.

Finally, Mark Hall won the 86-kilogram crown, and Vincenzo Joseph took second at 79 kilograms.

The 2022-2023 Penn State wrestling will be finalized later this year.

You may also like