Penn State wrestling December superlatives: Biggest stars, a bold prediction, and more

The Penn State wrestling team is perfect at the end of the 2022 portion of its schedule after the Lions swept three matches at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in New Orleans last week.

Head coach Cael Sanderson’s team took out Central Michigan, North Carolina, and No. 5 Iowa State at the two-day dual meet tournament to win the event’s blue pool. It is now 7-0 (with wins over Rider, Lehigh, and Oregon State also coming in December) and returns to action on Jan. 6 at Wisconsin to open its Big Ten and 2023 slate.

See Blue-White Illustrated’s superlatives from a strong December for the Lions below.

Three stars

Greg Kerkvliet | Jr. | HWT

Penn State has the nation’s top-ranked heavyweight in Kerkvliet as the 2023 portion of the schedule readies to begin. He is 4-0 on the year in addition to a massive exhibition win over Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi, who is ranked No. 3 by InterMat, at the NWCA All-Star Classic.

Kerkvliet has torn through his December foes. He beat Rider’s David Szuba by major decision, 11-1, before back-to-back technical fall wins over ranked Lehigh grappler Nathan Taylor (18-0 in four minutes, one second) and Oregon State’s J.J. Dixon (18-2 in six minutes, eight seconds). Then, at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals, he received a forfeit win and also beat Tar Heel Brandon Whitman by technical fall, 17-1, in 4:27.

Beau Bartlett | Jr. | 141

Bartlett has the highest ranking of his career to end the 2022 portion of the schedule. He is No. 5, according to InterMat, and No. 4 per FloWrestling.

The weight drop from 149 to 141 has worked wonders for both Bartlett’s offensive abilities and overall confidence. Now 11-0 overall, he beat Rider’s McKenzie Bell by fall in 6:08 before beating ranked Lehigh wrestler Malkyle Hines, 8-4, and topping Oregon State’s Cleveland Belton, who is ranked inside the top 30, by decision 5-3. In New Orleans, the Penn State wrestler beat ranked North Carolina grappler Lachlan McNeil by decision and also picked up a fall against Central Michigan and a decision versus Iowa State to sweep his foes there in impressive fashion.

Shayne Van Ness | So. | 149

Shayne Van Ness, or ‘SVN’ as he’s known commonly by fans and those within the Lions wrestling room, recorded a pair of ranked wins in December. He took out No. 23 Quinn Kider of Rider by decision, 11-6. After that, he beat No. 33 Manzona Bryant IV by fall in 2:28. He later knocked out Oregon State’s Noah Tolantino 6-1.

Van Ness then impressed at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals. He was the aggressor in a 3-2 loss to fifth-ranked Iowa State grappler Paniero Johnson. And, he pinned No. 20 Johnny Lovett of Central Michigan in the second period. Against North Carolina, the second-year Penn State wrestler scored a decision win. He is now 9-1.

Key moment for Penn State wrestling in December

Let’s focus on the bounce back for Max Dean. The defending champion at 197 pounds lost his first two bouts of December. He fell to No. 8 Ethan Lair of Rider 3-1 in sudden victory. Then, he was clipped by former Lion Michael Beard, who is now No. 4, 11-9 in the Lehigh match.

Dean didn’t let those setbacks create a third, however. He returned to form to convincingly beat Oregon State’s tenth-ranked Tanner Harvey by a 6-3 count at Rec Hall. Then, in New Orleans, he beat No. 2 Yonger Bastida of Iowa State 4-1 while scoring a fall in the Central Michigan match and a decision opposite the Chippewas.

All were much-needed wins for Dean. He might be back atop the rankings again soon.

A Lion to spotlight

We’re going to combine two matches into one to spotlight an unheralded Nittany Lion.

With defending 184-pound champ Aaron Brooks out of the lineup for two of the Lions’ first three matches in early December, veteran Donovan Ball stepped in. And, he made sure the Penn State lineup didn’t miss a beat. He beat Asa Terrell of RIder 9-3 before turning around and topping Oregon State’s Jackson McKinney 3-1.

Ball has been a vital member of the program, even if he doesn’t have a starting job. He has long been a postseason training partner for other Lions and has stepped into dual matches and wrestled well on short notice throughout his career. It’s why we’re spotlighting him this month.

Bold prediction for Penn State wrestling moving forward

The biggest decision Cael Sanderson has to make in the new year comes at 157 pounds. Penn State put true freshman Levi Haines on the mat for three matches in New Orleans. He won two by decision and also picked up a fall. Is that enough for the Lions to decide that it is time to burn his redshirt? It would mean replacing Terrell Barraclough in the starting lineup, of course.

It’s a challenging decision. Haines looked good against fine competition. But, many wrestlers, like Shayne Van Ness and Alex Facundo this year, have benefitted from getting mat time as freshmen but not competing enough to lose a year of eligibility. Our prediction is that, at least for now, Penn State will stick with Barraclough as its starter despite Haines’ recent success.