Penn State wrestling land commitments from star brothers Erik Gibson and Mason Gibson
Penn State wrestling has received two major commitments. The Lions landed brothers Erik and Mason Gibson on Saturday.
Erik signed a National Letter of Intent to wrestle for Cornell last December. However, it’s unclear if he ever actually joined the Big Red. Either way, his time there is now over. It is unclear, though, when he could start competing with the Nittany Lions. He projects as a 157-pound wrestler in college. It’s a weight Penn State currently has Terrell Barraclough starting at, with star freshman Levi Haines waiting in the wings.
Erik Gibson did not wrestle during his final two high school seasons at Bishop McCort due to a postseason ban the school received. But, he’s highly decorated, having been a two-time PIAA state place winner and also a U.S. Marines Corps Junior National All-American in Greco Roman and freestyle.
“After a ton of tough decisions I have decided to conclude my time up in Ithaca and flip my commitment to Penn State University,” Erik Gibson wrote on Twitter. “Shoutout to everyone who has helped me get to where I am today. None of this would be possible without y’all.”
Mason Gibson is one of the most sought-after Class of 2024 recruits in the country. He was previously verbally committed to Cornell. He was a five-time Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling champion and won the prestigious Super 32 tournament as an eighth grader. Later, he finished second at the 2021 PIAA state championships at 120 pounds. Penn State will likely slot him at 133 pounds in college. FloWrestling calls him the No. 30 pound-for-pound wrestler in the country regardless of year. And, he ranks No. 3 at 126 pounds per the same outlet.
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“love it or hate it – i’m staying home,” Mason Gibson wrote on Twitter.
Penn State has stacked Class of 2024
Both commitments are big wins for Penn State. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s team already has commitments in the Class of 2024 from New York 182-pounder Zack Ryder and Florida 160-pounder Joseph Sealey, who rank seventh and 13th, respectively, in Flo’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Moving forward
The Lions are back in action this weekend at the Black Knight Invitational. Fifteen Penn State wrestlers will be at the Sunday tournament. Then, next Tuesday. three Lions, Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks, and Greg Kerkvliet, will compete in the NWCA All-Star match in Austin, Tex. Those matches do not count against any of the competitor’s college record but will be impactful.
“I think if you’re a competitor, every match is the same, whether it counts or not,” head coach Cael Sanderson said. “I mean, it always counts, right? As we’ve seen in the past, the coaches use these matches for seeding of the national tournament. They did that to Mark Hall a couple of years back.
“The people going are competitors. Everyone’s a competitor. I think it’s about growth, and, you know, win or lose, we’re going to get better and figure things out and make progress in all areas. It should be great. We’re excited to go. High level matches. So, it’s exciting.”
