Penn State wrestling turns attention to 2 big matches; Cael Sanderson talks Brady Berge's first win of season: Notebook

Penn State wrestling is 11-0. It will put that unbeaten mark on the line with a pair of road matches this weekend.

Head coach Cael Sanderson’s team faces Michigan first. The No. 1 Lions and No.3 Wolverines meet Friday night in Ann Arbor. Ranked bouts will be seen up and down the lineups of the two Big Ten powers.

Sanderson addressed the week ahead, Brady Berge’s first win since returning to the Lions, and more during his weekly ZOOM news conference with reporters. Here are the highlights.

An early look at a big weekend for Penn State

Per the usual, Sanderson’s team is focused on being the best version of itself instead of wrestling up or down to its competition. But, there must be a little added excitement in the air ahead of such a big match with Michigan. It will air at 6 p.m. ET Friday on Big Ten Network. Many are hoping to get a true sense of where Penn State is with its lineup as the calendar creeps closer to the postseason.

“I think everyone knows Michigan is one of the very best teams in the country,” Sanderson said. “That’s no secret. Every weekend is a test. Are we making progress as we move along? Every week, different kids have to step up. You have guys out with COVID, out with the flu, and there’s just a lot of challenges It’s the same for everybody.

“You’re competing in circumstances where you just need whoever is in your lineup’s best effort. Michigan is a well-coached team. They have two Olympians on their roster. We’re excited about the opportunity.”

Those Olympians, of course, are 184-pounder Myles Amine (No. 2) and 141-pounder Steve Micic (No. 4). They are scheduled to face top-ranked Penn State wrestlers Aaron Brooks and Nick Lee, respectively.

“I believe we have a super talented team,” Brooks said Tuesday. “We’re hitting our strides. I think this is a good time for us.

“These Big Ten duals, we’ve been getting a lot of good matchups. I think the team is coming together, not just wrestling-wise, but chemistry, bonds, and those kinds of things, which, I think is what really makes a championship team.”

After meeting Michigan, Penn State travels to Michigan State for a 1 p.m. ET match on Sunday. It will be streamed on BTN+. BWI will have a full preview later this week.

Sanderson talks Berge’s first match back

Brady Berge kicked off his Penn State return with a win last weekend.

Berge wrestled at 165 pounds and topped Rutgers’ Andrew Clark, 5-1. It continues to be unclear whether the program’s longterm plan is to keep Berge at that weight or perhaps drop him down to 157 pounds. That’s where he wrestled prior to medically retiring last April due to concussions.

“He hit some really nice shots,” Sanderson said. “He hasn’t competed in almost a year, and he’s wrestling a weight higher than he was, but I think he just needed to get out on the mat and let it go. It’s mid-January now. Two months, we’ll be at the tournament. It was getting him out there and getting him started. He’s a great wrestler with great technique. Hopefully, he can approach things with a really healthy perspective knowing that he jumped into coaching and saw that life goes on whether you’re an NCAA champ or not. That can free you up to let it rip a little bit.

“He’s an all-around awesome person. He just needs to compete. Every match, I would expect him to get a little bit more comfortable, but he looked fine, and his conditioning looked fine.”

*All rankings courtesy of InterMat as of Tuesday morning.