Penn State wrestling notebook: Portal additions not expected; latest on 157 decision, Alex Facundo's status, and more

Penn State wrestling returns to action following a weekend off this Friday and Sunday when it hosts a pair of Big Ten foes in State College. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s top-ranked Nittany Lions will battle Michigan inside of the Bryce Jordan Center at 7 p.m. Friday before hosting Michigan State at Rec Hall at 1 p.m. Sunday.

“Michigan obviously has a very good team and Michigan State also has a very good team,” Sanderson said Tuesday.

“I mean, Michigan won by a big margin [25-10 when they met Jan. 13], but very competitive matches all the way through. Michigan State has a strong team. Both matches are going to be competitive.”

The dual with the Wolverines will air on Big Ten Network. BTN+ will stream the meeting with the Spartans.

BWI’s Thomas Frank Carr was at Sanderson’s weekly media availability outside of the Lorzeno Wrestling Complex. Here’s the latest as conference action heats up.

The jury is still out at 157 pounds

Penn State freshman Levi Haines has wrestled the program’s last four matches at 157 pounds in place of starter Terrell Barraclough. He has a perfect mark in place of his previously injured teammate and is No. 17 in the new InterMat rankings. Haines can wrestle one more time this year before the Lions must decide whether or not they will burn his redshirt.

Where do things stand entering the weekend?

“Levi still has one more match he can wrestle before the decision would need to be made there,” Sanderson said. “Obviously, the next little stretch is big for the whole team. ’57 is no exception. Lot of really good competition coming up. So, should give us a little more perspective there.”

Friday’s match will feature one of the Nittany Lions opposite 10th-ranked Wolverine Taylor Lewan, and either will be tested.

“I think it’d be interesting to see both of them in there,” Sanderson said.

“You’re talking about a top guy. I think Levi’s doing great. I also think, Terrell’s made a lot of progress. And, seeing him get someone like that would be good.”

Barraclough is no longer injured, Sanderson said. So, the decision on who will wrestle will rely more on the program’s short- and long-term outlook rather than resting on a health situation.

Facundo expected back in the Penn State lineup

Penn State redshirt freshman Alex Facundo was not in the lineup when the Lions opened the 2023 portion of their schedule with a 28-11 win at Wisconsin two weeks ago. However, the nation’s 16th-ranked 165-pounder should be back in action this weekend.

“He’s cleared and ready to roll,” Sanderson said. “He’s in here rolling right now. At this time of year, I think all up and down the lineup, people have bumps and bruises. And every team is in the same boat. So just try to make the best decisions you can for your kids and let it rip a little bit.”

Portal additions not expected

Penn State beefed up its lineup at this time a year ago with Brady Berge and Drew Hildebrandt joining the team for the spring semester. However, now that classes are underway in State College, a repeat of that occurrence is not expected. That’s so even if the team has been hit or miss, and mostly the latter, with Gary Steen at 125 pounds. That said, Sanderson and co., will remain diligent with portal entrants in case any might help the Lions now or in the future.

“I mean, it’s just like every other program,” Sanderson said. “If somebody enters a transfer portal, we’re made aware of it right away. [But, adding someone has] kind of come and gone. School started.

“We like our team, and we’re going to keep getting better. Obviously, like I said, just like every other coach, if somebody hits the portal, it’s your job and responsibility to be aware of that, right? [But], we’re set with our team.”

He said it

Sanderson, on whether or not Penn State has grown out of Rec Hall as it prepares for the first of two BJC matches this season:

“We go back and forth on that all the time. I think a lot of people like Rec Hall. And it’s a great, small, intimate environment, especially if something is happening that’s exciting. It’s also very quiet in there. We need something in the middle, probably, right? But we don’t have that. So, you just make the best with what you have. But, that’s something we discuss every year and go back and forth.

“The Jordan Center is not designed, obviously, for a wrestling match. The fans are further away than you’d like them to be. So, you put it up on stage. We’ll kind of keep playing with it going forward. We’ll see how this goes having two matches there. Obviously two premier matchups in Michigan and Iowa. Iowa sold out right away. I think Michigan has some single seats available in random spots which are hard to sell. We’ll see how it goes.”