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Penn State wrestling preps for Senior Day, Shayne Van Ness named Big Ten wrestler of the week, and the latest rankings

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•02/15/23•

GregPickel

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Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson. (Althouse/BWI)

Penn State wrestling hosts its final dual meet of the regular season on Sunday. The Nittany Lions will celebrate Senior Day when Clarion visits for a 1 p.m. matchup at Rec Hall. It will be televised by BTN+.

A list of participants for the festivities was not released as of Wednesday. However, don’t expect to see forced lineup changes to get a reserve upperclassman on the mat during his final match in State College.

“It’s up to the starters, I would say,” head coach Cael Sanderson said Tuesday. “You want to throw the seniors out there if you have the chance but unfortunately, that’s not really how it works. We’re getting ready for the national tournament. That’s our focus and our purpose. If it works for a senior, great, and if not, that’s kind of how it goes. We love our seniors. But at this point, it’s about preparation for the national tournament.”

Penn State will head to nationals only after it wraps things up with Clarion and then competes in the Big Ten tournament March 4-5 in Ann Arbor, Mich., of course. However, this final regular season dual has frequently featured an in-state opponent who the Lions roll over in a final tune-up for the postseason. This year is no different. The Eagles bring just one ranked wrestler, Will Feldkamp, who is No. 21 at 184 pounds, to town. The home team will be a heavy favorite to win its 16th dual meet of the regular season after clinching a Big Ten regular season title last weekend.

“The season always comes and goes quickly, right?” Sanderson said, per PennLive. “I mean, we’ll be standing here next year before you know it, and the year after that, so I don’t want to say the pressure is ramping up,” 

“I think we’re getting excited. But it’s more about consistency. We don’t get too high or too low or whatever. It’s just you do your best every day and things tend to work out.

Lions wrestler earns weekly conference honor

Penn State wrestler Shayne Van Ness is the Big Ten’s wrestler of the week. The 149-pound redshirt freshman beat Rutgers’ Tony White by major decision, 21-9, last Friday. Then, he pummeled Maryland’s 18th-ranked Ethan Miller by technical fall, 19-4. He amassed 10 takedowns over the two bouts.

Where is Penn State in the latest rankings?

InterMat released its latest rankings for the week of Feb. 13 on Tuesday. Here’s where the Lions stand now (the number in parenthesis indicates where each wrestler was last week):

125 pounds: Gary Steen, Not ranked (Last week: Not ranked)

133 pounds: Roman Bravo-Young, No. 1 (1)

141 pounds: Beau Bartlett, No. 5 (6)

149 pounds: Shayne Van Ness, No. 13 (13)

157 pounds:  Levi Haines, No. 8 (8)

165 pounds: Alex Facundo, No. 9 (9)

174 pounds: Carter Starocci, No. 1 (1)

184 pounds: Aaron Brooks, No. 1 (1)

197 pounds: Max Dean, No. 3 (3)

285 pounds: Greg Kerkvliet, No. 2 (2)

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