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Penn State wrestling sends seven to semis at NCAAs with perfect session three: What we learned

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•03/17/23•

GregPickel

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Penn State wrestler Beau Bartlett.

Penn State wrestling entered the third session of the NCAA wrestling championships with a comfortable lead in the team race. It ended it with a commanding one.

The Nittany Lions have seven semifinalists and a similar number of All-Americans after a perfect quarterfinal round. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s side had easy winners (Roman Bravo-Young at 133 pounds, Carter Starocci at 174, and Aaron Brooks at 184, and Greg Kerkvliet at heavyweight) and heart-stopping thrillers (Beau Bartlett at 141, Shayne Van Ness at 149, and Levi Haines at 157) in the championship bracket. All eight wrestlers who started the day are still alive, too. Max Dean won two consolation bracket matches at 197 in session three.

All told, the method of victory was irrelevant. What was, though, is that the Penn State wrestling way was on full display from start to finish ahead of tonight’s fourth session.

Here’s what we learned.

Young guns win thrillers

Before his team left for Tulsa, Sanderson said he felt great about where his younger wrestlers were entering their first NCAA Tournament. Things did not work out for 165-pound redshirt freshman Alex Facundo, who was eliminated on Thursday. But, his classmate, 149-pounder Shayne Van Ness, and freshman Levi Haines, rolled right into the semifinals while also earning their initial All-American honors.

Van Ness found himself in a hole early against Indiana’s Graham Rooks, who led 7-3 after two periods. Van Ness, who overcame a deficit in his opener, again pounced in the third period. He scored the bout’s final seven points to win, 10-7.

As for Haines, the freshman phenom and two-seed at 157 pounds was in an almost immediate 6-0 hole opposite Bryce Andonian, the seven seed from Virginia Tech. Ever the picture of cool, calm, and collected, Haines trailed 7-6 after two periods and 8-6 early in the third. But, he was the aggressor from there. After hiking Andonian into the air and then returning him to the mat for a takedown that tied the bout, Haines cranked the Hokie over to his back and then went chest-to-chest to secure a fall at the 6:11 mark of the match. It punched his semifinals ticket, too.

Beau Bartlett is the picture of perseverance

Beau Bartlett wanted a spot in the Penn State starting lineup three years ago when he came to State College. But, superstar in Nick Lee was in his way at 141 pounds. So, the Tempe, Ariz., native bumped up to where his team needed him, which was the 149-pound weight class, for two seasons. He had more didn’t have as many good results as he would have hoped. But, he made nationals last year and learned plenty.

With Lee out of the way for the 2022-2023 season, Bartlett was able to bump back down to his proper weigh at 141. He had a strong regular season and then finished this at Big Tens. That earned him the sixth seed at nationals. A pair of decision wins set up a quarterfinal with three-seed Cole Matthews of Pittsburgh. A fantastic bout for seven minutes plus sudden victory, it ultimately went to tiebreaker tied at one.

The Panther rode out Bartlett in the first 30-second window and then picked neutral for the other one. It meant that, without a Bartlett takedown, Matthews would win, 2-1. Bartlett hustled off the open whistle, was the aggressor, and eventually converted a single leg shot into a double leg takedown with one second left to win, 3-1, and become a first-time All-American and semifinalist.

It may be cliche, but there’s no question that Bartlett’s past perseverance helped lead him to victory in session three today.

Dean keeps his tournament alive

With a pair of consolation victories, first over Gavin Hoffman of Ohio State and then over Tanner Harvey of Oregon State, 197-pound Penn State wrestler Max Dean is alive still for All-American honors. He’ll wrestle Jaxon Smith of Maryland for the right to hit the podium.

Updated team scores

The Lions have a commanding lead, but haven’t clinched yet. Here’s the rundown:

Penn State 78 points

Iowa 48 points

Cornell: 45.5 points

Nebraska: 45 points

Michigan 39 points

Full session three results for Penn State

All matches were quarterfinal bouts unless otherwise noted:

125 pounds: No competitor

133 pounds: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State d. No. 8 Aaron Nagao, Minnesota, 4-1

141 pounds: No. 6 Beau Bartlett, PSU d. No. 3 Cole Matthews, Pitt, 3-1 (tiebreaker)

149 pounds: No. 12 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State d. No. 20 Graham Rooks, Indiana, 10-7

157 pounds: No. 2 Levi Haines, PSU WBF over No. 7 Bryce Andonian, Virginia Tech, 6:11

165 pounds: No competitor

174 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State d. No. 8 Bailee O’Reilly, Minnesota, 5-2

184 pounds: No. 3 Aaron Brooks, PSU d. No. 6 Kaleb Romero, Ohio State, 4-1

197 pounds: No. 9 Max Dean, Penn State d. No. 26 Gavin Hoffman, Ohio State, 6-0 (consolation second round)

197 pounds: No. 9 Max Dean, PSU d. No. 18 Tanner Harvey, Oregon State, 10-5 (consolation third round)

285 pounds: No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU vs. No. 11 Trent Hillger, Wisconsin

First Friday night (session four) match for each Penn State wrestler

All bouts are semifinal matches unless otherwise noted. The action starts at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

All matches are quarterfinals unless otherwise noted:

125 pounds: No competitor

133 pounds: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State vs. No. 4 Michael McGee, Arizona State

141 pounds: No. 6 Beau Bartlett, PSU vs. No. 2 Andrew Alirez, Northern Colorado

149 pounds: No. 12 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State vs. No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis, Cornell

157 pounds: No. 2 Levi Haines, PSU vs. No. 3 Peyton Robb, Nebraska

165 pounds: No competitor

174 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State vs. No. 4 Chris Foca, Cornell

184 pounds: No. 3 Aaron Brooks, PSU vs. No. 2 Trent Hidlay, North Carolina State

197 pounds: No. 9 Max Dean, Penn State vs. No. 11 Jaxon Smith, Maryland (consolation fourth round)

285 pounds: No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU vs. No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force

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