Penn State wrestling tops Iowa State 22-12 to finish Collegiate Wrestling Duals perfect: Three takeaways from the win

No. 1 Penn State wrestling has notched its 35th consecutive dual meet victory and will finish the 2022 portion of its schedule perfect after beating No. 5 Iowa State 22-12 on Tuesday during the blue pool finals at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in New Orleans.

“You have to make sure that, while you’re in the moment, you have to make sure you’re blinking to take all these moments in,” 174-pounder Carter Starocci told the Penn State Sports Network.

It was not a perfect night for head coach Cael Sanderson’s team despite the 10-point victory. The Lions did win five bouts and also received a forfeit at heavyweight to reach the final margin of victory.

Here are our three takeaways from the final Lions match of the two-day event.

1. Van Ness, Facundo, will learn from their setbacks Tuesday night

Penn State’s redshirt freshman phenom both lost to higher-ranked wrestlers on Tuesday. But, each will be better for it down the road.

At 149 pounds, No. 17 Shayne Van Ness wrestled a terrific match against No. 5 Paniro Johnson in defeat. The Nittany Lion escaped from the bottom position to lead 1-0 after two periods. However, in the third and final, Johnson escaped and then countered a ‘SVN’ shot for a takedown and a 3-1 lead. Van Ness would escape but ultimately drop a 3-2 decision. He was aggressive throughout the contest.

Then, at 165 pounds, No. 14 Alex Facundo fell No. 3 David Carr of Iowa State. The Lion was down 2-1 after one and 3-1 after two. He did muster a third period escape but with riding time, Carr took a 4-2 decision.

“If I were those guys, I would look at it as a confidence booster,” Starocci told the Penn State Sports Network. “I wouldn’t even call them freshmen. I think they’re just young adults with how they handle themselves. These guys will have a lot of success in wrestling and outside of wrestling.”

2. Brooks drops his first match of the year

There was one major upset during the Penn State-Iowa State match. At 184 pounds, Iowa State’s Marcus Coleman, who is ranked No. 4 by InterMat, topped two-time NCAA champ and top-ranked Aaron Brooks in a wildly entertaining bout. The Lion led 3-0 after an early second period escape. But, Coleman threw Brooks from his feet to his back for a takedown and four nearfall points to gain a 6-3 lead. Brooks cut Coleman to star the third period, scored a takedown to pull within 7-5, but then suffered a reversal to give the Cyclone a 9-5 lead. The Penn State wrestler would score another third period takedown but ultimately drop the match by decision, 9-7.

YOOOOO. Marcus Coleman knocks off #1 Aaron Brooks 9-7 at 184 pounds. Marcus took AB feet-to-back for 2 + 4 in the second. Bonkers sequence. Survived a flurry from AB in the third to win it. pic.twitter.com/AfmTmz7wrn

— Cody Goodwin (@codygoodwin) December 21, 2022

It goes without saying that Brooks is still the favorite to win his third NCAA crown. But, this defeat will give both him and the Penn State coaching staff good tape to look at when looking at ways to improve heading into the 2023 portion of the schedule. And, fans undoubtedly enjoyed the match on both sides, even if those apart of ‘Nittany Nation’ would have preferred a Brooks win, of course. It was one of the best bouts of the two-day tournament.

3. Odds and ends

–Levi Haines again wrestled for Penn State at 157 pounds. He competed in all three Lions bouts in New Orleans. On Tuesday night, he beat Jason Kraisser by decision, 10-3.

–In a marquee battle at 197 pounds, No. 5 Max Dean continued his bounce back from a pair of losses earlier this month. The defending NCAA champ topped No. 2 Yonger Bastida 4-1. He secured 1:02 in riding time and had the only takedown in the bout. It was a quality win for the senior.

–Penn State returns to the mat after Christmas break on Jan. 6. It faces Wisconsin on the road to open Big Ten competition. It is the Lions’ only match that weekend.

Here are the compete Penn State-Iowa State results courtesy of Penn State Athletics:

125: Corey Cabanban ISU dec. Gary Steen PSU, 4-0                                                        0-3 (ISU)
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young PSU maj. dec. #21 Ramazan Attasauov ISU, 10-2       4-3 (PSU)
141: #5 Beau Bartlett PSU dec. Zach Redding ISU, 8-3                                                    7-3 (PSU)
149: #5 Paniro Johnson ISU dec. #17 Shayne Van Ness PSU, 3-2                                 7-6 (PSU)
157: Levi Haines PSU dec. Jason Kraisser ISU, 8-3                                                           10-6 (PSU)
165: #3 David Carr dec. #14 Alex Facundo PSU, 4-2                                                        10-9 (PSU)
174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU dec. #21 Julien Broderson ISU, 5-1                                   13-9 (PSU)
184: #4 Marcus Coleman ISU dec. #1 Aaron Brooks PSU, 9-7                                       13-12 (PSU)
197: #5 Max Dean PSU dec. #2 Yonger Bastida ISU, 4-1                                                 16-12 (PSU)
285: #1 Greg Kerkvliet PSU win by forfeit                                                                          22-12 (PSU)
Extra matches (official NCAA bouts – do not count in dual score):
174: Konner Kraeszig PSU pinned Joel Devine ISU, WBF (6:33)