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Penn State wrestling's first non-conference foe is out; who will the Lions face to start December?

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•08/11/23•

GregPickel

cael-sanderson-penn-state-wrestling-2023
Cael Sanderson. (Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports)

Penn State wrestling already knows who it will face during the Big Ten portion of its 2023-2024 schedule. As summer winds to a close, potential non-conference foes are starting to announce their schedules for the year ahead, as well. And, one Keystone State program which the Nittany Lions are plenty familiar with will travel to State College this winter.

Lehigh announced its 2023-2024 schedule this week. It includes a trip to Penn State. The Mountain Hawks will be in town on Sun, Dec. 3. A start time has not yet been announced. It will be shared when the Nittany Lions release the rest of their schedule later this year.

Penn State and Lehigh have met often over the years. The Lions have won 10 straight against the EIWA program and are 11-2 all-time. The two losses came in back-to-back seasons during the 2008 and 2009 slates. Last year, head coach Cael Sanderson’s team trekked to Stabler Arena and won six of 10 matches. The highlight bout featured former Lion Michael Beard taking out Max Dean 11-9 at 197 pounds.

“Max didn’t have the weekend he wanted but it’s December and it’s just little things,” Sanderson said after the match, per PennLive. “I think he’s just forcing things a little bit and he wrestled two really good guys (this weekend). Obviously, we know Beard really well. Beard’s really good and this gives Max an opportunity to reset and work on things he needs to work on.”

Despite Dean’s loss, the Lions won the match, 24-12.

“I think our guys wrestled well,” Sanderson said. again per PennLive. “Obviously it’s early and we’re still trying to figure things out.

“Big matches like this where the crowd’s into it and you’re wrestling quality opponents at every weight, it’s a blessing to see what we need to work on and where we need to go. Just like every year, it’s a process.”

Penn State 2023-2024 schedule outlook

Penn State is the favorite to defend its Big Ten regular season, postseason, and NCAA titles. The Lions return numerous All-Americans and welcomed some transfers into the mix who will compete for starting jobs.

Lehigh is the first opponent with a public date on the PSU schedule this year. But, we do know who it will wrestle during the conference part of the schedule, albeit we don’t know any dates yet. Sanderson’s side will host Rutgers, Nebraska, Indiana, and Ohio State. It will travel to  Iowa, Michigan, Maryland, and Michigan State.

Last but not least, here is BWI’s projected 2023-2024 lineup:

125 pounds: Robbie Howard OR Gary Steen

133 pounds: Aaron Nagao

141 pounds: Beau Bartlett

149 pounds: Shayne Van Ness

157 pounds: Levi Haines OR MItchell Mesenbrink

165 pounds: Alex Facundo OR Mitchell Mesenbrink

174 pounds: Carter Starocci

184 pounds: Aaron Brooks OR Bernie Truax IV

197 pounds: Aaron Brooks OR Bernie Truax IV

285 pounds: Greg Kerkvliet

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