By Herb Yost
Yes, it was a rainy cold day here in Happy Valley, but at least the rain had stopped by the time we headed home to the Graystone Cottages near Spruce Creek. If you weren’t there, and didn’t watch the event on Flo, keep checking Youtube. You will probably be able to see most of the matches. It really felt good to be back in Rec Hall for Penn State wrestling. Officially, it wasn’t really a PSU home meet, but it sure felt that way. I couldn’t find an attendance figure for the event, Rec Hall wasn’t filled, but I’m guessing maybe 4,000 mostly PSU fans were loud and proud.
Penn State originally had 6 wrestlers competing, but Levi Haines withdrew, when his opponent withdrew due to injuries. As far as I can find out, and that’s not very far, Levi is good to go. We should see him wrestle in our first dual meet with Lehigh.
If this was a Penn State dual, with some of the best opponents from the other teams in the country, the Lions would have won the dual by a 16-15 score. I’m omitting the 157 match because the two wrestlers who competed were not division one wrestlers. The five matches without a Penn Stater were all decisions for the winners. In the five Penn State matches the LIons had three bonus point wins, two majors, and a tech fall. I am beginning to become a big fan of the three point takedown. Our friend Brian Snyder was sitting directly behind us, and I think we were both guilty of hollowering two, two, a couple of times. Let me run through the matches and just make a few comments.
125: #4 Matt Ramos, Purdue dec. #1 Anthony Noto, Lock Haven 8-2
Noto made the same mistake that Spencer Lee made last year in the NCAA championships. He tried to force a pin and Ramos caught him and pinned him instead. If these two meet again, I look for a different outcome. Noto should still be ranked #1 since these matches are not supposed to count on their records or their rankings. Having said that, everyone who is doing rankings is well aware of the results of the All-Star matches, so you know!
133: Unranked Connor McGonagle, Lehigh dec. #5 Sam Latona, Virginia Tech, 7-5 TB
Not only is Connor unranked, he is not listed as the starter for Lehigh. His college record to date is 42-28. When Lehigh comes to Rec Hall in December, we should see Ryan Crookham (8-0) wrestling at 133. Ryan is the same guy who has beaten Cornell’s Vitali Arujau. I’m really looking forward to seeing how our Aaron Nagao fares against Crookham.
141: #3 Lachlan McNeil, N. Carolina dec #9 Josh Koderhandt, Navy, 4-2
As the score would indicate, this was a close match, and could have gone either way. I guess you could say it ended up the way the rankings might have indicated it would.
149: #2 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, dec. #3 Kyle Parco, Arizona State, 5-1
SVN did what he does in every match. Shayne constantly, and I mean constantly, moved forward and pushed the action. He is a fun guy to watch wrestle. Quick, strong, and tough as nails. I thought Parco should have been called for stalling, he spent the entire match backing up. Stalling is one of those things that is so subjective, and it seems most officials are reluctant to call it. Of course in Rec Hall, stalling, stalling, stalling is the call from the stands.
157: #2(DIII) Nolan Heartel, UM-Lacrosse dec #1(II) Nick Novak, St. Cloud State, 3-1 TB2
To be honest I don’t pay much attention to Division II and III wrestling. Some of the ranking services had Heartel ranked #1 at this weight. Not a single takedown, and only 1 reversal and it didn’t happen until the very end of the match.
165: #6 Izzak Olejnik, Okie State, dec #4 Dean Hamiti, Wisc, 8-2
This match was a lot closer than the final score would indicate. Of course I was cheering for Hamiti, he is a lot of fun to watch wrestle. He definitely was the aggressor through most of the match. I was cheering for him, you know a Big Ten guy against “mighty” Oklahoma State. If they meet again, my money is on Hamiti.
174: #1 Carter Starocci, PSU, Maj dec #2 Meki Lewis, Virginia Tech, 11-0
In this case I would have to say the score indicated the way the bout went. Carter has said numerous times that he wants to make sure that guys really don’t want to wrestle him again. I’m thinking that must have been what Meki was thinking on his way back to Tech. I hope that Donnell Washington (Indiana) and Gabe Arnold (Iowa) were watching this match.
184: #1 Parker Keckeisen, N. Iowa dec #2 Bernie Truax PSU, 7-5
Bernie got a quick takedown at the beginning of the match, but only managed two escapes after that. I’m interested in seeing what kind of season Bernie puts together this year. Bernie led three to two after two periods. However late in the match Bernie gave up a stalling point and a late takedown. Bernie is a a nice addition to our team.
197: #1 Aaron Brooks, PSU, Maj dec #2 Tanner Sloan, S. Dakota State, 11-2
Anyone who was concerned that Aaron might have a little problem going up to 197, should not be concerned. He is just fine at 197. Considering that Sloan was ranked #2, I’m thinking that Trent Hidlay (NC State) is a bigger challenge for Aaron. Some ranking services have Hidlay ranked at #2. I say, bring them on, smooth, smooth Aaron is up to the challenge. I really like watching Aaron wrestle. I’m so glad he wears a Blue-White singlet.
285: #1 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, Teched #2 Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force, 18-2
Captain Kerk came out smoking hot, and had a takedown and back points before Hendrickson even knew what hit him. To be fair Wyatt seemed to be injured in the exchange, but gamely wrestled the rest of the match. Hendrickson is a dangerous foe and has pinned a lot of his opponents. Do I think a repeat match would end the same way this one did, my answer would be definitely not. But by the same token, I still think Greg has Wyatt’s number and would win again.
IN CONCLUSION:
I think every Penn State wrestling fan should be thrilled with last night’s All-Star results. Sure we lost one match, but we won four matches against formidable opponents. There isn’t a fan base in the country who wouldn’t happily take those results. I know it’s really early in the season, but barring the unexpected things, like injuries and illnesses, I’m looking for 10 All Americans in the NCAA Championships Again, great results, but we did have a home mat advantage, and almost 4,000 cheering Penn State fans to help the cause.
WE ARE PENN STATE – WRESTLING LIVES AND THRIVES HERE!!!!!
O&O:HH
