No. 1 Penn State wrestlers rally to beat No. 2 Iowa

STATE COLLEGE — As Max Dean turned Jacob Warner onto the mat in the middle of the Bryce Jordan Center, fans packed into the 16,000-seat area stood in unison. Their cheers grew louder as the seconds in the third period fell away before Dean ultimately won the 2-0 decision with riding time at 197 pounds.

Dean’s late win was enough to secure No. 1 Penn State’s 23-14 victory against No. 2 Iowa on Friday in front of a sellout crowd of 15,998.

“(Iowa is) a tough team, a well-coached team,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “They were ready to go. … I think we wrestled fine. I think we’ll keep getting better as the season goes on. That’s always the plan. These guys did a nice job.”

No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet preserved the Nittany Lions’ lead a bout later with a 4-1 decision against No. 3 Tony Cassioppi. The Nittany Lions heavyweight recorded a takedown in the first period before adding an escape point in the third and earned a riding time point.

Penn State accumulated 16 takedowns to Iowa’s two.

Marco Vespa wrestled in place of Gary Steen against Iowa’s top-ranked Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) at 125 pounds. Vespa tallied an early takedown to go up 2-0 before Lee settled in. Iowa’s three-time national champion gave the Hawkeyes their first bout win, 18-2 by technical fall in 2 minutes, 14 seconds.

“Gary was a little banged up from last week,” Sanderson explained.

No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young gave the Nittany Lions their first pin of the dual just two bouts in. After accumulating four takedowns, the two-time national champion pinned No. 17 Brody Teske in 6:46.

Iowa’s Real Woods (No. 2) used a takedown and an escape point to win a 4-1 decision against No. 4 Beau Bartlett with riding time at 141 pounds. Iowa won consecutive bouts for the first time during the dual when Central Cambria alumnus Max Murin (No. 7) won a 4-1 decision with riding time against No. 13 Shayne Van Ness.

After questions this week regarding the status of Levi Haines’ usage about burning his redshirt, the freshman took the mat at 157 pounds against No. 15 Cobe Siebrecht. The ninth-ranked Haines recorded an escape point in the second period before he and Siebrecht found themselves knotted at one in the third. Haines used a takedown in the third period to win a 3-2 decision that snapped the Nittany Lions’ two-bout skid.

“The more he wrestles, the better he gets,” Penn State’s Aaron Brooks said of Haines. “It’s been exciting making sure he’s good spiritually, mentally and physically.”

Penn State’s Alex Facundo saw his second sudden-victory outcome in as many weeks as he and Iowa’s No. 13 Patrick Kennedy finished 1-1 after three periods at 165 pounds. Kennedy tallied an escape point to earn the 2-1 tiebreaker decision, which gave the Hawkeyes a five-point advantage.

Top-ranked Carter Starocci won a 2-1 decision with riding time against Iowa’s No. 13 Nelson Brands.

No. 1-ranked Brooks kept his stronghold at 184 pounds intact after he won 22-7 by technical fall in 5:44 against Drake Rhodes. Brooks accumulated a dual-best nine takedowns against Rhodes. Brooks’ win gave the Nittany Lions the five points to overtake the Hawkeyes with two bouts remaining.

The win improved Penn State’s dual win streak to 39 matches. The Nittany Lions last suffered a loss Jan. 31, 2020, at Iowa.

Friday’s dual win also marked Sanderson’s 100th in the Big Ten as Penn State’s coach.

“I’ve been here a long time is what it means,” Sanderson said of the milestone. “I don’t do a whole lot of work. I’m sitting there watching. I didn’t know it was anywhere near that. But it’s not a goal of mine or something that we really focus on. Just go out and compete well, and move on to the next one.”

Penn State is at No. 5 Ohio State at 7 p.m. Friday.