Penn State Nears Another Big Ten Wrestling Title

The Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling team can clinch the Big Ten regular-season wrestling title with a win over Maryland.

Penn State can clinch yet another Big Ten regular-season wrestling title Sunday when it hosts Maryland at Rec Hall to close the conference dual-meet season.

The Lions on Friday rolled past Rutgers 33-8, scoring bonus points in seven of their eight victories to set Sunday's homecoming stage. If Penn State (14-0, 7-0) defeats Maryland, the team will complete a seventh undefeated Big Ten season under head coach Cael Sanderson.

Penn State, the nation's top-ranked team according to InterMat Wrestling, also can win its ninth Big Ten regular-season title (outright or co-) since the 2012 season. Over the past eight seasons, Penn State is 65-1 in Big Ten dual meets, losing only to Iowa in the 2019-20 season.

A few takeaways from the match at Rutgers.

Host Rutgers won the match's first two bouts, though Penn State did not wrestle national champ Roman Bravo-Young at 133 pounds. The top-ranked Bravo-Young likely was resting for Sunday's home finale.

The middle weights looked strong in putting together a series of major decisions. Beau Bartlett (141), Shayne Van Ness (149) and Alex Facundo (165) combined to score 58 points.

Freshman Levi Haines (157) continues to be an interesting wrestler to watch. Ranked eighth nationally according to InterMat, Haines decisioned Rutgers' Andrew Clark 8-2. Haines' weight class will be among the most open-ended of the postseason, and he's positioning himself for a deep run.

Penn State's heavyweights rolled, with all four rounding into postseason form. Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (184), Max Dean (197) and heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet all scored bonus-point victories. Kerkvliet was especially impressive, finishing a first-period 16-0 technical fall in just 2:06.

Penn State returns to Rec Hall on Sunday to host Maryland for its final Big Ten match of the season. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET and will be streamed on BTN+.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.