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freshmen enter the room and find an elite level of competition they haven't seen before. Berge admitted that he has taken his lumps facing the likes of Zain Rether- ford, a recently graduated three-time NCAA champion, and two-time champs Jason Nolf and Vincenzo Joseph. "When you wrestle Zain and Nolf and then you go wrestle these [Nittany Lion Wrestling Club] guys like Franklin Gomez and David Taylor and you wrestle Cenzo [Joseph] and Mark [Hall, a two-time NCAA finalist], you get beat up," he said. "It teaches you a lot and you grow from it. I've done that. I'm continuing to im- prove. There are still days now when I take a licking from Zain." That redshirt season is labeled as expe- rience, and while it might be a painful ex- perience, it's invaluable experience, especially when he can prevail against other teammates. "Any day like that is satisfying because you feel like you took a huge step, espe- cially when you came in and put the smack down on somebody," Berge said. "The redshirt year was big," he added. "Not only the competition, but being able to grow mentally and being able to handle the grind of a season and wrestling the kind of competition I do every day in the room. That was huge. Now I know what to expect and I'm ready to compete." Berge said he was thrilled to watch Tay- lor, a four-time finalist and two-time champion for Penn State, win his Senior World title in October. "You love to watch David compete be- cause he competes with such enthusiasm," he said. "He competes hard. You want to emulate that. When you see how hard he trains in here and you train with him and see what he's doing, you want to do it, too." With success in the Keystone Open and against any other teammates in his way, he might be able to do just that. And he'll be managing the weight cut to 149 only for this season, because Nolf is a senior and will vacate his spot at 157 pounds. That prompted a smile from Berge. "Yeah, that's the plan. I'll probably go up next year," he said. ■ the mindset as well to be successful. He'll be a lot of fun to watch. "He'll be one of those guys, and you would like to have 10 of those guys, but people won't want to leave their seat because he's pretty special." Penn State wrestlers under Sander- son are known for their point-scoring prowess, and even Bravo-Young says he mirrors that style. "I just have a fun style," he said. "I just go for it. I'm really fast. I just enjoy myself, score points and don't worry about winning or losing, and just like Cael says, have fun." Bravo-Young and Penn State junior Mark Hall, a two-time NCAA finalist, have been friends for a few years, and Hall can't wait to watch him. "Oh, he's a beast," Hall said. "I think he'll do really well this year. He's looked really good in the room. And he's a gamer, he'll be just fine. He'll do a good job for sure." Penn State will host Arizona State on Dec. 14, and Bravo-Young's family is coming, he said. They'll have to brave the potentially chilling East Coast weather for just one weekend; Bravo-Young is now dealing with it daily. "It's pretty cold, but my mom got me some jackets and I got some boots and stuff," he said. "You just have to get used to it." Teammate Shakur Rasheed, who this season will wrestle at 184 pounds for the Nittany Lions, said Penn State fans will get used to Bravo-Young in a hurry. "They're going to see another super- star," Rasheed said. "Just wait and watch, just wait and watch. "It's hard to explain it but you can blink and the kid might be behind the opponent. Just wait and watch; there's another superstar coming on our team." – J.C. Nittany Lions thrash Kent State to begin season Top-ranked Penn State opened its season with a 52-3 win over No. 24 Kent State on Nov. 11 at a sold-out Rec Hall. Seven Nittany Lion wrestlers recorded pins, including two falls by wrestlers who were making their dual meet debuts. It was the 46th consecutive dual meet victory for Penn State, a streak that dates back to the end of the 2014-15 season. The wrestlers who won by fall were Roman Bravo-Young at 133, Jarod Verkleeren at 149, Jason Nolf at 157, Vincenzo Joseph at 165, Mark Hall at 174, Shakur Rasheed at 184 and Bo Nickal at 197. Bravo-Young, a true freshman, was making his col- legiate debut, while Verkleeren, a redshirt freshman, was wrestling in his first dual meet for the Nittany Lions. Nickal, ranked No. 1 at his new weight, rolled up four first-period takedowns before pinning Shane Mast at 2 minutes, 6 seconds. It was the Nittany Lions' seventh pin of the dual and their fourth in the first pe- riod. The pin was also the 42nd of Nickal's career, a total that ranks sixth all-time at Penn State. The Lions posted a 31-4 takedown advantage against Kent State. All nine of their wins were for bonus points, with Nick Lee (141) and An- thony Cassar (285) both earning tech falls. Their only loss was at 125, where Kent State's Jake Ferri earned a 12-8 decision over Devin Schnupp. The dual was wrestled in front of 6,496 fans, Penn State's 42nd con- secutive Rec Hall sellout. The Nit- tany Lions have wrestled in front of sellouts in 46 of their past 48 home events. ■

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