Blue White Illustrated

Lions, comparing at least on paper to the Class of 2014. Ranked No. 2 behind Ohio State, the class is already getting results, as Roman Bravo-Young is excelling as the starter at 133. The Lions were expecting immediate production from either four-time Penn- sylvania champ Gavin Teasdale or four- time Iowa champ Brody Teske at 125, but Teasdale is dealing with some personal issues and is expected to return to school, while the coaches want Teske to bulk up a bit. That's just the beginning of expecta- tions from that class. California heavy- weight champ Seth Nevills, Cadet national champ Joe Lee (projects at 165) – brother of current starter Nick Lee – and national prep titlist Michael Beard (195), who decommitted from Northwestern, are grayshirting and have not yet started their eligibility clock. All have been work- ing out with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. As good as they are, Aaron Brooks of North Hagerstown, Md., is the key cog of that class and is signed and sealed but not quite delivered. The four-time Maryland champion, who projects at 184, is a Cadet world champ, Junior World silver medalist and was the country's top-ranked 182- pounder in 2018, but he is training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. "We look at our lineups and you look at kids that are no-brainers you want in your program and try to plan to get those kids," Sanderson said during a 2015 inter- view. "If you want them, you have to let them know," he said. On Dec. 5, Robbie Howard of Bergen Catholic in New Jersey, let Sanderson know he would attend Penn State begin- ning in September 2020. Just a junior and already a New Jersey runner-up as a freshman and state champ as a sopho- more, Howard is the No. 1-ranked 133- pounder in all four grade levels, according to Flo Wrestling. There will be more recruits prior to Howard's arrival, all vying to be that next man up in the Penn State lineup. ■ T he nation's second-ranked 174- pound wrestler was set to shed his No. 2 status a=er knocking o< No. 1 ear- lier this month. And the nation's No. 1 team (4-0) will maintain that lofty ranking after holding its fifth consecutive foe to three points or fewer, thumping Ari- zona State, 41-3, on Dec. 14 at Rec Hall. The Sun Devils, now 1-3 and ranked 15th, won last year's Pac-12 title a=er an 11-3 season and also placed 10th at the NCAA tournament. But they were no match for the Nittany Lions and, as it turned out, No. 1 Zahid Valencia was no match for No. 2 Mark Hall at 174 pounds. Both just fought with attempts at tie- ups throughout the ;rst three minutes, and Valencia got o< a quality high sin- gle-leg attempt shortly a=er Hall es- caped to start the second period. But Hall broke Valencia's locked hands and quickly got in on a single-leg of his own and ended up tripping Valencia for a ni=y two. That merely started Hall's engine. From there, he rode Valencia to ring up 2 minutes, 41 seconds in riding time, during which Valencia was nowhere close to escaping. He got to his feet two or three times, and each time Hall re- turned him to the mat. Hall's 4-0 vic- tory delighted a ;red-up crowd of 6,676. "Just wrestling hard through posi- tions, not giving him an escape, just be- cause he comes up. Just because he gets up doesn't mean you're out, right? Just wrestling through everything," Hall said a=er the match. He also said he had wrestled the match in his head throughout the day. As luck would have it, he won that one, too. And that was a=er he took a ;nal exam at 10 a.m. "I just had a vision before the match even started, just kind of played it all through my head, I knew what was going to happen," Hall said. "I had a lot of con;dence, and my preparation coming in was good. I felt good." And, as Penn State coach Cael Sanderson noted, he looked good, too. "I thought Mark wrestled really well, and I'm really happy for him. Just solid – solid all the way around. Looking for- ward to that next match," Sanderson said. Arizona State coach Zeke Jones had nothing but praise for Hall as well. "I think Mark did a fantastic job today of executing his plan," Jones said. "Zahid didn't execute his plan. You did- n't see Zahid like you've seen him in the past. The great thing is Zahid is a very bright wrestler. He's very smart. He has a high wrestling IQ. "He'll need to go back and say, 'What didn't I do that I normally do that makes me good?' He's a smart enough guy to do that. He's got to do more than he did tonight." Hall-Valencia was one of three bouts that got the fans' attention. Vincenzo Joseph clipped Pittsburgh buddy Josh Shields, 11-2, at 165, and freshman Roman Bravo-Young, an Arizona native, handled Ryan Milho<, 14-1, at 133. Mil- ho< was ranked seventh at 125 but bumped up a weight class. Joseph converted a single-leg take- down shot on which Shields tried a dive roll, and Joseph stood him up and trapped him on his back for an early six- point move. Bravo-Young now should have the opportunity to enter the national rank- ings at a loaded weight class a=er dis- mantling Milho< with four takedowns and a nearfall. That put Penn State on a roll of momentum that never really stopped. Before facing the Sun Devils, Penn State defeated Bucknell, 42-3, on Nov. 30 and Lehigh, 42-0, on Dec. 2. Of the 40 individual bouts they've wrestled in their four dual meets so far this season, the Lions have lost only three. –J.C. Hall's win highlights rout of Sun Devils

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