Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1169916
W restling fans can rest assured that Penn State will put an- other good team on the mat this season, even though Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal won't be on it. Other teams' fans are drooling at the thought that somebody like Ohio State, Oklahoma State or Iowa could put a halt to the Nittany Lions' current skein of eight NCAA titles in the past nine years because they collectively anticipate at least a slightly weaker Lion lineup. Some of those teams' lineups will be good, possibly very good. But even without Nolf and Nickal, who each made four NCAA finals appearances and won six gold medals between them, Penn State still has the potential to be great. The latter half of coach Cael Sander- son's lineup is loaded with All-Ameri- cans. Whether he can solidify the three weight classes in the lighter half of his lineup not occupied by defending NCAA medal winners will tell this much-antic- ipated tale. Let's take a look: 125 This is the first of a few interesting weight classes with no obvious choice as the starter. Will it be Matt Parker, a trans- fer from Lehigh, or Brody Teske, a red- shirt freshman from Iowa who saw very little action last season wrestling unattached, or two-year starter Devin Schnupp (7-31)? 133 There's not much doubt about this spot. Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young was a 25- match winner last season and earned All- America status with an eighth-place finish at nationals in arguably the most talented weight class in the tournament. Bravo- Young will be expected to score a few more team points at NCAAs in Minnesota in 2020. He'll get to return to his home state when Penn State faces Arizona State in late November, barring the unlikely event of him opting to redshirt. 141 Think of a talented wrestler who just wins consistently, hustles for seven min- utes, becomes an All-American and doesn't generate a lot of pub, and junior Nick Lee comes to mind. Sixty-three wins, just 11 losses and a pair of fifth- place finishes make Lee one of the title contenders in this weight class in 2020. W R E S T L I N G | CLASS ACTION PSU is looking strong at several weight classes, but there are plenty of questions to answer DEFENDING CHAMP Cassar's return has solidified the Nit- tany Lions' lineup at the heavyweight spot. Photo by Steve Manuel