Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1454229
M A R C H 2 0 2 2 6 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Levi Haines cannot join the Penn State wrestling team until later this year. He's already having success at the college level, however. Head coach Cael Sanderson confirmed in February that the former Biglerville standout who won Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic As- sociation (PIAA) gold as a junior in 2021 has officially signed with the program. Haines opted out of his final prep season to prepare for his State Col- lege arrival. That means he's been able to compete in college-level tour- naments as an unattached entrant. It's turned out to be a good decision. He beat 2021 NCAA qualifier Andrew Cerniglia from Navy en route to a 157-pound title at the Frank- lin and Marshall Open in January. Then he won the Edinboro Open in early February. Haines also was a USA World Cadet Team member in 2021. "He's just a great kid," Sanderson said. "He works really hard. Just all around, he's a kid that we're really proud of and excited for. A great stu- dent, just a great human being. "Obviously, he competes really, really hard. We think his best years are ahead of him. We're excited. He'll get better every year." According to PA-Wrestling, Haines was 100-5 during his high school career. He was a three-time district champion and twice finished second at states in addition to his gold-medal-winning effort in 2021. FACUNDO, COCHRAN WIN OPEN TOURNAMENT TITLES Two current Penn State wrestlers have had open tournament success since the start of the new year. Alex Facundo, a freshman from Essexville, Mich., had three wins by major decision and a pin to claim the 165-pound title at Lock Haven's Mat- Town Open II on Jan. 29. He beat PSU classmate Brian Borden in the final. At 184 pounds, fellow first-year wrestler Lucas Cochran took first place, going 3-0 with a major decision and technical fall. Another young Nittany Lion, freshman Gary Steen, finished second in the 125-pound class at the same event. — Greg Pickel THREE BEST WRESTLERS 1. Aaron Brooks | Jr. | 184 Brooks continues to be the glue in Penn State's lineup. After missing a couple of matches earlier in the season, the defending NCAA 184-pound champ was an absolute hammer for the Nittany Lions during the Big Ten portion of the dual meet schedule. He pulled out an 8-3 decision over Abe Assad to help the visiting Lions hold off Iowa, 19- 13, on Jan. 28. Then, a weekend later, he won by fall over Ohio State's Rocky Jordan and by major decision against Nebraska's No. 9 Taylor Venz. There is simply no other choice for the top spot. 2. Roman Bravo-Young | Sr. | 133 If you were going to make the argument to have someone besides Brooks up top, it would be RBY. The defending national champion has been stellar of late. He beat the nation's No. 3 wrestler at 133, Iowa's Austin DeSanto, in a tight 3-2 deci- sion. Then he secured wins by pin and technical fall opposite the Cornhuskers and Buckeyes. 3. Drew Hildebrandt | Sr.+ | 125 Penn State has clearly improved greatly at 125 with Hildebrandt on board. His big win during this stretch of duals came against Ohio State, when he beat No. 10 Malik Heinselman, 2-0. Hildebrandt also had a bonus-point win against Iowa (by major decision over Jesse Ybarra) and a 4-0 decision against Nebraska's Jerimiah Reno. KEY MOMENT The choice this month focuses on how a starter turned backup helped Penn State secure its eighth Big Ten regular-season dual meet crown since 2012. Senior Brady Berge rejoined the Nit- tany Lions at the start of the spring semester. His addition to the lineup at 165 pounds meant that Creighton Edsell would be heading to the bench. But the junior persevered and kept working in the room with Berge and others. That paid off when Edsell was called upon to take on Tahjae Jenkins-Taylor of Nebraska. With Berge missing the dual to work on his condition- ing, Edsell filled in and earned a 9-2 victory that gave Penn State three much-needed team points en route to a 21-13 win over the Cornhuskers. BEST HIGHLIGHT This honor goes to junior 197-pounder Max Dean for his effort at Iowa. Ranked second in the nation at the time, Dean was trailing No. 4 Jacob Warner, 3-0, to start the third period. After choosing the down position, he escaped and then forced a stalling caution on Warner that was worth a point. A quick takedown gave Dean his first lead of the match at 4-3. He then hit his signature bow-and- arrow move for a four-point turn that led to an 8-3 victory. It gave Penn State an insurmountable 19-10 lead in the team scoring to clinch its win over Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. PREDICTION If Berge doesn't drop to 157, which seemed unlikely but possible in late February, then sopho- more Terrell Barraclough will be Penn State's representative at the Big Ten Tournament. And if Barraclough is the Lions' starter at 157, he'll both make it to NCAAs and find his way to the All-America stand as he finally puts it all together after a regular season filled with close calls that led to losses. — Greg Pickel Signee Levi Haines Enjoying Success In Open Tourneys Senior Roman Bravo-Young has come up big for the Nittany Lions in recent weeks and goes into the postseason ranked No. 1 at 133 pounds. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL PENN STATE WRESTLING SUPERLATIVES JAN. 23–FEB. 20