Blue White Illustrated

September 2022

Penn State Sports Magazine

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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 41 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M N ine Penn State wrestlers found a home in InterMat's preseason rank- ings ahead of the 2022-23 season. At only one weight class, 157 pounds, were the Nittany Lions not represented. Because of that, head coach Cael Sand- erson's program was ranked as the top tournament and dual team in the country by the wrestling outlet. All four of Penn State's returning na- tional champions — fifth-year senior Ro- man Bravo-Young (133 pounds), junior Carter Starocci (174), senior Aaron Brooks (184) and senior Max Dean (197) — were ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes. Daton Fix of Oklahoma State is back at No. 2 and hopes to finally knock RBY off the top podium at 133 after losing to him the past two years in the finals. At 174, InterMat's second-ranked wrestler is Mehki Lewis of Virginia Tech. Starocci beat him in overtime to win the title last season. Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa ranks second behind Brooks after finish- ing third two years in a row at NCAAs. Junior heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet, who finished fourth at NCAAs in March to become a two-time All-American at Penn State, is ranked second in his weight class behind Colton Schultz of Arizona State. It's another excellent year for the big men in the Big Ten, with Michigan returning third-ranked Mason Parris and Iowa bringing back fourth-ranked Tony Cassioppi. Four Penn State wrestlers were ranked outside of the top 10. Junior Beau Bartlett, dropping from 149 pounds to 141 this year, is ranked No. 17 at his new weight. Redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness is No. 29 at 149 pounds, while classmate Alex Facundo is No. 24 at 165. Lastly, 125-pounder Robbie Howard, a junior, returns from injury and is ranked No. 18 at this early juncture. ■ WRESTLING New AD Vows Continued Support For Wrestling Program Penn State has agreed to a contract extension with head wrestling coach Cael Sanderson, who has led Penn State to nine of the past 11 contested national championships. New PSU athletics director Patrick Kraft would not disclose the terms of the agreement at Big Ten Me- dia Days in Indianapolis last month. However, he affirmed that Sanderson would be with the program for the foreseeable future. "He's the greatest of all time, and he can be here for as long as he wants," Kraft said. "I don't know the specifics [of the deal], but he has signed up, which I'm very happy about." Next, the administration will focus on ensuring that Sanderson has all the resources he needs in order to compete at Penn State's customary level in the ever-evolving world of college athletics. "As great as Cael is, there are things we have to do to continue to support him," Kraft said. "He is spe- cial. That whole program is special. I'm not a fool. I'm not getting in the way of what Cael wants to do. "But, I think there are pieces that we have to help him with. The NIL space is not just a football thing. It's in every aspect of our organization." — Greg Pickel Fifth-year senior Roman Bravo-Young is one of four top-ranked Nittany Lion wrestlers, leading the way at 133 pounds. Bravo-Young has won the past two national championships at the weight class. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL G R E G P I C K E L | G R E G. P I C K E L @ O N 3 . C O M On Cloud Nine Nittany Lions well represented in InterMat's weight-by-weight preseason rankings

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