Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1490816
4 6 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M on Jan. 27 at the Bryce Jordan Center, Haines had wrestled 13 bouts and had won 12, including a Jan. 6 victory (16- 6) over Garrett Model of Wisconsin, ranked 19th at the time, and a Jan. 20 overtime thriller (3-1) over sixth-ranked Will Lewan of Michigan in front of a full house at the BJC. When Haines is not in the lineup, redshirt junior Terrell Barraclough is. Barraclough is 6-3 with narrow defeats against two top-15 wrestlers and a 2-1 loss to Haines at the Black Knight Invi- tational in November. Decision time is looming. Penn State coach Cael Sanderson must weigh what Haines means to this year's team and its quest for a 10th NCAA championship since 2011 as opposed to the signifi- cance of having Haines — who wants to and is expected to jump weight classes — for four more seasons, with upper- classmen in the upper weights depart- ing the Nittany Lion program. After his team's 34-6 victory over Michigan State on Jan. 22, in which Barraclough was at 157, Sanderson said the plan had been for Haines and Barra- clough to split matches against Michi- gan and MSU that weekend. "If Levi wrestles again, that means that his redshirt's pulled, so we're go- ing to be careful about that," Sander- son said. "That's a decision we're going to have to make here in a little while. I don't think it has to be done by Friday, but sooner rather than later is usually better." Sanderson's " by Friday" statement referred to Penn State's match against No. 2-ranked Iowa. While Haines has said he would like to remain in the lineup, he appreciates how he and Barraclough push each other in the training room and said his time will come. "It's just about getting better every day we get in the room," Haines said. Which is why Haines chose to wrestle for the Nittany Lions. "My decision for Penn State was pretty easy for me," he said. "I've been wrestling for David and I'm from Penn- sylvania, so I grew up watching Penn State wrestle, obviously. I came in here and clicked with the coaches and I've been in their system of wrestling be- cause of wrestling with David. "I have plans for wrestling after col- lege as well. It's the best place in the world to see guys constantly coming here to continue their careers after col- lege. So, it was kind of a no-brainer." Wrestlers forfeiting their senior sea- son to train for college isn't trending just yet, but it is occurring. Another in- coming Penn State recruit, Tyler Kasak of Bethlehem (Pa.) Catholic, is doing the same thing this year. Haines said it was a tough call, but he wanted to challenge himself. "I knew I was going to get much bet- ter by coming in here and getting better partners and the best coaching in the world," he said. "It was a hard decision, but it was no doubt the right decision. It didn't matter if I had one [state title] or two; nobody's going to really remember me for that, I believe." His time between high school and en- rolling at Penn State was active. He en- tered collegiate open tournaments and defeated wrestlers such as Ohio State's Paddy Gallagher and Navy's Andrew Cerniglia, both of whom are among the top 30 in current individual rankings. Haines is bound to ascend toward the top 10 after his win over Lewan. Sanderson said Haines made good use of his grayshirt year and is "com- peting at a high level." Sanderson typi- cally likes to redshirt his wrestlers and did so with former champions such as Taylor, Bo Nickal, Jason Nolf and Matt Brown, to name just a few. Some have wrestled as true freshmen, though, such as champions Zain Retherford and Nico Megaludis and current 184-pounder Aaron Brooks, already a two-time NCAA champ. Brooks said Haines fits right in with the team. "He's a gamer. In some individuals, you put them in that kind of atmosphere, like in the middle of the Wisconsin match — the spotlight — versus a ranked wres- tler and he just rises to the occasion," Brooks said. "He actually exceeds it, so I think just really seeing that, that's part of his calling. God has called him to wrestle, and when you see that it's really cool." Sanderson is well aware of Haines' potential, but he also showed off his tal- ent to a national Big Ten Network audi- ence in recent weeks. Haines exhibited his strength on a couple of takedowns against Wisconsin's Model and his quickness and conditioning in the over- time win against Michigan's Lewan. The victory against Michigan was Haines' first appearance in the BJC, and he enjoyed being in the middle of an at- mosphere full of spotlights and pyro- technics. "It's been a really neat experience," Haines said. "I've only ever been to one of the Jordan Center matches before, so it was definitely a unique experience. Be- ing a part of it is just unbelievable. And it's cool to see some familiar faces in the stands I know locally. So, that was also a very neat aspect." When Haines completed his overtime win against Michigan, his mentor/coach Taylor was seen applauding and hugging and high-fiving those around him on the BJC floor, affirming Haines' position in the expansive Penn State wrestling fam- ily. "It's kind of what I expected. No mat- ter win or lose, it doesn't really take away from the experience I had here tonight," Haines said. "But, definitely, it's kind of icing on the cake." ■ 2022-23 WRESTLING SCHEDULE Nov. 11 LOCK HAVEN W, 44-3 Nov. 20 Black Knight Open* Individ. only Dec. 2 at Rider W, 37-3 Dec. 4 at Lehigh W, 24-12 Dec. 11 OREGON STATE W, 31-3 Dec. 19 Central Michigan** W, 50-3 Dec. 19 North Carolina** W, 37-3 Dec. 20 Iowa State** W, 22-12 Jan. 6 at Wisconsin W, 28-12 Jan. 20 MICHIGAN W, 30-8 Jan. 22 MICHIGAN STATE W, 34-6 Jan. 27 IOWA 8:30 p.m. (BTN) Feb. 3 at Ohio State 7 p.m. (BTN) Feb. 5 at Indiana 1 p.m. Feb. 10 at Rutgers 7 p.m. Feb. 12 MARYLAND 1 p.m. Feb. 19 CLARION 1 p.m. Mar. 4-5 Big Ten Tournament^ TBA Mar. 16-18 NCAA Tournament # TBA * at West Point, N.Y.; ** Collegiate Wrestling Duals at New Orleans; ^ at Ann Arbor, Mich.; # at Tulsa, Okla.