Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1496986
5 0 M A 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 The Penn State wrestling team will look to defend its 2022-23 NCAA title next March in Kansas City, but when the Nittany Lions take the mat at the T-Mobile Center, their roster will look considerably different than it did last month in Tulsa, Okla. One reason for those changes is the transfer portal. It's not out of the question, and perhaps even likely, that head coach Cael Sanderson and his staff will bring in a wrestler or two from an- other school. However, it's a two-way street. The Lions will also lose some wrestlers, and that part of the roster's evolution has already begun. In March, senior heavyweight Seth Nevills revealed that he had entered the portal. A native of Clovis, Calif., Nevills came to Penn State in 2019. He went 7-3 in dual meets as a freshman, but an injury forced him out of the Big Ten Tournament during his first match. A year later, he went 4-1 in conference duals but didn't qualify for the Big Ten Tournament. In 2021, Nevills spent time with the Penn State football team as an offensive lineman. He re- turned to Sanderson's wrestling room after the football season and went 3-2 with a pin at the Southern Scuffle tournament Jan. 1-2 in Chatta- nooga, Tenn., but he didn't wrestle again during the 2021-22 season. This past season, he went 2-0 in open competition but didn't see any dual meet action. Penn State Commits Find Postseason Success Several of the high school wrestlers who are verbally committed to Penn State made highly successful runs through their respective post- season tournaments. Here's a class-by-class look at how they fared: Class of 2023 Cael Nasdeo, a 121-pound senior from Wil- liamsport, Pa., won his first PIAA Class AAA championship in March. Nasdeo had previously claimed the District 4-9 title and entered the state tournament as the favorite. Once there, he did not disappoint. The future Nittany Lion won his first three matches to earn a meeting in the final with Quakertown junior Mason Ziegler, who is com- mitted to Lehigh. Nasdeo beat him 4-0 to take the podium's top spot. He finished the season as FloWrestling's No. 14 120-pound wrestler. Also reaching the podium at the PIAA Tournament was Branden Wentzel, a senior 121-pounder from Montoursville. Wentzel lost in the Class AA quarterfinals but defeated three opponents in the consolation bracket to reach the third-place match, which he won 9-5 over Hudson Hohman of Grove City. In Michigan, two future Nittany Lions won state titles for the fourth year in a row. Dundee senior Braeden Davis took first place at 132 pounds to complete a 41-0 season, while senior Josh Barr of Davidson finished first at 175 pounds to cap a 41-0 season. FloWrestling has tabbed Barr as the ninth-best pound-for-pound prep wrestler in the country, regardless of class. Class of 2024 Joe Sealey, a High Point, N.C., native who wrestles for Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pa., and is No. 13 in FloWrestling's pound-for-pound rankings, pinned Reed Fullmer of Malvern (Pa.) Prep to capture the 157-pound title at the Na- tional Prep Championships in February in Upper Marlboro, Md. In New York, junior Zack Ryder of Minisink Valley High, who is Flo's No. 7 pound-for-pound wrestler, pinned his way to the 189-pound final of the Division I state championships. Once there, he took gold with a 3-0 triumph over Eli- jah Diakomihalis. In Wisconsin, twin brothers Connor and Cole Mirasola of West Bend West claimed Division I titles in the 195-pound and heavyweight classes, respectively. Connor Mirasola is the No. 18 pound-for-pound wrestler in Flo's rankings. Class of 2025 Penn State's youngest verbally committed wrestler hit the podium at the PIAA Champion- ships. Dalton Perry, who wrestles for Central Mountain High in Mill Hall, lost in the 139-pound semifinals in Class AAA and ended up winning the third-place match by forfeit. FloWrestling ranks Perry No. 11 in the country at 138 pounds. Notes • In early April, FloWrestling posted its rank- ings for the 2023-24 season, and Penn State had four in the top-20 pound-for-pound listing. Senior 174-pounder Carter Starocci was rated as the best overall college wrester in the country, followed by senior 184-pounder Aaron Brooks at No. 4, senior heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet at No. 9 and sophomore 157-pounder Levi Haines at No. 18. In the weight class rankings, the four in the pound-for-pound rankings were listed No. 1 in their weight classes. Senior Beau Bartlett is ranked third at 141 pounds, sophomore Shayne Van Ness is third at 149 and sophomore Alex Facundo is No. 16 at 156. Penn State rates as the nation's best tourna- ment team with 108.5 points, 44 points more than second-place Missouri with 64.5. • Four incoming 2023 Penn State recruits com- peted in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic on April 2. The meet matches up some of Pennsylvania's best seniors against a squad of top seniors from the rest of the United States. Future Nittany Lion Carl Nasdeo lost 3-0 at 121 pounds to Matt McGowan of New Jersey, who was ranked No. 2 nationally at 126 pounds by FloWrestling. Penn State signee and four-time Michigan state champ Braeden Davis lost 5-2 at 127 pounds to Vinny Kilkeary, a Pennsylvania state champ, Ohio State recruit and the nation's No. 5-ranked 126-pounder. Two-time Pennsylvania state champ Rocco Walsh beat four-time Michigan state titlist and No. 2 Josh Barr, 3-1 in overtime to retain the No. 1 national ranking at 170 pounds. Walsh and Barr had met in the Freestyle National Championships in Fargo, N.D., last summer, with Barr claiming an 8-5 win in the 170-pound title match. Walsh, an Ohio State re- cruit, avenged that loss at Who's No. 1, beating Barr 5-4 last September. Penn State's lone winner at the event was Tyler Kasak, who defeated Ryder Block of Iowa, 3-2, at 138 pounds. Block, a future Hawkeye and three-time state champion, is listed No. 2 in the country at 138, while Kasak is No. 3 at 145. — Greg Pickel Nevills went 20-7 in his three seasons at Penn State. His exit diminishes the Lions' depth behind starter Greg Kerkvliet. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS Heavyweight Seth Nevills Enters Transfer Portal