3/23/2022 other sports Edit

Betancourt hoping to find a home with Penn State Wrestling

Clay Sauertieg • Happy Valley Insider

Beat Writer

Clay Sauertieg is a 2015 Penn State graduate with a degree in print journalism and a focus in sports journalism who has covered Penn State wrestling since 2013 and football since 2014.

The start to Will Betancourt's college wrestling career has been atypical.

The former PIAA state champion initially committed to Lock Haven, but the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the Manheim Central product never wrestled a match for the Bald Eagles before transferring to Ohio State ahead of the 2021-22 season.

With the Buckeyes, Betancourt moved to 133 pounds where he went 15-6 overall, but 0-2 in duals this past season.

Now, he's on the move again, returning to his home state and a program that he knows well, Penn State.

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"Penn State was the choice for me because the culture, the people, their beliefs. It's something that I valued my whole life and you know, entering the transfer portal I I knew that I wanted to go to Penn State," Betancourt said of the choice. "I knew that it was the place for me to be to accomplish my goals and wrestle 125 pounds, which is, which is my competitive weight."

Betancourt said that he believes dropping back down to 125 pounds allows him to be more competitive and that he's looking forward to the opportunity to compete with Robbie Howard and Gary Steen for the starting job at the weight in the 2022-23 season.

"Robbie Howard, he's great competitor, one of the best wrestlers in high school, Gary Steen, I grew up with wrestling on national teams with him. He was one of my best friends growing up," Betancourt said of his new teammates. "And people think that, you know, we're at the same weight class, there's going to be bad blood and stuff like that. It's not like that. These guys are already my brothers and, you know, I'm coming in there to take that 125-pound spot, but god forbid if something happens, you know, I'm happy for for Gary or Robbie."

In addition to fokstyle, Betancourt, who wrestles internationally for Puerto Rico, said that what the Penn State program has to offer in terms of freestyle training was a big part of his decision.

"I'm actually pretty close with (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members) Jaime Aspinal and Franklin Gomez and Jane Valencia. And I've heard nothing but great things. I haven't heard one bad thing about some training at Penn State," he said " And, you know, I look up to people like that, or Olympians and Olympic medalists, and they're telling me that here's no better place to be. They haven't really had a bad experience at all at Penn State after being there for years and those are people that I trust and that I look up to. They they don't just want me for college, they want me for after my freestyle career and stuff like that and that means a lot to me."

Betancourt's first high school season, in which he reached the state tournament, actually came under the direction of former Penn State head coach Troy Sunderland, who resigned from his post as the Manheim Central head coach after the 2016-17 season.