Penn State Wrestling set for Keystone State clashes
After a pair of relatively quiet weekends and an off week around the Thanksgiving holiday, Penn State ramps its wrestling schedule back up this weekend against a pair of in-state foes.
Tri-meet with Sacred Heart and Oregon State aside, this marks the first double header weekend of the year of the Nittany Lions. They'll start Friday, travelling to the City of Brotherly Love for a clash with an on the rise Penn program at 7 p.m. at the famed Palestra. That dual can be streamed via ESPN+.
Then, Penn State will return home on Sunday to friendly confines of Rec Hall when it welcomes Lehigh for a 2 p.m. start. Interested viewers can find that dual on B1G+.
Starting with Friday's contest, the projected lineup for the Quakers is as follows:
125: Ryan Miller OR Blair Orr
133: No. 12* Michael Colaiocco
141: No. 28 Carmen Ferrante OR C.J. Composto
149: No. 23 Anthony Artalona Jr. OR Kaya Sement
157: Doug Zapf
165: No. 33 Lucas Revano
174: No. 21 Nick Incontrera
184: Neil Antrassian OR Maximus Hale So.
197: Cole Urbas
285: Ben Goldin
(*All rankings are courtesy of Intermat)
A quick glace at the WrestleStat Dual Comparison tool has Penn State as a fairly healthy 24-9 favorite in this one. While the larger result is unlikely to ever be in doubt, that doesn't mean this one is without intrigue.
Starting at 133, Roman Bravo-Young comes up against a guy I think could be an All-American this year, sophomore Michael Colaiocco. Bravo-Young is the favorite in this one and will likely come out on top, but Colaiocco came to Penn with a great pedigree as a National Prep champion and four-time Beast of the East winner out of powerhouse Blair Academy. He was a national qualifier at 125 as a freshman and after a year off in 2021, looks to have continued to improve headed into his sophomore campaign, where he currently sits at 7-0.
At 141, it's worth monitoring whether Nick Lee returns after missing the dual against Army West Point with a slight knee injury suffered against Oregon State. Up at 149, Beau Bartlett will face perhaps his toughest test yet against junior Anthony Artalona. Artalona, a highly touted prospect out of Florida, went 29-7 as a true freshman in 2019 and reached the bloodround of the NCAA tournament. He then went up to 157 and struggled a bit in 2020 before taking 2021 off with the Ivy League shutdown. Back at 149, he could present quite the challenge for the notably undersized Bartlett.
Terrell Barraclough will look to get his season on track at 157 against Doug Zapf, who won a 2017 PIAA state title at 106 pounds, while Creighton Edsell puts his perfect 3-0 mark on the line against former New Jersey state champ Lucas Revano. Lastly, State College Area High School grad Cole Urbas will get a chance to take on his hometown team when he squares off with either Max Dean or Michael Beard at 197.
With the dual against Penn in the rearview mirror, the Nittany Lions will return to Rec Hall for an always spirited dual with the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh. Pat Santoro's bunch isn't quite at the peak of its powers this season, but the reigning EIWA champs are always a tough out.
The projected lineup for Lehigh is as follows:
125: No. 14 Jaret Lane
133: No. 22 Malyke Hines
141: Dan Moran OR Connor McGonagle
149: Manzona Bryant IV OR Jimmy Hoffman
157 #10 Josh Humphreys
165 #27 Brian Meyer
174: Jake Logan
184: A.J. Burkhart
197: J.T. Davis
285: #10 Jordan Wood
Much like against the Quakers, the WrestleStat Dual Comparison shines brightly on the Nittany Lions in this one, favoring them 24-10 over the Mountain Hawks. But similarly, again, there are matchups to watch on Sunday
Bartlett will have another tough matchup, this time against another freshman in Manzona Bryant. The 2-3 record doesn't flatter Bryant, but he came to Lehigh as a two-time National Preps finalist, a 2019 Beast of the East champion and a top-50 recruit in the country via Intermat. After three losses to start the season, he's won two in a row and recently posted a 16-5 major decision victory over Pitt's Luke Kemerer.
Barraclough continues his difficult weekend with 10th-ranked Josh Humphreys, who is a two-time national qualifier and reached the bloodround of the NCAA Tournament in 2019. Humphreys' lone loss this year is a 9-8 decision to Zapf on Nov. 14.
Edsell will take on his second ranked foe of the weekend, this time against Brian Meyer, who's fresh on the heels of a 4-3 upset victory over national finalist Jake Wentzel. If he comes out of the weekend 5-0, expect Edsell to find himself inside the top 20 of the national rankings.
Lastly, Greg Kerkvleit gets a stern test from former All-American Jordan Wood, who feels like he's in his 11th year of eligibility. Injuries have stunted Wood's once-promising career and Kerkvleit took a 12-2 major decision over the Boyertown (PA) native at the NCAA Tournament in March, but Wood is wrestling well early in the season, including a 3-1 victory over Central Michigan's Matt Stencel on Nov. 14.
Following this weekend's action, Penn State will have yet another weekend off before travelling to Florida for the Collegiate Wrestling Duals against Northern Iowa and Cornell Dec. 20.
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