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Shayne Van Ness

Penn State standout drops in rankings after first loss of the season

Penn State wrestling sophomore standout Shayne Van Ness fell in the rankings after seeing his unbeaten record come to an end last weekend.

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Iowa State's Paniro Johnson, right, wrestles Penn State's Shayne Van Ness at 149 pounds during the second session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Thursday, March 16, 2023, at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. © Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Penn State wrestling continued its dominance last weekend with a 31-7 victory over No. 6 Nebraska in Lincoln. It was the 64th consecutive dual win for the program, with the Nittany Lions taking home eight of the ten bouts on the night.

One of those two losses came from 149-pounder Shayne Van Ness, who fell to No. 4 Ridge Lovett. After holding his preseason No. 2 ranking into the new year, the loss dropped Van Ness to No. 4 in this week’s InterMat rankings.

There seemed to be four top contenders at 149 coming into the year: Van Ness, Lovett, defending champion Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech), and Kyle Parco (Iowa). But after Lovett dominated Van Ness in a 10-2 major decision, the Nittany Lion fell to the back of that elite pack. Down to No. 4, InterMat moved Parco up to No. 2 and Lovett to No. 3.

On its own, the loss to Lovett isn’t a red flag. However, how Van Ness was controlled in the third period may be a cause for concern. Despite the perceived parity between the wrestlers, the final score didn’t reflect how close the two are in talent. Van Ness led 2-1 after two periods, but it spiraled quickly in the third after giving up a takedown and back points in quick succession.

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Penn State wrestling

© Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

With a high possibility of facing off again at either the Big Ten Championships or Nationals, whether the blowout win was a fluke remains to be seen. But ultimately, we will have to wait until at least March to find out.

Despite the shocking loss, sometimes you get caught flatfooted, and the score gets out of hand. Plenty of wrestlers before under Cael Sanderson have taken multiple losses in the regular season or Big Ten Championships before ultimately making a run to an NCAA title.

The road back for Van Ness starts with No. 20 Andrew Clark this week at Rutgers. However, the real test comes in two weeks when Iowa travels to town and Parco and Van Ness face off at the Bryce Jordan Center. Defeat the new No. 2, and suddenly, the season is back on track, and a top seed in the Big Ten and NCAA Championships is a real possibility.



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Former contributor at Nittany Central, Patrick joined Basic Blues Nation in 2023 as the Social Media Director, Penn State Wrestling beat writer, and producer of the Penn State Roar Room spaces. Patrick is also a contributor of Penn State football, basketball, and ice hockey news for the site.

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