Takeaways: No. 1 Penn State wrestling flexes muscle in rout of Maryland

It was an easy Sunday afternoon for No. 1 Penn State wrestling (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten), who rolled to a 42-6 win over No. 27 Maryland (3-5, 1-4) in College Park. Even without a full lineup once again, the Nittany Lions put this one out of reach early and rode four pins to a lopsided victory. What did we learn about Penn State as the program earned its 51st consecutive dual win?

Beau Bartlett shows patience in major decision

No. 2 Beau Bartlett continues to dominate at 141, as he picked up an 11-1 major decision over No. 17 Kal Miller of Maryland. Like plenty of his other matches this season, it was a slow start for Bartlett, who scored his first points with a late takedown with under 20 seconds to go in the opening period.

Bartlett then rode Miller the entire second period and remained up 3-0 after two. The senior just continued to wear down his opponent and eventually picked up a takedown and near fall to pull out the major decision.

This performance from Bartlett has been a bit of déjà vu from what we have seen all season. He often doesn’t score a ton early. But he stays patient and eventually takes advantage of his worn-down opponent in the third to secure a comfortable win. If Bartlett can continue to wrestle like this, don’t be surprised if he beats No. 1 Real Woods of Iowa in a few weeks to take over the top spot.

Levi Haines returns to top form

No. 1 Levi Haines hasn’t looked like the top wrestler for a few matches this season. While he has kept his unblemished record intact, the sophomore has often struggled to put away inferior opponents. Haines almost lost his first match of the year last weekend, but a late reversal at the buzzer kept his undefeated season alive.

Sunday’s match was much easier Haines, as he took down No. 33 Michael North for a 15-0 tech fall at the 5:58 mark. It looked like a return to form from the 2023 season, and is a promising sign for Haines moving forward. Whatever the reason was for his recent struggles, Haines is looking like the top wrestler in the country again.

Aaron Brooks picks up top five major decision

No. 1 Aaron Brooks made easy work with No. 5 Jaxon Smith, picking up a 13-4 major decision. This was supposed to be one of the most competitive matches of the dual. Instead, it showed the gap that exists, even within the top five at the weight class. Brooks proved why he is already a three-time national champion and seems to be on track to repeat again this upcoming March.

Brooks tallied a total of four takedowns, including two in the third period. It was clearly frustrating Smith, who swatted the side of Brooks’ head enough to draw a whistle and a warning from the referee in the third period. The senior now improves to an improbable 76-3 record in his Penn State wrestling career, and has scored bonus points in all nine of his matches this season.

Penn State wrestling murderers’ row is back

Cael Sanderson has made it a habit to have an absolute gauntlet in the back half of his lineup. Often called the murderers’ row, the heavier weights have been the strength of the Penn State wrestling program in the past. Now, the back of the Nittany Lions’ lineup has once again established itself as being the best in the country.

On Sunday, we saw Penn State pick up four pins and one major over the final five matches. It started with rising star No. 7 Mitchell Mesenbrink pinning Ryan Money at the 50-second mark of the first period at 165. Then No. 1 Carter Starocci followed it up at 174, cruising to an 18-6 lead in the first period. But Starocci purposely didn’t get the tech fall so that he could have a chance for a pin, something he accomplished at the 4:26 mark.

At 184, No. 5 Bernie Truax got in on the pin streak as he turned Chase Mielnik at the 1:43 mark of the first period. No. 1 Aaron Brooks broke the streak but still picked up a relatively easy 13-4 major decision over No. 5 Jaxon Smith at 197. No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet then ended the match swiftly after getting the pin in just 55 seconds at heavyweight.

Penn State puts on cruise control without a full lineup

Once again, Penn State wrestling cruised to a win without a full lineup. The Nittany Lions had senior Baylor Shunk wrestle in place of Aaron Nagao, who ultimately dropped an 8-3 decision to No. 21 Braxton Brown. The other was at 149, where freshman Connor Pierce got the start with No. 12 Tyler Kasak and David Evans wrestling at the Mat-Town 2 Tournament in Lock Haven.

Realistically, if Nagao and Kasak/Evans wrestled today, it is likely that the Nittany Lions would have broken the 50-point mark for the first time this season. Penn State wrestling finished the day with a 19-3 takedown edge and already picked up 18 bonus points on four pins, two tech falls, and two majors. This just goes to show once again how big the gap is between what Cael Sanderson has in Happy Valley and the rest of the country.

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