PREVIEW: Penn State wrestling looks to extend win streak vs Hofstra

Penn State wrestling returns to the mat today at Rec Hall to take on Hofstra. The Nittany Lions look to improve 2-0 on the season and extend their dual win streak to 46 in a row. Sunday’s dual will be an opportunity to show some of the depth throughout the lineup. What should we expect to see from the Nittany Lions against the Pride?

Penn State wrestling vs. Hofstra Preview

Historically Penn State leads the all-time series against Hofstra 5-2. The last meeting between the two teams was an 18-15 Pride win at Rec Hall in 2008.

To say the programs are in different places right now would be an understatement. Penn State wrestling is coming off a 30-10 win over No. 20 Lehigh in its first dual of the season. Hofstra enters off competing in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational last weekend. The Pride’s last dual was a 51-0 loss to No. 5 Ohio State on November 19^th.

This match will get as ugly as Penn State allows it to. If Cael Sanderson decides to go full throttle and wrestles all of his starters, then the final score will look like something similar to the Ohio State dual. However, I think we may see some younger guys get an opportunity with Penn State resting a few top guys in anticipation of the road dual in Corvallis next week against No. 15 Oregon State.

Keep an eye on 141, where it will most likely be Tyler Kasak taking over for No. 2 Shayne Van Ness, who was ruled out for the season with an undisclosed injury. While Penn State lost a national title contender, the Nittany Lions still have a lot of talent in the room, and we will have to wait and see whether the replacement will be able to contribute to the team in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament in March.

Match to Watch

285 No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) vs No. 21 Keaton Kluever (HOF)

This is the only ranked match of the dual, so naturally, it is the match to watch. Greg Kerkvliet is off to a 4-0 start, including an 11-1 major decision over No. 16 Nathan Taylor of Lehigh last weekend. Kluever is off to a 3-1 start to the season, with his lone loss coming to No. 18 Nick Feldman of Ohio State.

This will be another opportunity for Kerkvliet to pick up a ranked win. He has been dominant in the limited time we have seen him so far this season. One thing to note is that Kerkvliet has clearly benefited from the new takedown scoring. Expect this one to be a similar result to what we saw last week against Taylor with another major decision.

Projected Lineups

125: Robert Howard/Gary Steen/Braeden Davis (PSU) vs Dylan Ryder (HOF)

133: No. 4 Aaron Nagao (PSU) vs Dylan Acevedo/Ryan Arbeit (HOF)

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett (PSU) vs Alex Turley (HOF)

149: Tyler Kasak (PSU) vs Noah Tapia (HOF)

157: No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) vs Frank Volpe (HOF)

165: No. 14 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) vs Joe McGinty (HOF)

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) vs Ross McFarland (HOF)

184: No. 2 Bernie Truax (PSU) vs Will Conlon (HOF)

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) vs Nikolas Miller (HOF)

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) vs No. 21 Keaton Kluever (HOF)

Penn State vs. Hofstra Predictions:

125: Robert Howard/Gary Steen/Braeden Davis (PSU) by Decision

133: No. 4 Aaron Nagao (PSU) by Pin

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett (PSU) by Pin

149: Tyler Kasak (PSU) by Major

157: No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) by Pin

165: No. 14 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) by Major

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) by Pin

184: No. 2 Bernie Truax (PSU) by Tech Fall

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) by Pin

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) by Major

FINAL SCORE:

Penn State 50  Hofstra 0

Where to Watch?

Date: Sunday, December 10, 2023

Time: 1:00 pm ET

TV: BTN+

Venue: Rec Hall – Tickets are available on Ticketmaster

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