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BETHLEHEM -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team opened its season at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic with 20 Nittany Lions competing in the event held at Freedom High School.
Penn State had 11 competitors go unbeaten, won 75 percent of its matches and went 45-15 on the day with 10 pins, 11 technical falls and nine majors.
True freshman Braeden Davis went 3-0 at 125. He opened up his tournament with two tech falls and then a major. Teammate Gary Steen went 2-1, picking up two tech falls of his own.
Senior Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 2 at 141, rolled to a 3-0 mark on the day. Bartlett pinned Harvard's Dante Frinzi in his first bout, then posted a tough 4-1 win over No. 13 Vince Cornella of Cornell. He wrapped up the day with a dominant 15-3 major over No. 12 Malyke Hines of Lehigh. Junior David Evans went 2-1 at 141.
Sophomore Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 2 at 149, was dominant. He rolled to a 3-0 record, all by fall. Redshirt freshman Connor Pierce went 2-1 at at 149. He majored Lehigh's Owen Reinsel and then capped off his day with an 8-1 win over Cornell's Cole Handlovic.
Sophomore Levi Haines, ranked No. 1 at 157, rolled to a 3-0 record with a pin, a tech and a major.
Redshirt freshman Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) rolled to a 3-0 record with two technical falls. Senior Terrell Barraclough also went 3-0 at 165. Barraclough opened his day with a 9-0 major and capped it off with a hard-fought 4-0 victory over teammate Matt Lee. Lee, a junior, went 2-1 on the day.
Senior Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 174, rolled to a 3-0 record with a tech and a pin. After receiving a medical forfeit victory in his first match. Starocci pinned Harvard's Luke Rada and then rolled to a 21-5 tech fall (6:52) over No. 14 Nick Contrera of Penn in his final match of the day.
Graduate Bernie Truax, ranked No. 2 at 184, had an outstanding first day as a Nittany Lion. He downed No. 33 James Rowley of Purdue 7-4 in his first match. Truax majored Arizona State's Cael Valencia and F&M's James Conway to go 3-0.
True freshman Josh Barr rolled to a 3-0 mark at 184. He posted two majors and a technical fall, outscoring his opponents 51-18. Senior Donovon Ball went 1-2 at 184, winning by injury default and dropping two close matches.
Senior Aaron Brooks, ranked No. 1 at 197, had an outstanding first day up at 197 for the Nittany Lions. Brooks rolled to a 3-0 mark. He pinned Arizona State's Jacob Meissner and then posted a 19-3 tech fall (6:11) over No. 33 John Crawford of F&M. He wrapped up his day by pinning Penn's Martin Cosgrove.
Senior Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 1 at 285, rolled to a 3-0 mark at 285. Kerkvliet started his day with a tech fall and then posted strong decisions over No. 19 Nathan Taylor of Lehigh (6-1) and No. 8 Owen Trephan of North Carolina State (7-2).
The Nittany Lions will return to action at the Black Knight Invite, hosted by Army in two weeks on Sunday, Nov. 19.