ALTOONA, Pa. -- Penn State opened its wrestling season Saturday with two easy wins, but that wasn't the biggest news regarding the program over the weekend.
A report Friday from Victory Bell Rings indicated that Central Michigan standout Drew Hildebrandt has transferred to Penn State and will be the guy at 125 pounds. This is from their story:
Hildebrandt wrestled his entire career at CMU where he compiled a 105-41 overall record while going an impressive 44-5 in his last two seasons. Something of note is the fact Drew had never qualified for the NCAA Tournament prior to last season. He put up a 31-3 record in 2020 which normally would have easily been good enough to qualify.
However, the NCAA’s were canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
So, how would Hildebrandt do as an encore to his 2020 season? How about qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the first time, finishing 4th overall, and being crowned an All-American?
Penn State has had issues at 125 for several years, and having someone of Hildebrandt's caliber fill that void could be huge for the Nittany Lions when it comes to competing for a national title if he can get a lot of points from that weight.
This is from the Heavyweight Nation wrestling blog:
Drew Hildebrandt obviously has ties with Penn State already due to his sister Sarah already being a World and Olympic team member while training under the NLWC who is now coached by Jake Varner. This may have just made it easier for Cael Sanderson to bring in a highly ranked and talented 125 pound wrestler, and now as siblings they will be essentially training in the same exact room which is awesome.
LIONS OPEN UP
WITH EASY VICTORIES
Penn State wrestling crushed Sacred Heart, 47-3, in the season-opening dual meet Saturday in Manheim, Pa. The Lions followed that up with a 32-7 win over Oregon State later in the day.
Penn State won nine of the 10 bouts against Sacred Heart. The Lions won eight of 10 against Oregon State. One of those losses came from Baylor Shunk at 125, which is why the Hildebrandt news up above is so important for the team.
Results against Sacred Heart, from GoPSUSports.
125: Baylor Shunk PSU tech fall Kyle Randall SHU, 18-0 (TF; 4:15) -- 5-0
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young PSU pinned Anthony Petrillo SHU, WBF (3:40) -- 11-0
141: #2 Nick Lee PSU pinned Jordan Carlucci SHU, WBF (0:54) -- 17-0
149: Beau Bartlett PSU maj. Dec. Shaun Williams SHU, 12-3 -- 21-0
157: Nick Palumbo SHU dec. Joey Blumer PSU, 8-3 -- 21-3
165: Creighton Edsell PSU maj. Dec. Scotty Jarosz SHU, 11-3 -- 25-3
174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU pinned Alex Marciniak SHU, WBF (2:12) -- 31-3
184: #1 Aaron Brooks PSU tech fall Joe Accousti SHU, 23-8 (TF; 7:00) -- 36-3
197: #4 Max Dean PSU tech fall Dante Del Bonis SHU, 18-0 (TF; 3:00) -- 41-3
285: #5 Greg Kerkvliet PSU pinned Mark Blokh, WBF (3:57) -- 47-3
Results against Oregon State
125: Brandon Kaylor ORST dec. Baylor Shunk PSU, 16-9 -- 0-3
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young PSU dec. Jason Shaner ORST, 8-3 -- 3-3
141: #2 Nick Lee PSU dec. #10 Grant Willits ORST, 11-4 -- 6-3
149: Beau Bartlett PSU dec. #24 Cory Crooks ORST, 1-0 -- 9-3
157: #15 Hunter Willits ORST maj. Dec. Joey Blumer PSU, 19-6 -- 9-7
165: Creighton Edsell PSU dec. Matthew Olguin ORST, 7-3 -- 12-7
174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU 17-2 tech fall Mateo Olmos ORST, 17-2 (TF; 4:49) -- 17-7
184: #1 Aaron Brooks PSU pinned Jackson McKinney ORST, WBF (1:03) -- 23-7
197: #4 Max Dean PSU maj. Dec. J.J. Dixon ORST, 16-3 -- 27-7
285: #5 Greg Kerkvliet PSU tech fall #24 Gary Traub ORST, 16-0 (TF; 5:58) -- 32-7
PENN STATE BASKETBALL
PLAYS AT UMASS ON MONDAY
The Lions will play their second game of the season Monday night when they visit UMass for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The game can be seen on CBS Sports Network.
Penn State opened the Micah Shrewsberry era with a 75-59 win over Youngstown State last week. Seth Lundy scored 23 points to lead Penn State.
UMass has played twice already, opening with a 76-60 win over UMBC before losing at Yale, 91-71. Former Penn State player Trent Buttrick now plays for UMass as he was one of the transfers following last season. Buttrick is the leading scorer so far for the Minutemen, averaging 13.5 points in two games.
Penn State is favored by 4.5 points.
FERRY MAKES DEBUT
IN UMBC LOSS
Jim Ferry, Penn State's interim coach last season, suffered the loss to UMass in his debut as UMBC's head coach. Ferry led Penn State to an 11-14 record last season and went 7-12 in the Big Ten.
DUQUESNE LOSES,
BACK IN ACTION TONIGHT
The Duquesne basketball team fell at home to Hofstra on Saturday, 73-63, to drop to 1-1 on the season.
The Dukes fell behind big early and trailed 41-23 at the half before fighting back and nearly catching up. They pulled within 47-44 with 12:08 left to play. It was 50-46 before Hofstra pulled away again to stretch the cushion back to 58-48.
True freshman Primo Spears led Duquesne with 17 points, while Kevin Easley had 14.
The Dukes are back in action Monday night at home against Weber State. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, and the game will air on ESPN+. Weber State is favored by 3 points.
ROBERT MORRIS
OFF TO 0-2 START
The Robert Morris basketball team is 0-2 after a tough opening schedule, losing at UCF, 69-59, and at No. 10 Kentucky, 100-60. Kentucky coach John Calipari is from Moon Township.
The Colonials have only one player averaging double figures in points through two games, Kahlil Spear at 10.0 points per game.
LOOKING AHEAD
THIS WEEK
Penn State basketball: Tonight at UMass, 7 p.m.; Thursday vs. St. Francis Brooklyn, 7 p.m.
Duquesne basketball: Tonight vs. Weber State, 7 p.m.; Friday vs. Northeastern, 5:45 p.m.
Robert Morris basketball: Tonight at Ohio, 7 p.m.; Friday vs. Mount St. Mary's 7 p.m.
Penn State wrestling: Thursday vs. Army, 7 p.m.
Penn State hockey: Friday at Minnesota, 8 p.m.; Saturday at Minnesota, 9 p.m.
