Penn State wrestlers have near perfect night during NWCA All-Star Classic

Rec Hall is a venue where fans get to see Penn State’s stars shine.

On Tuesday night, fans inside Rec Hall got to see some of college wrestling’s top athletes during the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic — and they weren’t disappointed.

The Nittany Lions had Shayne Van Ness (149 pounds), Carter Starocci (174), Bernie Truax (184), Aaron Brooks (197) and Greg Kerkvliet all hit the mat as part of the 28 wrestlers that competed.

The quintet went a combined 4-1 on the evening, while dazzling the pro-Penn State crowd.

“It was real loud. It was a lot of fun. It got me excited,” Van Ness said. “It got me smiling. I love big crowds. It’s awesome. I think you’ll see that a lot more this year (smiling), whether it’s here or anywhere just because I’m enjoying what I do. I love it and there’s nothing to not smile about.”

Brooks added: “It’s fun man. I haven’t wrestled in Rec Hall since Lock Haven last year because I took that partial season. It’s been over a year since I’ve been in Rec. It felt good to be back. It’s a different atmosphere, nothing matches it, in my opinion.”

Van Ness was the first Nittany Lion to hit the mat against Arizona State’s Kyle Parco.

The pair squared off in the NCAA Championships in March with Van Ness coming away with the win. The same happened on Tuesday.

Scoring between the pair didn’t occur until the second period with Van Ness’ escape being the first point. Near the end of the period, they got into an upper body lock with Van Ness coming out on top with a takedown.

In the third period, Parco got an escape, but Van Ness’ defense was enough to preserve a 5-1 win.

“The takedown that I got at the end of the second (period) was from chain wrestling,” Van Ness said. “When I can force guys to wrestle with me and string multiple things together, that’s when I really start to open up.”

After a slight break, Starocci began a string of four straight Penn State wrestlers to take center stage.

He took on Virginia Tech’s Mekhi Lewis, who he beat in the 2022 NCAA finals with riding time in the second tiebreaker, and 2-0 in last year’s NWCA All-Star Classic. Tuesday night, Starocci put a decent distance between himself and the Hokies’ wrestler.

The three-time champ’s consistent pressure forced Lewis to give up a stall point in the second period. Starocci’s strong top game allowed him to ride out the entire second period, but also put Lewis to his back for nearfall points.

Starocci led 5-0 after two periods of wrestling. In the third period, he added an escape, a takedown with six seconds left in the match, another stall point and a riding time point for a decisive, 11-0, major decision.

“There was absolutely nothing he was going to do. I could have done anything I wanted. That’s a good feeling, I’m not going to lie,” Starocci said of the victory. “When you take someone’s heart, that’s the best feeling. You just take their soul and do whatever you want to their body. I mean that’s gratifying.”

Truax suffered a 7-5 loss to Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen before the night was finished with Brooks and Kerkvliet tallying bonus-point victories.

Brooks took on South Dakota State’s Tanner Sloan, who was a long and lengthy opponent, but Brooks felt prepared.

“Shout out to Lucas Cochran, he’s the other 197 pounder. He’s very long. I’m very blessed to be in the room that I’m in,” the three-time champ said. “You guys see it. I get every different look you can possibly imagine.”

Brooks tallied a nice double leg take down with 44 seconds left in the first period to hold a 3-0 lead. In the second period, he had two more takedowns — one at the buzzer — to hold a 10-1 lead.

The third period saw Sloan tally an escape as the lone points as Brooks added a riding time point for an 11-2 major decision.

“I’m so thankful for my training partners. I’m able to adapt to that kind of style, long lanky guy,” Brooks said. “He kept his butt and hips back. He didn’t really want to engage until the end, but that’s usually folkstyle. They want to come hard at the end, so it’s good though.”

Kerkvliet dominated Air Force’s Wyatt Hendrickson from the opening whistle.

He snapped off a low double-leg takedown, and put Hendrickson on his back. Injury time was called by the Falcons wrestler, which enabled Kerkvliet to get an escape point off the restart.

He added another takedown to hold an 11-1 lead after one period.

The second period saw Kerkvliet snap off two more of those low double leg takedowns to wrap up an 18-2 technical fall in 4:48.

“His mind is on track. We all know what his body can do,” Brooks said. “When his mind is on track with it (his body), he’s the best in the world. I don’t care who’s wrestling at heavyweight.”

NWCA All-Star Classic

Tuesday at University Park

Men

125: No. 4 Matt Ramos, Purdue dec. No. 1 Anthony Noto, Lock Haven, 10-2

133: Connor McGonagle, Lehigh dec. No. 4 Sam Latona, Virginia Tech, 7-5 (UTB)

141: No. 3 Lachlan McNeil, North Carolina dec. No. 10 Josh Koderhandt, Navy, 4-2

149: No. 2 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State dec. No. 3 Kyle Parco, Arizona State, 5-1

157: No. 2 (DIII) Nolan Hertel, UW-LaCrosse dec. No. 1 (DII) Nick Novak, St. Cloud State, 3-1 (UTB2)

165: No. 6 Izzak Olejnik, Oklahoma State dec. No. 4 Dean Hamiti, Wisconsin, 8-2

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State major dec. No. 2 Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech, 11-0

184: No. 1 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa dec. No. 2 Bernie Truax, Penn State, 7-5

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, Penn State major dec. No. 2 Tanner Sloan, South Dakota State, 11-2

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State tech. fall No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force, 18-2 (4:48)

Women

116: No. 2 Samara Chavez, King, pinned No. 3 Sydney Petzinger, North Central, 3:50

130: No. 2 Alexis Janiak, Aurora, tech. superiority No. 1 Sarah Savidge, Life, 10-0 (:31)

136: No. 1 Adaugo Nwachukwu, William Penn dec. No. 1 Yele Aycock, North Central, 11-7

160: No. 1 Marlynne Deede, Iowa dec. No. 1 Latifah McBryde, Life, 8-3