Terrell Barraclough probably isn’t going to wrestle for a national championship this year, but the Penn State middleweight knows he could push anyone in the country if called on. 

Cael Sanderson has faith in the veteran too. 

“We love having him in the program,” Sanderson said. “He’s an incredibly valuable piece of what we’re doing.

And he’ll continue to be, even if he’s not in the spotlight. 

On the surface, Barraclough’s contributions may seem minor. He’s wrestled in a handful of open tournaments and has subbed in in three duals when Carter Starocci wasn’t able to compete. Behind the scenes though, the Utah native has trained just as hard as his starting teammates who make weight regularly.

His grinding nature, knack for preparation and ability to push multiple starters at different weights make Barraclough an ideal depth piece for a team with national championship hopes.

“I think he keeps getting better,” Sanderson said. “He’s been in and out of our lineup since he was a freshman and he’s been in big matches and he’s always competed really well. He’s always consistent. He prepares for every match as if he’s going to wrestle. That’s a pretty rare thing.”

As a result, Barraclough’s been ready when it’s been his turn. His 12-2 record is just two wins shy of tying his career best and he’s had a handful of nice efforts in his junior season. 

At 165 in mid-November, Barraclough pinned then #10 Caleb Fish of Michigan State. He lost a tight, tough 2-1 match to Michigan’s #3 Shane Griffith up at 174 in January. 

Barraclough got a literal chance in the spotlight on Monday. With Starocci sick, Barraclough bumped up to 174 again to face Rutgers’ Jackson Turley in front of 12,049 fans inside the Bryce Jordan Center. 

Turley took Barraclough down just over a minute and half in before Barraclough brought the fans to a crescendo with an escape before the first ended. Barraclough chose bottom to start the second and notched a reversal after popping to his feet to tie the bout 3-3. 

Barraclough made Turley regret choosing down to start the third, quickly bellying the Scarlet Knight senior out as Penn State fans roared. They got louder as Barraclough’s ride continued through the final buzzer. He won 4-3 with 2:49 in riding time.

“It was sweet,” Barraclough said. “I’ve been bumping up a weight, making close to 165 pretty much every time. Just to know that the guy thinks he’s bigger than me and stronger than me and faster than me. Just like beating him, yeah, in your face. It was fun. When he started getting tired, I was like, ‘Oh, here we go.’ That was fun.”

Barraclough has also pushed teammates Levi Haines and Mitchell Mesenbrink — starters at 157 and 165 respectively — in the room. 

While Mesenbrink is the team’s primary 165-pounder having all but locked up the spot with his explosive offense and bonus-point potential, Barraclough doesn’t see his younger teammate as a roadblock in his path to starting. Could he transfer to seek an opportunity elsewhere? Sure he could. 

But it’s not for him, and Barraclough wouldn’t want to walk away from the friendship he’s developed with Mesenbrink. 

“I love watching him and we compete against each other every single day,” Barraclough said. “He might not know it, but I look up to him, just the way he competes. Because that makes me want to follow up and keep climbing with him.”

Cochran’s Confidence 

Barraclough may be the most experienced reserve wrestler of the bunch, but he’s not the only Nittany Lion that Sanderson has on standby lately.

“Josh Barr was ready to go yesterday,” Sanderson said. “Lucas (Cochran) was obviously ready to go. So those guys, they’re ready. They want to wrestle and it’s just when that opportunity comes, you take advantage of it and give them that chance if they want to do it.”

Cochran stepped in for Greg Kerkvliet at heavyweight and gave Penn State fans a reason to stick around rather than try to beat traffic in a dual already decided. 

Listed at 197, the sophomore outlasted and outmuscled true heavyweight Yaraslau Slavikouski 8-3 and rode the big man for a minute. Slavikouski is a three-time national qualifier with 74 collegiate wins at 285.

Kerkvliet, like Starocci, was battling a cold. It nearly cost Aaron Brooks a match too, where Barr would’ve filled in. Brooks was able to go and then Cochran found out he’d wrestle at heavyweight.

“Like coach Cael says, moments like those come and go quickly, so try to take advantage of those opportunities,” Cochran said.

Cochran improved to 9-2 with the win, his second in a dual at 285 pounds. He beat Michigan State’s Josh Terrill 5-0 last month to kick off his current streak of nine straight wins in 23 days. In that span, Cochran has four pins and two technical falls and went unbeaten in the Mat-Town Open II and Edinboro Open, both at 197.

“I think he’s figured out how good he is,” Sanderson said. “He wrestled in a couple open tournaments throughout the last month and really went out there to dominate and that’s kind of what it takes. Great athlete, as you can tell. Good feel, really good technique and he’s gotten really good with his hand fighting, he’s able to control a larger opponent and kind of dictate the pace.”

The Utah Boys

It wasn’t just that Barraclough and Cochran won that got their teammates fired up. It was how they won.

“The Utah boys put it on, they stepped up,” 141-pounder Beau Bartlett said. “Both of them, giving up weight, both of them wrestling hard in their positions, Lucas somehow getting to legs and taking down a guy that’s was giant, and Terrell getting a rideout — I don’t know why that guy went bottom, honestly — but they performed pretty well. That was awesome.”

After the dual, Barraclough and Cochran sat next to Sanderson to field questions from reporters. Sanderson glanced over as each one of them took turns answering. Sweat was still running off each wrestler’s face and Cochran particularly looked like he’d been through a battle with a hint of a bruise forming on his forehead. 

Each of them had a similar trait that Sanderson, himself a Utah native, picked up on early as Penn State was recruiting them.

Bartlett’s seen that trait manifest every day in the room when he’s watched Barraclough and Cochran battle whoever.

“I think Utah wrestlers are very, very tough,” Bartlett said. “I think that culture that the entire Sanderson family has established there, it runs deep. So they wrestle really tough, they wrestle through positions. In Utah, entire families wrestled. Their grandfathers wrestled. They’re generational wrestlers and when opportunities present themselves, they’re ready and they fight for every inch.”

Coming Back?

Bartlett is one of a handful of Nittany Lions who could return for another year of eligibility. 

The senior isn’t sure what his next move will be, however. He did say he “is treating this like my senior year.”

“I think there are some moving pieces,” Bartlett said. “Coming in, as a freshman, I was like, ‘I’m going to use all these years.’ And then I think as life progresses, there are some extra questions that need to be asked. I love wrestling. I love folkstyle wrestling. I love freestyle wrestling. We’ll see.”

Kasak OK

Freshman 149-pounder Tyler Kasak bounced back from an 11-8 sudden-victory loss against Iowa’s Caleb Rathjen on Friday to outduel Rutgers’ Michael Cetta on Monday.

Kasak started with a blistering pace. He got a pair of first-period takedowns before Cetta tightened up defensively. Early in the third, Kasak hit his head on mat as Cetta looked to stay on top of him on Monday. 

The freshman seemed a bit sluggish afterward. Sanderson said Kasak “was concerned” that he didn’t feel right and was checked out by team doctors and training staff right after the match.

“He’ll be fine,” Sanderson said.