In recent years, the days leading up to Christmas have been pretty quiet for the Penn State Nittany Lions. 

They closed out 2018 with a home dual on Dec. 14 and ended their 2019 dates on Dec. 8. They didn’t compete in December 2020.

After last year’s shortened schedule, Penn State coaches wanted to get as much out of this year’s slate as reasonably possible. The Journeymen’s Collegiate Duals in Florida from Dec. 20-21 helped fill in some blanks. There, the Nittany Lions beat Arizona State, Cornell and Northern Iowa to win their pool.

They did so with steady contributions from their stars. Notably, the backend of Penn State’s lineup looks poised to set the tone for the team the rest of the way. 

Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks, Max Dean and Greg Kerkvliet all went unbeaten in Florida and combined for bonus points in eight of their 12 bouts from 174 to 285. 

Brooks and Dean both turned in a pair of wins over ranked foes. Brooks beat Parker Keckeisen of UNI and majored Cornell’s Jonathan Loew. Dean teched UNI’s Noah Glaser and then majored Arizona State’s Kendall Norfleet.

Top-ranked Nittany Lions Roman Bravo-Young and Nick Lee were also perfect.

“That worked out really nice, but we’ll see how we compete on Friday to start the Big Ten schedule,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said prior to the Nittany Lions’ 46-0 victory against Maryland.

In addition to the dual against the Terrapins, Penn State takes on Indiana on Sunday. As the second half of the season begins, the Nittany Lions will continue to look for answers at other weights.

UP FRONT AND IN THE MIDDLE

Prior to Friday, Penn State had been vulnerable in dual meets at 125 and 157. A handful of Nittany Lions have tried their stuff in both spots and had been out-chanced and outscored badly. 

In some duals, like those against Penn, Lehigh and recently Cornell, the difference has nearly cost them. Penn State went winless at 125 and 157 in Florida and have now been outscored 49-8 at those weights. 

Possibly more concerning for a team with an aggressive M.O., the takedown differential at 125 and 157 is 33-10 in favor of the opposition.

“I wouldn’t say we were really excited about the results, but it was nice to have guys competing down there and getting matches. I’m not sure if that really showed us a whole lot,” Sanderson said. “I don’t know if we’ve gotten any real clear answers in a couple of those middleweights. We’ll keep pressing along here.”

MORE OPTIONS

They’ll do so with a bit bigger pool of wrestlers to draw from.

In the first two months of the season, Baylor Shunk and Jake Campbell split duties at 125 while Terrell Barraclough, Tony Negron, Joe Lee and Joey Blumer split matches at 157. The Nittany Lions added 125-pound transfer Drew Hildebrandt in December and he debuted Friday with a first-period fall against Maryland’s Zach Spence. 

Hildebrandt, a fifth-year senior who was an All-American at 125 for Central Michigan, will likely provide a big boost at the front of the lineup. He went 45-5 at Central Michigan the last two years with two MAC championships and two All-America finishes.

“If I picture him in my mind he’s got a huge smile on his face, obviously a tough competitor,” Sanderson said. “We’re excited to add him to the roster.” 

UN-RETIREMENT

Brady Berge wasn’t sure if he’d ever wrestle again, in fact, he was pretty sure last year that he was done.

Until he wasn’t.

Although he hasn’t been added to Penn State’s roster yet, Berge announced via social media earlier this week he’ll return to Penn State to finish this season. He had been coaching at South Dakota State after announcing his medical retirement from wrestling following last season’s NCAA tournament.

Berge, who’d missed nearly all of the 2019-20 season after suffering a serious concussion, recovered and advanced through last year’s 157-pound NCAA tournament field until he suffered what was believed to be a career-ending leg injury in the quarterfinals. He announced the end of his collegiate career shortly thereafter.

“Over the past months, I have felt that hunger to compete again,” Berge said in a Twitter post. “A desire to finish what I started and one final shot to accomplish a childhood dream.”

Berge should give Penn State another option at 157 when he’s ready.