In addition to hosting or competing against Wyoming, Penn State has never before hosted three wrestling matches in the Bryce Jordan Center in a single season.
The Penn State women’s volleyball team is hosting a Friday-Sunday regional at Rec Hall, so the schedule-new Cowboys (2-2) will play in the BJC on Sunday at 1 p.m. The other two BJC games are against Michigan on February 7 and Iowa on January 31.
When asked this week how the Wyoming home-and-home series came to be, assistant head coach Cody Sanderson responded, “I didn’t realize that we haven’t faced them, so that’s pretty cool.”
To be honest, we were looking for a date and were unable to locate any other potential partners. Hey, what about Wyoming? asked a friend. When we contacted them, they responded immediately and said, “Yeah, let’s figure it out.” We’re eager to welcome a team from the west, and we’re planning to return there for a little road trip the following year. We don’t do things frequently, but when we do, it’s enjoyable.
There won’t be many matchups that are particularly appealing. Luke Lilledahl’s (4-0) potential best of the bunch matchup with Wyoming’s seventh-ranked Jore Volk (2-2), who fell to South Dakota State’s Tanner Jordan in November’s Rec Hall’s NWCA All-Star Classic, is unlikely to take place at 125 because Volk hasn’t wrestled since Nov. 23 at Oklahoma. If not Volk, Lilledahl’s enemy would be Luke Braman.
Another potential matchup at 197 pits the Cowboys’ 13th-ranked Joey Novak (6-3), who finished fourth at the Cliff Keen Invitational, against Penn State’s Josh Barr (4-0), who shot up to No. 7 this week after upsetting Lehigh’s No. 6 Michael Beard 11-3 last week.
Additionally, at 157, No. 19 Jared Hill (6-2) will take on fourth-ranked Tyler Kasak (4-0) of Penn State.
If the Vore-Lilledahl does not take place, Penn State (2-0) would be highly favored in the seven remaining bouts and favored in each of them if they do. This amounts to a potential shutout and undoubtedly the team’s 59th consecutive win.
Next Sunday, at the Collegiate Duals south of Nashville, the top-ranked Nittany Lions can defeat Binghamton and Little Rock to end the school’s record run of 60 consecutive victories.
Beau Bartlett, a senior at Penn State who weighs 141 pounds, is excited for Sunday’s game even though it’s unlikely that the attendance would be like at previous BJC games.
That’s fantastic. This week, Bartlett declared, “I adore BJC.” The Rec Hall is awesome. BJC is fantastic. I can’t wait for that. The PPL Center and Lehigh hosted a major wrestling event; the venue was lovely and had an atmosphere reminiscent of the NCAAs. BJC, I adore that; it will be delightful.
One of the team’s older statesmen, Bartlett, was questioned last week about whether he would continue wrestling collegiately for another five years if he could. His first reaction was, “No, no.” Then he gave an explanation.
I mean, I adore it. I adore it. “This stuff is amazing,” Bartlett remarked. Five more years of collegiate wrestling? I’ve been here for a while. No. I’ll make the most of every chance I get since I adore this.
I suppose I could go back in time to when I was about 18 or 19 and go five years, but I’ll be 24 at the NCAAs, so I’m not sure about a 29-year-old there. I would do it again if I could go back in time. He laughed and added, “I don’t know, to start over from here.”
Bartlett, who is 5-0 so far, may defeat Cole Brooks (4-4) on Sunday to win his 80th career match. He stated that he is still getting better in every way.
He remarked, “I think that’s a really big challenge, but I’m improving in all areas of life.” I spend a lot of time wrestling. I believe that’s where most people associate me. There, I’m accelerating, and I believe everything is coming together. However, you must persevere through the challenges that life presents. I’ve grown extremely excellent at that lately—just maturing, growing up, and persisting.
And it’s all about gratitude, as Bartlett and numerous other wrestlers have stated. He advised you to put that thankfulness into practice. Look for things for which you are grateful. When it comes to wrestling matches, I believe it’s easy for me, but sometimes it’s not as simple as that.
Although wrestling is difficult, it’s also one of the easiest things I’ve ever done. I adore this. In reality, wrestling is as simple as showing up, practicing, improving, and maintaining a positive work ethic. I don’t care about wrestling at all. It’s easy sailing in wrestling.
LION-COWBOY NOTEBOOK: Surprisingly, only five of the Cowboys’ 34 players are from Wyoming, and none of the state’s ten anticipated starters are. Both Penn State heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet and Wyoming 184-pounder Quayin Short hail from Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. Wyoming reserve 133-pounder Josh Kyle and Penn State 125-pounder Luke Lilledahl both hail from Weldon Spring, Missouri, which is only 12 miles away. This is another example of local similarities. Gabe Willochell, a 149-pound wrestler from Greensburg, Wyoming, was a former PIAA state place winner and fought for Latrobe.
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