UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - There was one bright spot in an otherwise tough day for American University wrestling, as #18
Gage Curry was the lone Eagle to get a win against the second-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions on the road in front of a sold-out crowd of 6,500 at Rec Hall. It was the final dual meet of the season for both teams, with AU finishing at 4-8 and Penn State, the defending NCAA champion, wrapping up at 12-2 with a 40-3 victory.
MEET RECAP
- Curry wrestled in the second-to-last match of the day at 125 pounds, needing to create his own momentum with AU already trailing 34-0.Â
- It was a low-scoring match at 0-0 after the first period and Curry down 1-0 approaching the end of regulation. With Brandon Meredith of Penn State having already secured a point for riding time, Curry needed a takedown and got it with very little time to spare, sending the match to overtime where he scored another takedown for the 4-2 win.
- The most heartbreaking match of the day was at 149 pounds for #7 Kizhan Clarke. He was tied with #22 Jarod Verkleeren 1-1 until the very last second when Verkleeren got a takedown for the win.
- The Eagles had two more close losses at 157 pounds and 184 pounds. Ethan Karsten (157) was up 3-0 and 4-3 before ultimately falling 7-5 to Luke Gardner.
- #23 Tanner Harvey, who is 20-7 and has not lost by more than three points all season, continued that streak with an 8-5 defeat at the hands of #6 Aaron Brooks.
- AU came up against top-ranked wrestlers at 141 pounds (7-3 loss for #24 Sal Profaci) and 165 pounds. Two other weight classes (174 and 133) had wrestlers ranked second in the nation for the Nittany Lions.
RESULTS
- 141 - #1 Nick Lee (PSU) dec. #24 Sal Profaci (AU), 7-3 (PSU, 3-0)
- 149 - #22 Jarod Verkleeren (PSU) dec. #7 Kizhan Clarke (AU), 3-1 (PSU 6-0)
- 157 - Luke Gardner (PSU) dec. Ethan Karsten (AU), 7-5 (PSU 9-0)
- 165 - #1 Vincenzo Joseph (PSU) pinned Tim Fitzpatrick (AU), 4:00 (PSU 15-0)
- 174 - #2 Mark Hall (PSU) pinned Anthony Wokasch (AU), 2:33 (PSU 21-0)
- 184 - #6 Aaron Brooks (PSU) dec. #23 Tanner Harvey (AU), 8-5 (PSU 24-0)
- 197 - #25 Shakur Rasheed (PSU) pinned William Jarrell (AU), 1:04 (PSU 30-0)
- 285 - #16 Seth Nevills (PSU) major dec. Niko Camacho (AU), 10-0 (PSU 34-0)
- 125 - #18 Gage Curry (AU) dec. Brandon Meredith (PSU), 4-2 SV (PSU 34-3)
- 133 - #2 Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) pinned Joshua Vega (AU), 2:10 (PSU 40-3)
UP NEXT
- Some members of the team will compete at the National Collegiate Open in Smyrna, Del., on Sunday, March 1.
FOLLOW ALONG
