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UNIVERSITY PARK -- No. 1 Penn State's 44-3 win Sunday over Maryland may have seemed like another run of the mill domination to most, but to the Nittany Lions the day's performance and outcome carried added significance.
Penn State (15-0, 8-0 B1G) won its 43 rd straight dual meet, which clinched its third consecutive Big Ten dual meet championship. Many in the sell-out crowd of 6,504 in Rec Hall lingered to see the presentation of the regular-season championship trophy, presented to a team decked out in hats and T-shirts that proclaimed that status.
"These dual meets are a big deal to us and our program, when you're going head to head with some rival schools. It's definitely a big deal to us," Head Coach Cael Sanderson said.
"We want to compete well and wrestle as well as we can in dual meets. It's special. Like Shayne (Van Ness) said, this is great but then we move on to the next one. We have a match next Sunday, too, so we can't completely focus on the Big Ten Tournament yet. We'll just keep trying to get better between now and the end of the season and enjoy what we're doing."
As Sanderson alluded to, his wrestlers have also bought in to the one-thing-at-a-time approach.
"I think today it's a good accomplishment that we got," Van Ness said. "But at 12 tonight, that is over and we're on to the next day and we're looking forward to the next match."
On this day, Penn State won the final nine bouts, three by fall, one by forfeit, two by technical fall, one my major decision and two by decision. The Nittany Lions accrued a 38-1 edge in takedowns, giving them 76 total in their two dual meets over the weekend.
The Terrapins sent out a lineup that was missing four starters from the lineup that edged Purdue on Friday night. Penn State's lineup was missing two starters, but even with both teams at full strength, Maryland can't match Penn State's firepower.
Maryland struck first as No. 15 Braxton Brown made a third-period escape stand up for a 1-0 win over Gary Steen at 125. Steen was unable to convert on several single-leg attempts.
Penn State took the lead for good at 133, as top-ranked Roman Bravo-Young put on a takedown clinic, piling up 14, in a 28-13 technical fall win over King Sandoval in 6:45.
Sixth-ranked Beau Bartlett posted a measured deliberate 5-2 win over Kal Miller at 141. A second-period reversal and third-period takedown helped fuel the win.
In one of the few matchups between ranked wrestlers, Penn State's 13th -ranked Shayne Van Ness dominated No. 18 Ethan Miller in a 19-4 technical fall in 7:00. In addition to four takedowns, Van Ness twice turned Miller for four-point nearfalls.
"I was really focused on my own performance this week," Van Ness said. "I had some things I've been working on. I finally felt they've been coming through my wrestling this week. So, I was proud of my performance."
Eighth-ranked Levi Haines make quick work of Kevin Schork at 157. He scored an early takedown and had Schork in trouble outside the circle for an early 6-0 lead. He then hit a takedown, ran a half with his other arm in a turk position and scored the fall in 1:42.
Since he was declared the official starter at the Iowa dual, Haines has seemed to grow in intensity and confidence with each performance.
"Yeah, that's definitely accurate," he said. "I'm just kind of growing up and I learn a little bit something from each and every match."
Coming out of the break leading 19-3, Penn State padded its lead as ninth-ranked Alex Facundo added another pin to increased the Nittany Lion advantage to 25-3. Facundo had built a 15-5 lead through two periods with seven takedowns. In the third period, Facundo hooked up an assassin and eventually flattened Lucas Cordio in 5:38.
At 174, top-ranked Carter Starocci put together a workmanlike 14-6 major decision over Dominic Solis, using six takedowns to build the win.
Donovan Ball, once again subbing in for Aaron Brooks at 184, notched another win.
Against Kevin Makosy, Ball converted two takedowns in each of the first and second periods on his way to a 10-3 decision.
After third-ranked Max Dean received a forfeit at 197, Seth Nevills got a chance to take the mat in place of second-ranked Greg Kerkvliet. Nevills, whose one and only start came against Central Michigan in the Collegiate Duals in December, made quick work of Jordan Gabriel, scoring a fall in 1:56.
Penn State will celebrate senior day at 1 p.m. Sunday against Clarion and then turn its attention to the postseason. Sanderson said he likes how his team is performing as another postseason run toward potential championships looms.
"We're gonna wrestle the best we wrestle all year. We're going to do that in March; we always do. And I think these guys know that and so their confidence is going to be a little higher. They're just going to be pushing for those extra takedowns and bonus points, and it's just gonna happen," he said.
"I think the team's wrestling better every week and, like we talked about earlier, confidence and everything is soaring. These guys are gamers and they're competitors.
The bigger the match, the better they wrestle. I think as we get into the postseason here, we're going to have some fun."
No. 1 Penn State 44, Maryland 3
(Sunday at University Park)
125: No. 15 Braxton Brown, MD, dec. Gary Steen, 1-0. 133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, won by tech. fall over King Sandoval, 28-13 (6:45). 141: No. 6 Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Kal Miller, 5-2. 149: No. 13 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, won by tech. fall over No. 18 Ethan Miller, 19-4 (7:00). 157: No. 8 Levi Haines, PSU, pinned Kevin Schork, 1:42. 165: No. 9 Alex Facunco, PSU, pinned Lucas Cordio, 5:38. 174: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU, maj. dec. Dominic Solis, 14-6. 184: Donovan Ball, PSU, dec. Kevin Makosy, 10-3. 197: No. 3 Max Dean, PSU, won by forfeit. 285: Seth Nevills, PSU, pinned Jordan Gabriel, 1:56. Ridge Riley Award winner: Shayne Van Ness.
Attendance: 6,504. Takedowns: Maryland 1; Penn State 38.Records: Maryland 9-8, 1-7 B1G; Penn State 15-0, 8-0.