After No. 1 Penn State took care of business against No.
5 Nebraska with a 26-12 win last Friday, the post-match chatter didn’t center on the score as much as it did on the style of wrestling - or lack thereof - that Penn State was forced to wrestle against. Nebraska’s strategy of slowing things down and keeping Penn State’s elite athletes from opening up their offense caused some visible frustration, both on the mat and off.
Head coach Cael Sanderson didn’t make too much of it. He’s seen this before - opponents backing up, hands to the face, trying to muddy the match instead of going toe-to-toe.
“We just have to close the gap and get to our tie-ups and do our thing,” Sanderson said after the match. He also pointed to the changing nature of officiating, adding, “They don’t really call stalling traditionally anymore.
We just have to make it happen.”
Speaking with reporters again on Wednesday, Sanderson doubled down on the idea that this isn’t new. Teams are always looking for ways to slow down the Nittany Lions’ high-octane attack. And while he acknowledged that even his team sometimes uses tempo to its advantage, the goal is always to create action.
“You want your sport to be exciting,” Sanderson said. “You want action, you want points being scored.
And as a team, the more points that are scored, obviously that benefits us. Even if our opponents are scoring on us early, it’s still to our benefit to create action.”
That desire for action may have boiled over a bit on Friday night. Levi Haines, usually the picture of composure, lost it for a moment at 174 pounds.
After a frustrating sequence, he shoved Nebraska’s Christopher Minto off the mat - and nearly off the stage - drawing a penalty point. It was a rare emotional lapse from one of Penn State’s most consistent performers and had the crowd buzzing.
Sanderson didn’t shy away from the incident, emphasizing the importance of emotional discipline. “When actions are not what we want them to be, I don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing,” he said.
“But everything’s preparation. We make mistakes, we learn from it.
We make mistakes again, we learn from it. It’s just a matter of trying to figure things out and just do a better job.”
Then came another moment of frustration - this time from junior Braeden Davis. After being pinned by Brock Hardy, Davis kicked and tripped Hardy as the Nebraska wrestler patted him on the stomach while getting up.
That cost Penn State a team point. Sanderson’s response?
Honest and matter-of-fact.
“If something happens, it happens, and it’s out there for the world to see,” he said. “There’s nothing you do about it.
Just learn from it, and figure out how we got to that point. We just have to be our best self and do what we do, and just be calm, collected, and go score points.
We’ll be good.”
Davis, by the way, appeared to be dealing with a minor injury during the match. Fans noticed him flexing one of his hands, and Sanderson later explained it was a burn from a plugged-in scooter. “So beware of plugged-in scooters,” he said with a slight grin.
One bright spot that continues to shine is Rocco Welsh, the redshirt sophomore at 184 pounds who transferred in from Ohio State. Welsh, a former PIAA champ from Waynesburg and NCAA runner-up at 174 in 2024, has looked increasingly comfortable in the Penn State lineup - and Sanderson sees that as a key sign of growth.
“He’s getting more and more comfortable, like he knows that this is where he belongs,” Sanderson said. “He knows we love him, and he’s our guy.
I think he’ll just continue to improve. And really, it’s not even about improving - it’s just being yourself.”
Welsh’s dominant win over Nebraska’s veteran All-American Silas Allred was a clear sign he’s settling in. And while transferring can be a tricky transition in any sport, it’s especially true at a place like Penn State, where the expectations are sky-high.
“There’s a high expectation here,” Sanderson said. “When kids transfer in here, it’s a different kind of pressure.
You’re in a lineup with a bunch of killers, and you don’t give yourself a lot of room to breathe. I think that’s one of the issues we have - they think they’re at Penn State and people just expect them to crush everybody every time.
It’s a lot of pressure.”
Overseas, redshirt junior Tyler Kasak got some valuable international experience at the Zagreb Open in Croatia. Wrestling at 70kg (154.3 pounds), Kasak won his opener by technical fall but dropped a 10-0 bout to India’s Abhimanyou Abhimanyou. Because Abhimanyou didn’t make the finals, Kasak wasn’t pulled into the repechage for a shot at bronze.
Still, Sanderson saw it as a positive step. “It’s good to go wrestle in these ranking series world-level events that have the best guys in the world,” he said.
“Different countries, different tactics. It’s good preparation for him.”
Also at Zagreb, former Penn State star Roman Bravo-Young, now wrestling for Mexico, made the 57kg finals against Iowa’s Spencer Lee. But after giving up an early takedown, Bravo-Young injured his right foot and medically forfeited, settling for silver.
Other American wrestlers had strong showings as well: Austin DeSanto (gold at 61kg), Joey McKenna (bronze at 65kg), Caleb Henson (bronze at 70kg), David Carr (gold at 74kg), Zahid Valencia (bronze at 86kg), and Parker Keckeisen (gold at 86kg).
As Penn State continues to roll through the dual season, the message from Sanderson remains steady - stay focused, stay disciplined, and keep creating action. The Nittany Lions know they’ll face more opponents trying to slow them down. But if they stick to their identity, they’ll be tough to beat.