Breaking news;No. 1 Penn State to victory have been given the award if the year Over…
Breaking news;No. 1 Penn State to victory have been given the award if the year Over…
As the crowd started to file into the Bryce Jordan Center, the buzz grew as the next edition of the Penn State versus Iowa dual loomed ahead.
The sold-out crowd electrified the Nittany Lions to a dominant 30-8 victory over the second-ranked Hawkeyes.
“It was sick,” Tyler Kasak said on the opportunity to wrestle in front of the sold-out crowd.
The noise reigned throughout the crowd right from the opening whistle of the matchup at 125 pounds.
Penn State’s Luke Lilledahl turned it up in the third period and the crowd showed full support as the fans rose to their feet.
Lilledahl’s four takedowns in the third period put everybody on their feet as he rolled to a tech fall victory.
It wasn’t until 149 pounds that the sound of the crowd rose to new levels.
Late in the second period, Shayne Van Ness was trailing, until he used his aggressiveness to not only get a takedown which gave him the lead but also nearly pinned the top wrestler in the weight class.
Van Ness’ four-point near fall, backed by the roar of the Nittany Lion faithful, created a noise in the Bryce Jordan Center that hasn’t been heard this year.
As the hype from the Van Ness tech fall victory wore off a bit, it was Kasak’s turn to use the crowd to his advantage.
As the match went on, Kasak continued to give the Penn State fans something to cheer about, while holding off No. 1 Jacori Teemer from gaining any offensive momentum.
With about 15 seconds left in the match, with Kasak all but securing the win, the Doylestown, Pennsylvania, native created a moment that will go down in the Iowa-Penn State history books.
While holding Teemer in the air, with the roar of the crowd getting louder, he raised an arm while maintaining hold of Teemer.
The moment sent the BJC crowd into a frenzy as Kasak showcased his strength and dominance over the top-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds.
“I kind of blacked out,” Kasak said. “I have no idea what I really did, just enjoyed the moment.”
A moment that will be remembered for years to come was set up by the noise from the Penn State faithful as Kasak carried Teemer to victory.
The crowd helped the Nittany Lions earn multiple stall points throughout the rest of the match and propelled the wrestlers to victories in four of the last five matches.
“It was cool,” Greg Kerkvliet said.
With each takedown, “three” hummed throughout the building, propelling the Nittany Lions to a dominant victory over the Hawkeyes.
“The bigger the match is, the more fun we end up having,” Kasak said. “I feel like I feed off that.”