Indiana wrestling lost its second conference match 29-11 to No. 2 Penn State on Sunday afternoon.
Indiana opened the meet with No. 25-ranked sophomore Jacob Moran competing against Penn State senior Drew Hildebrandt. Moran lost in a 6-2 major decision in the 125-pound class, which handed Penn State an early 3-0 lead. No. 19-ranked graduate student Brock Hudkins helped Indiana bounce back against sophomore Baylor Shunk in the 133-pound class to make the score 5-3. Hudkins extended his undefeated personal record to 7-0.
No. 26-ranked junior Cayden Rooks defeated junior Brandon Meredith in the 141-pound class in a 9-4 regular decision, extending Indiana’s lead to 8-3. Indiana junior Graham Rooks then lost to No. 20-ranked sophomore Beau Bartlett in a 6-4 decision for the 149-pound class, cutting Indiana’s lead to 8-6.
Indiana sophomore Derek Gilcher defeated junior Tony Negron in the 157-pound class in a 9-7 regular decision. In the 165-pound class, No. 24-ranked Penn State sophomore Creighton Edsall defeated Indiana senior Sammy Cokeley in a 11-3 major decision.
Indiana led 11-10 up to that point, but Indiana junior Sean Grim’s attempt at an upset fell short against No. 1-ranked sophomore Carter Starocci, putting Penn State on top 16-11 just ahead of the most-anticipated match of the night.
Related: [Indiana wrestling loses to No. 12 Rutgers 27-9 in season’s first conference competition]
The 184-pound weight class featured another top-10 matchup between No. 8-ranked Indiana junior DJ Washington and No. 1-ranked Penn State sophomore Aaron Brooks. Brooks defeated Washington in a 13-4 major decision, extending Penn State’s lead 20-11. After starting the season with a personal 10-0 record, Washington has accumulated two consecutive losses.
Indiana junior Nick Willham fell to No. 2-ranked junior Max Dean in a 6-0 major decision for the 197-pound weight class.
Indiana finished the night with junior Jacob Bullock losing to No. 4-ranked Penn State freshman Greg Kerkvliet for the heavyweight class. The result secured the win for Penn State with a final score of 29-11.
After a pair of losses on the road to open conference play, Indiana will have its first home meet of the season against Michigan State at 3 p.m. on Jan. 17. The match will be broadcasted on Big Ten Network.
